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Below is a list of piano makes of used pianos commonly available in the UK with some top makes that are less common, and their rating once restored. Ratings have been compiled by experienced piano tuners and are based on tone, touch and stability.

Piano ratings: We have taken as our benchmark U1H Yamaha upright and G3E Yamaha grand pianos made from 1970 to 1980, since they are very common. These are given a rating of 65 = good. Ratings assume the pianos to be restored or reconditioned and in good condition. It must be said, however, that there is a world of difference between a piano that has been well restored, tuned and the hammers voiced, from one of the same make and year that has not been carefully worked on.

0 – 40 = unacceptable
40 – 50    = passable
50 – 60    = fair
60 – 70    = good
70 – 80    = excellent
80 – 90    = superb
90 – 100 = dream piano

Estimates for the number of pianos in the UK vary from 2 to 4 million (figures for 2013). We are using the conservative figure of 2 million. Availability figures are currently being revised for each make; so for instance, we estimate that there is about one “Adam” piano for every 5,000 pianos. Therefore there are about 400 Adam pianos in the UK.

Disclaimer: This site is constantly being revised. If you’re in the piano trade and can add or correct any information please let us know.

New pianos made in the Far East (excluding Japan)
Many older names such as Waldstein, Weber, Bentley, Steinmeyer and Steinbach are now used by companies in China, Korea, Malasia, Indonesia, etc. They are the same in name only and usually have nothing to do with the older style pianos. Ratings below are for the European made pianos unless otherwise stated.

List of most common pianos in the UK - key:
Top quality makes are in large type and bold. Other makes that are good and also have some top quality pianos are in bold. Makes in italics also have some models that are particularly good pianos, the bold ones being the better or these. We’ve only drawn attention to the main ones you’re likely to find so as to make your search faster. Please click on a make for more information.

