Rebuilt 1910s Steinway B

[davidjosepha]

I bought a house a year and a half ago and finally have the room to get a grand piano and the money to get a Steinway B. I've been looking at a shop that rebuilds pianos (and specializes in rebuilding Steinways) and I have my eye on a 1910s model B. Unfortunately, almost all of the shop's rebuilds are pre-sold, and so I won't have much option to wait for a completed product before purchase (although the contract includes a right of refusal, if I were not happy with the completed product), but I've played on their other rebuilds and have been very impressed, and there's another 1910s B that is close to being ready that I will be able to try out. The owner told me there's not substantial difference in the action or sound of two of the same model after they've rebuilt them, and particularly not within models of the same time period, and so if I like the B that's nearly ready, I'll like the one that is several months from being ready (that I'm considering purchasing).

So, my question is, how much would you consider reasonable to pay for a rebuilt 1910s model B? We've already discussed price, but I want to get an idea of what people would consider reasonable. It's hard to compare with prices I find searching, because most of the pianos I find are not rebuilt, only refurbished a bit, and I have no idea of their quality.

[davidjosepha]

Since there are no responses, I created a poll, maybe that'll result in more involvement. If you need more information to figure out how to vote, please let me know! I just want to get a sanity check.

[lelle]

I think most people don't know the answer. I bought a baby grand with silent function from a cheaper brand for 12000 around 10 years ago. That's cheap as far as new grands go.

Old, refurbished grands are usually much cheaper than a new instrument of the same model. But I don't know what their rebuilding actually entails. It feels like 25k might be reasonable or too much depending on what they do but I have a hard time getting a feeling for it without actually seeing and trying the instruments. Even if it's a Steinway it's 100+ years old at this point.

[davidjosepha]

Makes sense. Maybe it'd help if I provided some context. I don't remember everything that he said is being done on this particular piano, but my understanding is that the piano is essentially being gutted, with original parts restored where possible, and parts replaced entirely where necessary. I believe the piano will have a new soundboard (crafted in house to match the original soundboard), new action (parts all original sizes [and weights in contexts where that matters]), new keyset, refinished / repainted body and plate, new strings, and a whole lot more that I don't remember the details of (not knowing tons about pianos' internals).

Obvious question (or, at least, a question I had): 'Why buy a Steinway if most of the parts are replaced entirely? Is it a Steinway at all at that point?'
My understanding from what the owner said and some of what I've found online is that yes, it's still discernibly a Steinway, distinct from, say, a Bosendorfer that has had a similar rebuild treatment from them. Specifically, they don't just jam parts that 'sort of' work into a Steinway frame, and they don't even jam modern Steinway parts into a 1910s Steinway frame; they painstakingly match parts based on era so that the parts are as close to identical to the original parts used to build the piano as possible.

I'll just say roughly what the cost is -- in the $55-65 range. Maybe I'm getting fleeced (I haven't actually bought the piano yet, but I'm planning to, unless I find a good reason not to), but it doesn't feel like that's the case based on things I've found searching. I'd say that from Google results, it's slightly on the high end for a used B, but there are definitely many for sale in that price range, and many being sold for even higher. ($25k will buy you, it seems, a B suitable for firewood.) I haven't played on any of the internet listings, obviously, so who knows what the quality of those is. But from this same place I'm looking at buying my piano, they show previously sold model Bs in the 40-80k range, and from talking to the owner, it seems there is good reason for the variation.

As for being 100 years old, from everything I've read and heard from previous piano teachers, including my college piano teacher who ran the department and was responsible for picking out all the As and Bs in the practice hall, older Steinways, if well-maintained or refurbished, are preferable to newer ones. Obviously, that's a matter of opinion, but it's telling that many people would prefer a 'golden age' Steinway over anything newer, even if price were no factor.

[stringoverstrung]

Hello,

it is true that in general the Steinway B and C pianos of 100 years old can be good instruments. However EVERYTHING depends on the condition. In my humble opinion many rebuilds make it a lot worse for example dense middle register ( " Too much Sound") or or a boomey Bass (this happens often when the sound board was cracked and repaired ). So these are already 2 things to listen for. Personally the best is that you can maintain the original action But this is for 99 % of these pianos utopia.  You should ask about the history of the piano (where was it sold to whom, was it played a lot and did it pass the majority of its life in a place with stable conditions (humidity etc). As for my self I think they make great pianos for the living room as they are a little less focused on the power and often times have amazing wooden finishes. You should probably not go before 1902 and als not after 1925-1930. Hamburg ones seem to be the best ones but I have never been able to test them next to each other. If you have the reference of the shop/rebuilder I would be interested to know. As for price like I said it depends. 35-60k is possible but personally I would not go beyond 50 or max 60 if you are not sure what you are doing.
80 seems very high but maybe depends of your area (US will be more I think).
Also if you live in a difficult area for pianos (too dry too humid too hot) you should consider requesting more info.
If it is done to the standard 50k is certainly not exaggerated but you should take your time and wait until you "love " an instrument.

If they are presold maybe you should try to check with an owner how much they paid because in this case the seller will sell them easily anyway. However some serious truthful investigation will not hurt and can be fun.

PS: what you will certainly get is a beautiful frame. By the way check out the original lettering of the Hamburg ones (German / Prussian style font).
Kr,
G