Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Seeking info & advice on Mathushek Piano

Hello all. I am new to the forum and to the world of pianos. I have some questions regarding a Mathushek baby grand piano that I am hopeful will soon be coming home with me. First, are Mathushek pianos considered a quality instrument? A quick google search revealed that they seem to be considered a respected make. Your opinion? Can the manufacturing date of the piano be determined from its serial number? I am curious how old it is. I am guessing mid-1920s or so based on the selling dealer's decal. The instrument is in original condition and has not been tuned in approximately 6 years or so. Providing the instrument has good bones, how much can I expect a tuning to cost? The finish exhibits alligatoring common to wood furniture subjected to cold/dry and hot/humid seasonal cycles. I don't mind this effect of age, actually...but I wonder what sort of wood lurks beneath the murky darkness. Mahogany? Walnut? I have pictures of the instrument but I have yet to figure out how to post them. Any tips, advice, abuse or critical flagellation is appreciated and welcome. Thank you for your time and your thoughts.

Regards,
Scott

If it helps, here are some pictures...hopefully this helps engender some replies:

Even under the crazed finish, one can see it is some type of ribbon Mahaogany.
If all "original" internally, chances are it needs some degree of restoration.
Most likely it needs more that just tuning.It may not even hold a tune. You should hire a tuner/tech/rebuilder to assess it's present condition. Better yet,scheduele a tuning and take it from there. You could pick his brain as for it's realistic condition.
As you can see,these Mathusek pianos are built like a tank. I've never rebuilt one other than just refinishing though if I recall the replacement action parts are available. Good luck!

Mathushek is a good make. The ones I have come across here have had unusual cabinets.

Just wanted to add get some type of floor protection underneath those wheels before you break the backing of the carpet. There are wooden cups available or the metal ones with carpet on the bottom.
Even plastic ones if you like that sort of thing.

Hi Scott,

I’m by no means an expert and have said things here that I should not have said due to lack of knowledge; but I’ll respond to your thread with some information that I have read in the past.

The Mathushek piano in your photos looks like a good, solid piano. I have no direct experience with the Mathushek pianos, and I have read that they can be nice pianos and good candidates for rebuilding; however, I have also read that some of the action components and designs of the Mathushek pianos were a little different than the conventional designs of the day. In other words, designers of the Mathushek apparently wanted to do things a little differently than most other major piano manufacturers of the day. Not that that is a bad thing, but it may be a little more difficult or a little more expensive to restore, and, or, modify some of the components.

Then again, I may not know what the he** I’m talking about… but at least I bumped your thread up the ladder…

Take care,

Rick

Thank you for your response. The piano does appear to be of quality construction (to my layman's eyes) but also appears to be unmolested and original. I am paying to have it moved to my house and hopefully that will be occurring soon. That is the extent of the cost involved in obtaining this piano. I also plan on having it tuned, perhaps after the holidays. Your suggestion to question the technician tuning it regarding the instrument's overall condition is a good one.

Thank you for your input. I was hoping Mathushek had a decent reputation. FWIW, those pictures show the piano in its current home, not mine. Hopefully it will be coming home with me soon. I have hardwood floors, not carpet. I think, however, that I should probably still get some sort of plastic cups or something to protect them. That is something that had not occurred to me!

Hi, Rickster. Thank you for your response. I am sure you have more knowledge than I do and the fact you have 3000+ posts in such an educated forum is certainly a qualification to speak with some authority on the subject. When I researched the forums for any info on Mathushek, I did see some references to proprietary parts possibly being difficult to find or repair, as you state. Largely thanks to my ignorance, I believe I will take the gamble anyway . The piano will only cost me the price of its removal and transportation to my house, thankfully. Thank you for the "bump".

The first question to ask is, what was the piano like when new? It's a lot more expensive to improve a piano past that point.

The next question is, how different is its current condition from new? If you bought a 90-year-old mechanical device of any kind, especially one made primarily of natural components like wood, leather, and felt, you'd expect to have to do a lot of work to bring it into useful working order. Regardless of wear from usage, organic materials deteriorate significantly over time.

For grands, one starting point for potential quality is the overall size. There's a big difference between grands under about 5'9" or so, and bigger ones, and the difference accelerates as you get smaller. This is because small grands are generally built to be the most inexpensive. This one seems to be a decent size. You measure the largest overall distance, from keyboard to tail, as though you were putting it into a box.