Make	Est.	Made by	Made in	Upr. /Gr.	Est’d no. in UK	Rating	Description
Adam, Gerhard	1828	Adam	Wesel, Germany	U+G	500	60-70	Generally well made pianos
Aeolian	1903	Aeolian	UK, USA, Germany	U+G	1500	50-60	Varied. They made many player pianos
Ajello & Sons	1862	Ajello	Manchester, UK	U	700	50-60	Mostly tall overstrung underdamped mahogany uprights with strong tone
Allison	1837	Allison	London, UK	U+G	15000	50-60	Varied – low to medium quality; some baby grands quite good
Amyl		Coop CWS	London, UK	U	1500	40-50	Honestly made but mostly basic straight strung over-dampers
Archibald – Ramsden			London, UK	U	800	40-50	Usually straight strung over-dampers, but quite well made
Army and Navy			England	U	1500	40-50	Usually straight strung over-dampers, but quite well made
Ascherberg	1865	Ascherberg	Germany	U+G	800	50-60	Mid quality overstrung under-dampers with good tone
Baldwin	1862	Baldwin	Cincinnati, USA	U+G	300	55-68	Varied. Most of the ones imported to the UK were basic models
Barnes W.H.	1828	Barnes	London, UK	U+G	2000	45-55	Nearly all uprights; some 6 octave pianos
Barratt & Robinson	1877	Barratt & Robinson	London, UK	U	15000	50-60	Colsed about 1990. Mostly small mid range uprights 1960-1980
Bechstein	1853	Bechstein	Germany	U+G	30000	60-85	Prolific high quality maker. See specialist Bechstein page
Bell	1864	Bell	Ontario, Canada	U	800	50-60	Generally overstrung. Very varied, poor to medium quality
Bentley	1906	Bentley	London, UK	U	20000	45-60	Very varied, poor to medium quality
Berry	1866	Berry	London, UK	U+G	3000	45-55	From very basic overdampers to medium quality overstrung
Blankenstein		Blankenstein	London & Berlin	U	500		Mostly traditional walnut overstrung
Bluthner	1873	Bluthner	Germany	U+G	20000	70-90	Prolific make of high quality pianos. Please see our Bluthner page
Bord	1840	Bord	France	U	4000	45-52	Mostly small straight strung overdampers c1890-1910
Boyd (of London)		Boyd	London	U+G	20000	35-58	From very basic overdampers to fairly good overstrungs
Bosendorfer	1828	Bosendorfer	Vienna, Austria	U+G	1500	50-95	Austrian pianos of high quality. pre 1900 grands have “Viennese” actions
*Boston*	1991	Kawai/Steinway	Japan	U+G	1000	50-95	Austrian pianos of high quality. pre 1900 grands have “Viennese” actions
Branston		Branston	London	U	200	50	Mostly basic pianos
Brasted		Brasted (pre 1960)	London, later Malaysia	U	4000	50-65	Honest well made British pianos
Brinsmead, John	1836	Kemble	London, UK	U+G	30000	50-70	Very varied prolific English maker
Brinsmead, Stanley	1894	Stanley Brinsmead	London, UK	U	500	40-50	Stanley Brinsmead are usually straight-strung overdamper half iron frame pianos.
*John Broadwood*	1728	Broadwood	London, UK	U+G	40000	40-80	John Broadwood pianos are an inventive British firm with extreme variation in quality and style of upright and grand pianos
Broadwood White			Leipzig, Germany	U	900	45-48	Mostly basic straight strungs
Brock, Bernard	1890	Saul Silkand-Zormich & Cramer	London, UK	U	400	45-48
Brodmann	1812*		China	U+G	200	60-75	*modern Brodmann c2001
Browne, Justin	1870	Browne	London, UK	U	500	40-50	Well made but most pre 1890 overdampers
Challen	1804	Challen	London, UK	U+G	75000	50-68	Can be quite reasonable but vary. The UK’s most common baby grands
Chappell	1811	Chappell, later Kemble	London, UK	U+G	80000	50-70	Varied but generally good. Old ones can be quite basic
Churchill			Bristol, UK	U	1500		Mostly basic straight strung overdamper pianos in a traditional case
Collard and Collard	1760	Collard, later Kemble	London, UK	U+G	35000	40-70	Extremely varied prolific British maker spanning over 200 years
Cramer	1824	Cramer, later Kemble	London, UK	U+G	10000	45-68	Plenty of variety. Many baby grands and post 1900 uprights
Crane		Liverpool, UK		U+G	2000	35-50	Mostly basic uprights
Dale Forty		Dale Forty	UK & China	U+G	7000	35-50	Pre -1950 Dale Forty pianos are basic British pianos
Danemann	1892	Broadwood & Son	London, UK	U+G	20000	44-68	Prolific and varied maker. Please click on name for more details
Duck Son and Pinker	1848	Bristol Piano Co.	Bath, UK	U+G	8000	35-50	Mostly basic straight strung overdamper uprights
Eavestaff	1823	Brasted	London UK & China	U+G	17000	35-68	Mini pianos generally basic. Baby grands fair. Other uprights medium
Eberhardt		Eberhardt	Berlin, Germany	U	500	40-45	Eberhardt Pianos are very basic pianos with half-plate iron frames
