Buying a Rebuilt Piano

[novicesearcher]

My son & wife play piano; I do not.  Not being able to afford a new Steinway, we looked into buying a rebuilt piano.  Our RPT schooled us for hours on what to look for, & I've devoured Larry Fine's book for guidance.  We've visited a number of individual, family-run, & national firms to compare workmanship.  We're very impressed with the work done by Lindeblad Piano (Pine Brook, NJ).  We thoroughly examined a number of pianos they've rebuilt, & the work appears to be stellar (compared to many other restorer's/rebuilder's work we've seen).  All Steinways listed below will be rebuilt with new Steinway parts.  The Knabes & the Mason & Hamlin mentioned will be rebuilt with top-of-the-line parts.  We have narrowed our choices to:
1904 Steinway O   African Mahogany $27,500
1917 Knabe Grand 5' 8"   Mahogany $21,000
1927 Steinway L   African Mahogany $29,500
1928 Steinway M   Ebony $26,500
1930 Steinway Hamburg M Ebony $34,000
1908 Steinway O   Polished Ebony $25,800
1913 Mason & Hamlin A   5' 8" $24,500

Another rebuilder (Zeiner, Allentown, PA) has a 1916 Knabe Grand 5' 8" Tiger Mahogany, price to be determined.

I sure could use some guidance as to what to do.  Thanks

[g_s_223]

Just curious, whether you evaluated any used pianos up to say 30 years old? Personally, I am a bit sceptical about rebuilt old pianos as the soundboard is rarely replaced during rebuilds, and is a critical element which deteriorates over time.

[hfmadopter]

After a full rebuild any of those would make a fine piano, assuming a good chassis. The people who will play the piano should probably sit at them and see if they come up with a joint conclusion of what would be the favorite.. It sounds like the rebuilder rebuilds from the soundboard up, that leaves the chassis and harp as items to consider the existing condition of.

I wouldn't throw any of them out of living room ! I do have a preference for the larger sizes of near 6'. but that's me not you guys ( my ow grand is 5'11", my livingroom could take up to maybe 6'5" or so, though this one with the top up can blast out some sound already). So the room it will reside in is a consideration as well.

Maybe Dan Silverwood will pop in and shed more light on the matter for you.

[novicesearcher]

g_s_223 - A new soundboard is included in each of these prices.  The 1916 Knabe will have a new northeastern spruce soundboard.  Lindeblad will warranty the 1917 Knabe with a 10-year warranty, & a 5-year warranty on the soundboard.  The Steinways will have new Sitka soundboards.  A couple of them would be less if we retained the original soundboard.  They will warranty the Steinways for 20 years, 5 years on the soundboards.

[g_s_223]

Hmm. Well it isn't exactly clear what you are asking of us. FWIW, even as a non-player you can make an assessment of a piano if you are a music lover in general.

I could suggest the following when evaluating a piano's sound:

• play some notes in the top register: do they sound like real pitches, do they sustain, or is it more of a plinky percussive sound?
• play some notes in the middle register: how long do they sustain, how does the sound change over the decay period?
• play some of the lowest notes on a 9' concert grand, then play the same ones on your candidate pianos: how similar are they? Avoid any twangy or tubby bass sounds.

Only a pianist can evaluate the action, but the above might give you some ideas on sound quality.

[novicesearcher]

g_s_223 Thank you - very good advice.  I guess what I want to know is, if the sound and feel of each piano is satisfactory to my wife & son, which piano is most likely to hold up in value over time.  If you had a choice of several cars, and they all performed relatively close to each other, wouldn't you purchase the one that would most likely hold up in value over time?  If so, which car, or in this instance which piano, would you buy.  I believe each of these pianos is an excellent instrument, but which will most likely hold up in value over time?  Does this make sense?  My son & wife will determine the best piano piano(s) musically, but I need to examine the choices from an investment standpoint.  Thanks for your help.

[hfmadopter]

My son & wife will determine the best piano piano(s) musically, but I need to examine the choices from an investment standpoint.  Thanks for your help.

In that case get a Steinway, the least desirable of those is perhaps the L ( I say perhaps because some people consider them to be a lesser design than the O). I'd pick an O or the German personally if only looking at it from the investment standpoint. Musically I've heard some great sounding L's and they usually demand a slightly lower price to purchase than either an O or a European M.

Steinway holds possibly the top spot for least depreciation in a declining used acoustic piano market.  It's a buyers market out there, as some people even give pianos away to get them out of the house these days. People today buy top names new still, or cheap Asian imports or digital. The used piano market as a seller is a tough one but yet Steinway is still there.

[novicesearcher]

g_s_223 Thank you.  Depending on how they sound, and absent any additional critical input from others on this blog, I think we'll narrow our selection to one of the following pianos:

1904 Steinway O 5' 11" African Mahogany $27,500
1908 Steinway O 5' 11" Polished Ebony $25,800
1913 Mason & Hamlin A 5' 8" African Mahogany $24,500

The 1930 Steinway Hamburg M 5' 7" Ebony @ $34,000 is too pricey for our budget.  We've put 2 kids through college, but we still have one more to go.  Thanks, J

[keys60]

Novice.

Really a great list you have there. Lindeblad rebuilts are top notch. Shops of that caliber are Steinways biggest competitor. Super high quality rebuilds for half of new built during the heyday of piano building. www.countrypiano.com is also a major contender in the business with high quality inventory. As stated, a choice of that list is so personal. Play them all and pick the one you like best. If you truly are that novice, have someone else play them and pick the one that you think sounds best and get a thorough review of the feel of the action. Aesthetically, I love African Mahogany. For the size of my house and personal preferences, I'm a big Mason A fan too. Hamburg actions feel so sure and meaty, that I'm sure I'd love the M too. Knabes are real nice, but I think you can do better price wise, as they do depreciate quicker than the other choices. I've seen some nice Knabes for roughly half of that price. Lindeblads prices are a little high, but its worth the quality work.  Good luck with your decision. Its a hard one and its all yours. Please do keep us posted.