And yes, it's quite possible to look up the age from the serial number. It's usually in the triangular area between bass and treble tuning pins. In 1910, the starting serial number for Mathusek was 51,000; in 1920 it was 66,000.

--Cy--

Cy, thank you for your insight here. For one thing, I am a total newbie to the instrument, so I have no idea what this piano would have sounded like when new. Another poster mentioned questioning a technician about the piano when getting it tuned, which I believe is a good idea. It certainly makes sense that an instrument with as many moving parts as a piano might need service after so many years. I think I might be happy if it sounded quite decent (without knowing exactly how to quantify that "level" of performance) and stayed reasonably in tune. I am certainly not expecting perfection from something so old and "inexpensive", but can decent performance (your definitions thereof) be expected from such an instrument without extensive restoration? Assuming its a solid, tunable piano, of course. One probably cannot make an accurate determination without evaluating the piano in person, I am afraid. I am obtaining the piano for the cost of its transport, so I guess I am taking something of a risk here.

Not knowing any better, I measured the piano top and it was ~5' 3" without taking the keyboard into account. I would say it's about 5'7 to 5'8" in total length. The serial number is 80311. Perhaps it was manufactured later than I initially thought?

Hi Scott,

It sounds to me like you got a really good deal on the piano… free (except for moving cost)!! And, it sounds like you are in for a nice piano adventure; and, most likely, a very nice instrument for the money.

If I had more room or an environmentally controlled out-building, I’d have lots of old pianos to tinker around with! I’m thinking that might be a good hobby as I approach retirement (I already have the white hair ).

The older pianos can have a very nice tone and timber that can’t be matched by some newer instruments without a lot of expense.

Best of luck to you!

Rick

Just keep in mind that a thorough restoration of this piano could easily cost more than a new piano of equivalent quality.

Thanks for the encouragement, Rick. I hope to begin my piano adventures soon! I am sure I'll be posting in the beginner's section soon, too.

Thank you for the advisory. Truly, a thorough restoration of the piano is about the furthest thing from my mind right now. I cannot afford a new piano, so this is about the only way I would be able to obtain a baby grand. I do have some skills refinishing wood furniture, so I am not too worried about its current alligatored finish. I'd just like a decent player that stays in reasonable tune. My eventual goal is to show my daughter the basics of playing piano and see if she takes more of an interest in it.

The serial number dates to about 1933.



There is no guarantee that it plays at all, or even if it can be tuned. Generally, pianos are worth what you pay for them. I wish you the best of luck, but... The size is reassuring, at least.

Learning to play means developing fine motor control in the hands. To do this, you need an instrument that is controllable and consistent from note to note, with the same downforce needed on each key. Playing a piano in bad condition is like learning to drive on a car with play in the steering wheel and bad brakes: exactly the kind of obstacles you don't need as a learner.

Far too often, children give up quickly with an old piano, and parents are then relieved that they didn't invest in a new one. The tragedy is often that the instrument is the barrier to success.

There are many uncertainties here. You'll know much more useful information after you have a technician inspect it. I hope for the best!

--Cy--

Cy, thank you for the information regarding the year of production. It was made a bit later than what I first thought. Each key plays and (again, to my layman's fingers) appears to take approximately the same effort to depress. However, I realize I am taking a gamble here. The moving costs of the piano are $295. I suppose I am hoping that the instrument is worth that amount in its present condition. My fingers are crossed until a technician can take a look at it and give me an honest assessment. Why is the size of the piano reassuring?

The piano supposedly is getting delivered today. I will take more detailed pictures of it once it arrives if anyone is interested.

Thank you, Cy. FWIW, the piano movers canceled yesterday's delivery late in the afternoon and without letting the other folks know beforehand...not too considerate of them, in my opinion. I suppose that the heavy winds and rain that we experienced yesterday may have played some role in their decision. However, they are informing me that perhaps this Friday or this upcoming Tuesday would be good for them. Wish me luck!

Well, the piano was delivered on Tuesday. The movers thought it certainly was a worthwhile endeavor just paying for the move. I will take better pics if anyone is interested. Now, to schedule a tuning and evaluation.

Yes, do post some more pics!