Elysian		Morley & Co Ltd	London, UK	U+G		45-60	Name used mainly by Morleys of London. Varied
Erard	1777	Erard	UK & France	U+G		40-68	Very varied; historic inventor
Estonia	1893	Estonia Piano Factory	Tallinn, Republic of Estonia	U+G	200	50-60	The Estonia grand piano produces a reasonable tone.
Eungblut, Rogers	c1920	Kemble	London, UK	U	200		The name Rogers Eungblut was used by Kemble in about 1930
Fazioli	1980	The Fazioli Factory	Sacile, Italy	G		85-95	Fazioli was established in 1981
Fazer	c1960	Hellas	Helsinki, Finland	G	3000	55-68	Modern pianos. Fazer are generally good with rich bass and firm touch
Feurich	1851	Feurich	Germany, China & Austria	U+G	1500	65-75	Old and modern ones well made
Forster, August	1859	Forster	Lobau, Germany	U+G	4000	55-70	Vary varied in quality – passed through “Iron curtain” phase
Fuchs and Mohr	1921	Eisenberger	Eisenberg, Germany	U	4000	40-55	Small modern pianos with mahogany cases dated from about 1965 to 1980
Giles		Giles Pianos Ltd	London, UK	U+G	1000	50	From the same factory as the very common Zender
Godfrey	1885	Godfrey	London, UK	U	7000	35-48	Mostly basic uprights: straight-strung and over-damped
Gors and Kallman	1877	Albert Meyn	Berlin, Germany	U+G	15000	50-70	Older uprights overdampers but good tone. Baby grands generally good
Grand, A	c1880	Fred Manthey	Berlin, Germany	U+G	1000
Grotrian Steinweg	1858	Grotrian Steinweg	Braunschweig, Germany	U+G	6000	60-90	Prolific make of high quality pianos. Uprights 1900 to 1930 outstanding
Haake, Karl	1836		Hannover, Germany	U+G	1000		Unique, warm and interesting tone; mostly 1880 to 1910
Hellas	1901	Hellas Piano co	Helsinki, Finland	U	500	50-60	Hellas are similar to Fazer but action generally not as good
Hickie and Hickie			London, UK	U	15000	35-48	Mostly basic straight strung overdampers 1890 – 1910. later overstrung
Hoffmann	1893	Various	Various	U+G	150	50-75	Name used on both basic British and high quality German pianos
Hoffman & Czerny	1903		Vienna, Austria	U+G			Very high quality baby grand pianos with rich tone and well weighted touch
Hopkinson	1835		London, UK	U+G	20000	45-65	Very common British make. Older ones overdampers
Ibach	1794	Ibach	Germany	U+G	15000	50-80	Older ones overdampers but good. Grands generally fine quality
Kastner		Barratt and Robinson	London, UK	U	400	45-55	Mostly small modern uprights 1960-1970. A few older ones 1890-1930
Kaps	c1890	Ernst Kaps	Dresden, Germany	U+G	2000	55-80	Mainly one style of quality upright piano made from about 1898 to 1930
Kawai	1927	Kawai Pianos	Hamamatsu, Japan	U+G	10000	55-85	Japanese pianos (later ones made elsewhere too) of generally good quality
Kemble	1911	Kemble	UK	U+G	120000	55-78	Varied in quality but best are very good
Kimball	1857	The Kimball Piano co	USA	U+G	3000	55-65	Those in the UK c1960-70 small uprights
Kirkman	1730	Kirkman, Collard	London, UK	U+G	500	30-55	Mostly very old British pianos. Many grands
Knight	1936	Knight	London, UK	U+G	30000	58-80	Respected British maker. Best between about 1960 and 1980
Lindner	c1960	Lindner	Shannon, Eire	U	1000	35-50	Irish pianos with revolutionary plastic action for which no spares are readily available
Lipp, Richard	1831	Lipp, later Bentley	Stuttgart, Germany	U+G	6000	55-90	Lipp pianos made with great integrity. Rich warm tone. Baby and boudoir grands generally excellent
Marshall and Rose	1907	Whelpdate, Maxwell & Codd	London, UK		400	50-65	British pianos of medium quality
Mason & Hamlin	1854	Mason & Hamlin	Massachusetts, USA		100
Mickleburgh			Bristol, England		2500
Minstrelle	1877	Barratt and Robinson	England	U	300	40-50	Small pianos made by Barratt and Robinson
Monington and Weston	1858	Monington and Weston	London, UK	U+G	18000	50-65	Many low quality baby grands made with “simplex” actions. Uprights can be very good
Moore and Moore	1838	Kemble	Stoke Newington, UK	U+G	1500	50-58	Fair quality British pianos
Morley, Robert	1881	Morley	Lewisham, London	U+G	60000	50-55	Fair quality British pianos
Murdoch	1862	Spencer & Murdoch	London, UK	U+G	2000	35-55	Common basic British pianos
Neumeyer	1905		Berlin, Germany	U+G	20000	50-65	Mid-range German pianos. Best ones have rich warm tone
Niemeyer	c1890	Niemeyer + Dongbei China	Korea & Germany	U+G		45-55	Old ones low to mid range German pianos
Neindorf	c1900	Germany	Luckenwald, Germany	U+G	2000		Mostly mid range pianos 1910-1930
