Page created 23.3.07. Revised 6.11.07

When choosing a piano, by far the most important factor is where the piano was made. In the UK the majority of good pianos to be found, both new and used, were made in Germany, Austria, Japan or England.

The most common top makes found in the UK are:
Steinway
Fazioli (not common yet but increasing in number)

Bosendorfer
Bluthner
Bechstein
Grotrian Steinweg
Yamaha (only their top range pianos)
Knight (uprights only)

This is very generalised of course, and there are many other top makes of used pianos which are less common, such as Kaps, Lipp, Welmar, Sauter, Seiler, etc.

Some makers were excellent for upright pianos but didn't make many grands, such as Knight, Fazer and Rippen.

Used or new pianos? A rough price guide.

The used piano market has always been far larger than new piano sales. This is because a piano from a good factory is built to last for a lifetime and many older pianos have had very little use and are wonderfully made. However, heavy playing will mean that they will need extensive reconditioning. Please see the reconditioning page for more information. Conversely, many cheap modern pianos, including those made by well known makers, show faults or sound brash or lifeless after a few years and are best avoided altogether.

Free or under £1000

We always have a selection of free or very inexpensive pianos that have been given to us or come to us in part exchange. We have to use as parts or throw away some of these as they will never make good pianos, but there are many that are potentially good and we give away as we don't have time to work on them. Please see the stocklist for some examples. These often don't get put on the stocklist so please enquire as well..

£1000 - £2000
There are a large number of used English upright pianos which when reconditioned fall into this price range, such as Rogers, Chappell, Kemble, Fazer, some Welmars and Knights, etc. We don't recommend new pianos at this price.

£2000 - £3000
You'll get top range English upright pianos by Knight , Welmar or Chappell, and also the second hand Japanese Yamaha U1 and U3 uprights made from about 1960 to 1985. Some but not all baby grands by Challen, Chappell and Rogers are worth considering too. We don't recommend new pianos at this price either.

£3000 - £6000
Fine quality reconditioned Bechstein and Bluthner upright pianos fall into this range. New upright pianos also become worth buying. Some Broadwood grands too, though be careful as there are a wide variety of this make.

£6000 - £10,000
Top quality reconditioned uprights from 1895 to 1940 by firms such as Grotrian Steinweg, some Bluthners, Bosendorfer (not common in UK) and Bechsteins. Good quality second hand Japanese Yamahas and some Bechstein and Bluthner grands. There's also a choice of new uprights pianos, though we don't recommend new grands in this price range. There are plenty of fine used ones.

£10,000 - £15,000
Reconditioned grand pianos form 1895 to 1940 by Bluthner, Bechstein, Bosendorfer (not common) and some Steinways. Top quality new uprights and some new grand pianos.

£15,000 - £20,000
Reconditioned Steinway, Bechstein, Bosendorfer and Bluthner grand pianos. Some new grand pianos also worth considering. Top range new uprights by Bechstein, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Grotrian Steinweg and Steinway.

Over £20,000
Modern Steinway and Bosendorfer grands are the most common reconditioned used pianos in this category. Fazioli are excellent but very rare second hand. There is also a wide choice of new grand pianos.


Further information
More detailed advice can be found on other pages in this section. For an extensive list and rating of common used makes available in the UK please see our restoration in detail page.