Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum help! info on starr baby grand

ok, my kid is getting better and his teacher says his current practice piano (wurlitzer spinet)needs to GO. Problem is i can't afford anything too expensive. So i located a used STARR baby grand, 4'11", circa 1936, serial # 233746. Owner says it has been refurbished and refinished, soundboard in excellent condition and piano holds tune well, tuned and checked by professional technician. It LOOKS great, but can anyone tell me if these are descent pianos? He is asking $1000, which is affordable, but I don't want to have to turn around and pay a bunch of $$$ getting it to work right. I plan to have it checked out before buying, unless I getr info from you guys that it is a piece of junk and i'm wasting my time. THANKS

It is pretty hard to find a Grand Piano for a grand !!!. The story sounds good but needs to be checked out- when was the work done ? when was the last tuning done ? Hire your own tech to make the inspection and get a full report with attention to the condition of the pinblock, strings and hammers. You will have to pay several hundred to have it moved properly so you want to make sure it does not need major work, pitch raises or expensive regulation and part replacement. Starr Piano is one of the old companies and began back in the 1880's by two brothers who bought Chase Piano. I have worked on 2 big Starr uprights one from 1886 and the other from 1904. Very rugged and well built. The piano you are considering is close to 70 years old so it will have some issues. Keep in mind that refurbished and refinished is NOT the same as Rebuilt . There may be major hammer wear, regulation issues and pinblock issues so get a good piano physical done.

I agree with JIMBOB !
Hire your own tech.

The uprights I have worked upon were nice. The 2 grands I worked on were nothing short of average. Careful with your moneys.