Nordiska	1985	Nordiska, later DongBei	Sweden, later China	U	1000		Mostly 1985-1990 small uprights
Papps	c1900		Portsmouth, England		20000	35-50	Mostly basic uprights. Portsmouth firm with specially designed metal wrest plank for environments with varying humidity
Pearl River	1955	Guangzhou Piano Factory	Guangzhou, China		2000
Petrof	1864	Petrof	Hradec Kralove, Czechoslovakia	U+G	200	50-80	Wide range of quality in uprights. Some early baby grands are outstanding
Pfeiffer	1862	Pfeiffer	Germany		100		Mostly pre 1900 in UK. Not yet rated
Pleyel	1807	Pleyel	Paris, France		20000	45-68	Much varietly in quality from this French maker
Reid Sohn	1859	Samick factory	Paris, France	U+G	8000	45-60	Large Korean factory
Reisbach	c1920	Rogers	London, UK		800	50-65	Fair quality British pianos made by Rogers with influence from Grotrian Steinweg
Ritmüller	1795	Ritmuller, later Pearl River	Germany, later China		1500	55-70	Old ones mostly tall traditional
Rogers, George	1843	Rogers	London, UK	U+G	16000	55-70	Good factory with long history. Older ones may not be worth reconditioning
Ronisch	1845	Pfeiffer, later Bluthner	Dresden, Germany	U+G	1000	45-75	Older ones very well made. Modern ones more varied
George Russell	1842	R&R	London, UK	U	2000	50-55	Mostly basic straight-strung overdamped pianos, well made with a good tone
Russel (and Russell)		Russell and Russell	London	U	1000	45-58	Honestly made cheaper uprights mainly from early 1900s
Russell, George	1842	Russell	London, UK	U		50-55	Mostly basic straight-strung overdamped pianos with a sweet tone
Sames		F.Mills & Co	Scotland	U+G	900	50-55	Mostly overstrung uprights
Samick	1989	Samick	Korea/ Indonesia	U+G	10000	45-60	Large Korean factory
Sauter	1819	C. Sauter & Co	Spaichingen, Germany	U+G	500	58-78	Well made German uprights and grands
Schiedmayer	1809	J.and P.Scheidmayer	Neckarstrasse, Germany	U+G	10000	58-78	Well made German uprights and grands
Schimmell	1885	W. Schimmell	Neuschonefeld, Germany	U+G	4000	55-68	Mid-range German uprights and grands
Seiler	1849	Eduard Seiler	Liegnitz, Germany	U+G	8000	58-78	Well made German uprights and grands
Spencer	1883	John Spencer & Co	London UK	U	10000	45-62	Common British maker from about 1900 to 1940. Modern ones from different factories
Squire (and Longson)	c1910	Squire, later Kemble	London UK	U+G	10000	50-60	Mid range British pianos
Steck	1857	Aeolian Weber & Pianola Co	Cassel, Germany	U+G	5000	55-70	Uprights have warm tone; baby grands vary in quality
Steinberg	1908	Steinberg & Co	Berlin, Germany	U+G	2000	60-75	Mostly well made modern pianos
Steingraeber & Sohne	1852	Eduard Steingraeber	Bayreuth, Germany	U+G	less than 100	70-90	Mostly grands, see own page.
Steinway	1853	Steinway & Sons	Mainly New York and Hamburg	U+G	65000	60-95	Mostly German Steinways found in the UK
Ströhmenger	1835	Chappell	London UK	U+G	5000	50-65	Good quality British pianos
Stuart & Sons	c1990	Stuart Piano Co	Australia	G	3	75-90	Hand made top quality grands
Waddington	1838	Waddington	London UK	U	2000	45-55	Basic British piano, can have a reasonable tone. Grands basic
Waldemar		Waldemar		U	600	45-55	Mostly traditional walnut upright overstrung with warm tone
Waldstein		Waldstein	Various		11000	45-58	Name used by British, German and Chinese pianos at various times. Modern Chinese Waldsteins are nothing to do with the older pianos
Weber	c1860	Weber	USA, UK, Korea, China		6000	46-68	Older ones well made. Modern ones made in the Far East
Welmar	1925	Welmar	London England	U+G	25000	55-75	Good quality British pianos. Older uprights varied. Baby grands copy of Bluthner. Please see our makes list for more details
Wendl & Lung	c1920	Wendl Lung	Austria	U+G	500	60-75	Mostly modern pianos c2001 to 2011
Windover		Smith	Manchester & London, UK	U+G	1000	45-60	Mostly traditional uprights in mahogany
Witton and Witton	1838	Witton and Witton	London, UK	U+G	800	45-55	Basic British piano. Grands not well made
Yamaha	1887	Yamaha	Japan	U+G	50000	48-90	Most prolific maker in the world. Huge range in quality
Young Chang	1956	Young Chang	Seoul Korea	U+G	8000	45-60	Large Korean factory; see onw page.
Zender	1892	Zender	London, UK	U+G	40000	48-60	Always very small pianos; Over 70,000 made in the UK, mostly 60s to 80s
Zimmerman	1884	Zimmerman	Germany	U+G	2000	45-70	Mostly modern baby grands and uprights of low to medium quality