~1895 piano free

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  • danimalw

    Ultimate Member
    I have a Strich and Zeidler piano that is in need of a restoration that is free to anyone that's interested in picking it up in Carrol County.

    I believe it is a Grecian Grand that based on the serial number (4082) was made prior to 1900. I found another S&Z s/n 3xxx that was being sold as a 1893.

    The piano came with this house when I bought it and I'll be putting the house on the market soon and am trying to find a home for it. I'm not a musician but I appreciate the woodwork and potential value.
     

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    FrankOceanXray

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 29, 2008
    12,028
    Gorgeous piece. Thank you for offering it this way. I hope it goes to a rightful place for restoration and enjoyment.
     

    DCSCO

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 12, 2008
    1,547
    Frederick County
    Pianos don’t age well. With 3 strings per note to tune, and retune a couple of times if it has not been kept tuned, they are expensive just to see if they will hold a tone. That is what I learned when I tried to give away a Wurlitzer left by previous home owner. It ended up at the dump.

    If it has ivory keys a repair shop may be interested in them.

    Hopefully yours is special enough to garner some interest. I once took the string section off the sound board for a nice display. Kids loved it, but the tension of the wire strings made me nervous enough to get rid of it.

    Had 2 Steinway’s at a workplace once. The workmanship was incredible. Talented People were encouraged to play them to keep them fresh and they were regularly tuned. We put in hvac to keep them in constant conditions.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Restoring would cost more than it would ever be worth. That's true for nearly all piano rehabs if they haven't been maintained.

    I restored my piano, but it's an heirloom. It plays wonderfully now and holds tuning extremely well.
     

    Sundazes

    My brain hurts
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 13, 2006
    21,296
    Arkham
    I had a free piano that cost me $600 to get moved and partially tuned. People don't want them or take them for donations. Yours, however, may be different due to the age. Tuning is expensive and requires multiple tunes to do it right.
    Good luck finding a home for it. I mean that and not in a sarcastic way.
     

    MaxVO2

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    *****That's a nice piano. Lots of people in my area (mostly Asians, quite honestly..) have them in their homes, and there is a pretty big market for tuners and piano servicing here. Dunno what yours is worth, but a school or someone into pianos might want it. Or, make it into a big gun case!

    It's not cheap to tune a piano, or to fix one that isn't played often. The really good brands (Bosendorfer, Bluthner, Fazioli, Stuart and Son, Schimmel, Steinway) can cost as much as a house ($250-$500k or more..), and they have to be stored in a climate controlled environment and require a lot of upkeep. Some have added notes (keys) to play music as it was intended by the composer (Busoni, Martin, Bartok, Wagner, etc..). It's amazing how many piano competitions there are in our area, and how competitive it is to be able to study from several of the really good piano teachers here - they seem to make a *very* good living.

    Hopefully, the piano finds a good home.
     

    budman93

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 1, 2013
    5,267
    Frederick County
    Good luck, most old pianos are less than worthless even if they would be really nice fixed up. Its just too expensive to maintain them. I have seen some like that made into cool desks since they werent worth getting back into playing shape.
     

    Shamr0ck

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 6, 2011
    2,505
    Frederick
    I was able to find a music student at a local community college who was interested in my grandmother/mother's piano when I was renovating her house. I split the cost to move it with him as 1) I could afford to do so and 2) it was important to me that the piano go to a good home and 3) it was less money than it would have taken to have a junk company haul it away.

    there was a piano company in Timonium, near Padonia road which did a fair bit of trade in the used piano market - sorry don't recall the name but they (or similar) may be able to help. Mom's piano was a run of the mill up right so it had very little commercial value.

    I found the community college student via reaching out the association of music teachers within the county. I got that email address from 2 different local music stores. Good Luck!
     

    namrelio

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 14, 2013
    4,372
    Frederick Co. Virginia
    Thanks for the replies. I have no attachment to this piano, but I appreciate the age and character of it. If I can't find a home for it, it will most likely meet a sawzall and the landfill.

    It really is a shame to destroy it. Any chance the new owner of the house may want it? Even if you knocked off a few bucks of the house to not have to deal with it.
     

    Anotherpyr

    Ultimate Member
    As others have mentioned the restoration cost exceeds the value of the piano usually. My wife has a pre 1900 piano and we’ve looked into getting it restored. Turned out we could buy a nicer one already restored for less.
     

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