Makes of particular interest include: Bechstein, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Brasted, Brinsmead, Broadwood, Challen, Chappell, Collard, Cramer, Kaps, Fazer, Fazioli, Feurich, Grotrian Steinweg, Hopkinson, Ibach, Kawai, Kemble, Knight, Lipp, Petrof, Reisbach, Rippen, Ritmuller, Rogers, Sauter, Schiedmayer, Seiler, Schimmel, Steck, Steinway, Welmar, Yamaha and Zender. Of these makes, Steinway, Bechstein, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Fazioli, Knight, Lipp and Yamaha are the ones we would be most likely to buy. Please see our restoration page for ratings of all common makes of piano.
If you are short of time, just e-mail me with brief information about your piano to
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or phone 01865 240634
If you have time, please send us an email with the following information:
Is it an upright or a grand:
Make of piano, height of upright or length of grand: (measured from the front of thekeys to the back of the piano)
Serial number if available:
How much use has the piano had, if known:
Is the casework in original condition as far as you know:
Brief comments on the condition of the piano in general:
Please e-mail this information to:
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or phone 01865 240634.
At this stage,you don't need to send any photographs, though they would be useful to assess more accurately how much your piano is worth.
If you take photos, please could you supply the following:
1 The piano taken from the front slightly to one side
2 Close-up of the keys and name
3 Close-up of the front with the lid closed
4 The serial number of the piano on the frame or elsewhere if you can find it.
5 About 10 hammers in the mid treble taken from above showing the indentation in the end of them.
6 The strings and tuning pins taken towards from the middle, showing especially where the strings are wound onto the tuning pins.
7 The soundboard behind or under the strings
8 Any obvious defects
Please try to fit as many photos as possible into one email.
The table below gives thebest ones available in the UK, placed in order of the most common good pianosavailable. I’ve listed the ones tuners and performers regardasthe best, irrespective of age, but taking into account tone, touch andappearance. Prices are aguide only. There are of course hundreds of upright pianos and we haveonly listed the most common and some of the best. For a fuller list of common makes available in the UK, please see our restoration page If you are interestedin purchasing or selling a make not listed, please
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with details.For Yamahas, see the menu on the left.
| MAKE |
MODEL |
HEIGHT |
YEAR |
UN-RESTORED |
RESTORED |
Bechstein All models 122-145cm 1885-1929 £500-£2000 £4000-£7000
There is much variety in Bechsteins available, so it’s hard to generalize on price. We deal mostly in models 10, 9 and 8. Model V (5) is also very common and often has attractive inlay, but models I to V suffer a lot from loose tuning pins and so need repining and often a new pin-block. Model 7 is excellent but rare. Model 6 is rarer still but in superb in every way. |
Bechstein 10 126cm 1902-1929 £500-£1000 £2500-£4500 Usually black, rosewood or mahogany. Beautiful warm rich tone. NB bass not very deep tone as strings are short.
|
| Bechstein 9 122cm 1902- 1929 £700-£1500 £2900-£5000 Usually black, rosewood or mahogany. Rich tone. |
| Bechstein 8 129cm 1902- 1929 £700-1500 £3000-£5000 Usually black, rosewood or mahogany. Rich tone. Action difficult to set up. Good all round piano with more “serious” tone than models 9 and 10 |
| Kaps One model 130cm 1898-1915 £200-£600 £2000-£3900 Well made pianos, often decorative Art Nouveau and Art Deco with strong rich tone. Can vary in quality. |
| Other less common good makes include Blüthner (older ones are usually over-dampers), Steinway, Förster (old ones good), Bösendorfer (Austrian, excellent but rare), Feurich, Gors & Kallman (varied), Grotrian Steinweg (excellent), Ibach (older ones common but over-dampers), Schimmell and Zimmermann (not recommended until 1995 when merged with Bechstein). Modern Bechsteins, Steinways, etc are not listed above because they rarely appear on the second-hand market. |
– in order ofmost common good ones followed by less common ones available:
| MAKE |
MODEL |
HEIGHT |
YEAR |
UN-RESTORED |
RESTORED |
| Knight |
K10 |
112cm |
1963-1988 |
£600-£1000 |
£1500-£2800 |
| Knight |
K20 |
110cm |
1963-1988 |
£600-£1000 |
£1500-£2800 |
| Modern style. Usually mahogany, sometimes walnut or teak. Teachers' favorite, made with great integrity. Full singing tone for modern piano. Older knights from 1950 to 1960 smaller and more varied. Post 1989 pianos are not made in the original way and are inferior. |
| Welmar |
Modern style |
104 – 108cm |
1965 - 1985 |
£300-£1000 |
£1500-£3,000 |
| Consistent good quality, rich mellow tone and fine touch. The 30s ones are taller pianos influenced by Blüthner (Welmar were the importers of Blüthner) and of similar quality. |
– in order of most common good ones followed by less common ones available:
| MAKE |
MODEL |
HEIGHT |
YEAR |
UN-RESTORED |
RESTORED |
| Welmar |
30s style |
130cm |
1928 - 1940 |
£300-£1000 |
£1500-£3,000 |
| Fine quality with rich tone and smooth touch. In collaboration with Blüthner, for whom they were the agents. |
Please see the restoration page.
Grand pianos
For information on grand pianos, please see the grand pianos or restoration pages
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