Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Questions about the weight of old pianos(upright and square)

Hi everyone,

I have a general question about the old pianos(1850-1920). I know they are a lot heavier than the modern pianos(if same size)

I want to ask how much weight is old

Steinway K,
Steinway V,
Mason Hamlin (52'' tall)
and other brand upright pianos (48'' 52'' 57'')

How about the weight of square grand piano?

Need helps! Thanks a lot!

most are in the 600 - 1000 pound range.

edit: been having trouble with typing on this site. it went away when I X'd out an ad at the bottom of the page. Hitting the space bar jumped to the bottom of the page, most letters just wouldn't work. Typing this here in case it blows up again.....

I have a 1887 Steinway K 52'' tall, metal plate inside. I am not sure the weight. I guess it could be 800lb

According to the guide, Steinway K is 600-640 lb., varying at different dates. Steinway V is 560 lb.

The Mason & Hamlin was probably about the same, and probably varied. Most old uprights are lighter, in the 400-500 lb. range. Large American square grands are pretty heavy.

Thanks a lot for reply.

Why do you think they are heavier if same size?

Does anyone know if they actually are heavier and, if so, why?

I see for example modern yamaha uprights ~1970 are listed mostly in the 500-600lbs range. With few exceptions that go even less into 400-500lbs range like the B series. So yes, it seems the 1900 pianos are definitely a lot heavier, looks like often up to 1.5-2x than modern ones.

A U3 is 517 lb. according to the website, 502 for the U1. I suspect that there is a fair amount of composite wood in them, which is heavier than what you would find in old pianos.

YouTube video of Fischer vintage piano weighed -- 814 pounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=honsbtbfxao

Thanks a lot！！

It is because they are heavier. I've seen a lot of piano moving. The piano movers would tell me it the piano is heavy than regular upright or not. However, they dont know exact how much those old piano weighs.

Thanks for your idea.

our late 1890s tall american upright has a more massive hardwood cabinet than the JC Fischer in the video, and having played a fischer very similar, the internal iron and steel is at least as heavy. it has to be in the low 800s at least.

thanks !!