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Hi
I have a wing and son improved grand scale 1926. Serial number A 49769. Can anyone tell me anything about it. I am moving and wish to sell it. Not sure what it is worth. It is in good condition externally but needs some hammer work and tuning. Never got around to it and have had it for 4 years. Time to let someone who will fix it give it a home.

I'm assuming this is an upright, in spite of the "grand scale" thing from inside on the plate. How many pedals does it have?

Larry
Yes upright and it has 3 pedals.

Wing & Sons made some very interesting pianos. Usually the cases on them are quite ornate or detailed. The insides were very well made as well. It is one of the few old uprights that I consider to possibly be worth rebuilding. Doing so will *still* be a financially unsound move, because even an old Wing & Son isn't going to bring you a return equal to cost of restoration. But the piano that results, if done well, can be quite satisfying.

My advice - find a *quality* rebuilder. Do not look for the guy with the cheapest price - look for the guy with the reputation for quality - and have him evaluate the condition of the piano to see if the piano is worth saving. Bear in mind - there are plenty of "rebuilders" out there who will point to *anything* and tell you it is worth rebuilding if they think they can make a buck off you. Look for the guy who doesn't want the work because he's too busy.

I recently restored one for a lady who in spite of my repeated attempts to talk her out of it. The job cost her 12K. She is happy as a clam. The piano is nowhere near worth that kind of money. But to her, it was a bargain. If I had cut corners though, it wouldn't have been worth it at all.

I am not looking to restore the wing and son I just wish to sell it before I have to move it again. I just bought a house and will be moving in MId June. I was just wondering what might be a fair asking price for it.

As it is, maybe 100-200 bucks.

An old piano is only worth anything if it plays right, and if it doesn't need a whole lot of work before it'll play right.

What do you mean by "needs some hammer and tuning work"? What does it sound like? What does it play like (the action, etc.)? What was its tuning history--how often has it been tuned over the years? Does it have trouble staying in tune? Are there weird clicking or buzzing noises coming from the inside? Are there stuck keys, or silent keys? How long since it was last tuned? What was its history? Has it been well-maintained over the years, or has it just been sitting in the same living room, untuned, since 1926? Has it ever been stored in a damp basement, or in a hot stuffy attic, or, heaven help us, a garage?

All these questions have to be answered before you can get a realistic appraisal of how much it's worth.

Generally speaking, Larry is probably in the ballpark, if this piano isn't in *that* good a shape. If it'll need a lot of work before it'll play right, then yeah, you're not looking at a whole lot of money from selling it.

If you really want to make sure that it gets a good home, and that you get a fair market value for it, you should definitely get a piano tech to come look at it and give you a serious appraisal of what kind of shape it's in and how much you can expect to get for it.

Thanks for the advise guys I really appreciate it but unfortunately, I have very limited time in which to accomplish my goal. As for condition it has several stuck keys and it is has not been tuned since I have had it which is 4 years. Since I have no expertise what so ever in this matter I can't even begin to guess what it is worth. Again I just need to get rid of it so I am not forced to move it 2 times. The house I am moving into just will not accomodate it. I guess I just need to find someone who would want it cheap.

BTW, Pierce Piano Atlas places your piano's manufacture date at 1922. She's even more ancient than you thought.

Have mercy on somebody, and list it in the classifieds as, "FREE PIANO."

Whoever gets it will probably have to pay more than it's worth just to move it out of your place.

-Jimbo