Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum What is a fair price for unrestored Model "O" - 1908

Hi all,

First, I'd like to say hello to everyone!
I've been reading this forum for about a month; and it's been a daily 'fix' for me.

I come accross an un-restored 1908 model o. The asking price is 9K. Wonder if it's a good price.

The piano in fair, playable condition

Thankyou all in advance for your advices.

A local rural Minnesota restorer with a great reputation (I think his name is Lidstrom) recently told me that, if your goal is to restore right away, the "value" of the restorable instrument (an O in this case) was about $7 to $8K (plus or minus). That's essentially just the case, possibly a descent soundboard, but everything else gets rebuilt or replaced. If you want to play it for a few years before you restore it, then you can justify spending a "few thousand" more (whatever that means).

That is a good price around here.

1908 "O" is of the most modern scale "O" (internal) with duplex scale bars and curved bass bridge. It is with the vintage style case(double molding on the case,rounded fallboard and ornate music rack. Fair price if the soundboard,keyset,bridges are in salvageable shape. If not, thousands less to account for the eventual restoration cost. Chances are Damper action is history also along with the action stack. All original ?

This was a beautifully built piano 99 years ago, but was designed with restoration in mind. A normally aging Steinway O would need a full restoration by this time, including damper tray and soundboard. This is not an inexpensive endeavor... but is probably worth every dime spent.

As far as value, I personally think this price is high.

I hope this helps,

The piano is indeed playable and it sounds very nice. There's works done on the action parts - hammers and dampers look pretty new. Keys were refinished, only on the playing portion.
The sound board has a long crack on the side but I couldn't tell if it has any effect on the sound.
The cabinet was painted black so the stencil on the lid was gone.

I find that it sounds better than an L (1984) next by. Not sure why...

I wish the price was about 7K :-)

( Now it's hard to come back to the yamaha GA1 - please don't laugh)

Make an offer. Even at 7K I don't think you'll be competing against piano rebuilders all hot to scoop up this bargain. If you want to play it as is then it's worth more to you than to someone who wants only the case and plate.

You are asking about a "core" piano for rebuilding. $9k for an O seems a little high to me.

The work that's been done does make this piano more interesting than is its description on the listing, but this is a busy time for dealers. If $7k is your budget - and you really do want it - you might want to make the offer now, then check back in January.

A pre-purchase inspection by an experienced tech who has no affiliation with the seller is always the best used piano money that you can spend. pianobroker has alread posted specific areas of concern.

Someone else also posted re preferring an O to a larger size. Something about the bass, I think.

andy -- why are you interested in buying the piano? Are you a player? Will you want to resell it? What are you playing now?

If you've been around a while and searched the archives, you'll have learned each piano is somewhat unique and there is a wide variety in the capabilities of rebuilders.

All that means is there is no sure way to predict how this piano will turn out. Once you've paid the $7k or $9k, and add $30k or more for restoration, you'll have trouble recouping your cost if you don't like how it turns out.

Perhaps the going price is $45k ofr a newly rebuilt one and $50k+ for a new one, you'll pay close to $40k. If it turns out to your satisfaction -- or you're not a player anyways -- then you'll perhaps get a good deal.

If it doesn't turn out to your satisfaction, you'll likely take a bath.

Some would rather be sure of what they are getting. Just some thoughts to consider...

I do play but am more an arranger/composer...My wife got an GA1 3 years ago since we didn't have much room. For really want a 'proper' sounding piano, I start looking around.
I'm interested because of the possibility of not spending much after selling the yamaha and stil get a nicer one. I don't really have a budget for it.
I'll check back with them on January.

...They have a 12 years old L for less than 20K ...

Thanks again for your inputs

andy

You are welcome. This site has lots of wisdom and some extremely dedicated (okay some are passionate) folks.

If the O is playable, you've got a good price; if you rebuild with a good rebuilder you've got a good price. If it turns out not to your playing satisfaction or you have to sell for some reason, you may find the low price turned out to also be low value.

If you are just playing for composing purposes, there's less at risk. Assume you use one of the programs for composing. My wife is a professional musician and uses one of them to arrange for her instrument -- they are indeed wonderful although not the real thing.

Happy hunting...

That piano that you are talking about, the model 'O', was traded in on a new Shigeru
SK-5.(awesome playing piano)

The person who traded the piano to us felt the value of his steinway 'O' was far greater because a technician had told him it was worth over twenty thousand. When we got the trade in, we felt it was worth about half of the estimate the tech had given. The tech did a load of action work on the piano for the customer, but the customer was still not satisfied with the piano and then fell in love with the Shigeru. We sold the steinway to another dealer, Past Perfect Piano Co., who has the capacity to rebuild it.

We typically sell used steinway pianos for less than most dealers in the area because we are spoiled. We have Bluthner, Seiler, Shigeru, and Charles Walter in our showroom at all times. We take a lot of steinway trades.

I believe you came to our store and talked with Bozkurt. That Steinway was worth the money and you missed out on this opportunity. Sometimes you have to make a little quicker decision when great bargains come along, sorry you missed out, but check back with us from time to time.

Yep, I know that I have missed this opportunity. Just that I couldn't make the decision by myself.

Big thanks to Bozkurt, who was very nice and helpful.

andy

hey, there's always another piano around the corner. Maybe it was a good deal, but is it really the only one you'll ever come across?

My bet is you'll find something even better with some patience and due diligence.

Keep prowling...

I thought about a pre-rebuild 'O' before, thinking it would save me money. After researching further, I came to the conclusion that it's better to buy them already rebuilt.
The problem is that you'll never know how it will finally sound after a rebuild. You don't even know if this is a good sounding 'O' if you've only seen this one.

My thought at the time was: keep the piano unrestored for a few years and then rebuild a little at a time. But it will never be as efficient as when a restorer takes it apart completely and does everything at one time. It would have probably cost me more if I stuck with this idea.

BTW - A rebuilder would pay less for this piano.

If the "O" is playable and will give reasonable service for the next few years, then 9K is a reasonable price.

Of course, rebuilders may pay less. They established relationships with wholesalers and the market. They do a volume business buying and selling. They earned the slightly lower prices.

One time buyers?

There are rebuilders that consistently produce spectacular results. Typically you will pay more for their experience, talent, artistry and commitment to the result.

You may want to have your rebuilder of choice find and purchase your "O". Given that they will be rebuilding the piano for you, you may get a favorable price on the piano at that point.

I agree that shopping already rebuilt "O"'s may fetch you a piano you like for less. Considering that "Taste" and "Compromise" can be either converging or diverging results at any given moment. You will know what you are getting for the price.

Just to repeat myself, If the "O" is playable and will give reasonable service for the next few years, then 9K is a reasonable price.

The playable and serviceable part being the "value added".

The issue of whether this piano is playable and serviceable is a subjective call.In that I purchased the piano, I will give a detailed assessment to the curious later. As the suspense builds.......

No Suspense.

Yeah,you're right, needs everything,nothing salvageable,figured as much