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Hi,
I came across a 1983 (+-2) Bösendorfer 120 Studio which I kind of like. It´s from a dealer but still: Is there anything I should be specifically aware of with this model or a piano of this age in general with regards to wear and tear?
Thanks,
Markus
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It's a 40 year old piano so all the usual things apply.
Get a technician to check it out, check out the hammer wear, the condition of the action, the condition of the strings, bridges, soundboard, pin block, all of it.
This could be a beautiful piano but you'll need a professional to check it out before parting with your cash, or at least a nice warranty to go with it.
YAMAHA Artist
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It's a 40 year old piano so all the usual things apply.
Get a technician to check it out, check out the hammer wear, the condition of the action, the condition of the strings, bridges, soundboard, pin block, all of it.
This could be a beautiful piano but you'll need a professional to check it out before parting with your cash, or at least a nice warranty to go with it. It comes with 3 years warranty and tuning and voicing in my home after 8 weeks. So I will ask him what _could_ be done to improve it now. Guy seems honest and very very competent though.
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It's a 40 year old piano so all the usual things apply.
Get a technician to check it out, check out the hammer wear, the condition of the action, the condition of the strings, bridges, soundboard, pin block, all of it.
This could be a beautiful piano but you'll need a professional to check it out before parting with your cash, or at least a nice warranty to go with it. It comes with 3 years warranty and tuning and voicing in my home after 8 weeks. So I will ask him what _could_ be done to improve it now. Guy seems honest and very very competent though. I think that what JF is suggesting is that you have an independent professional check it out, that is, one who is not associated with nor working for the dealer. Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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It's a 40 year old piano so all the usual things apply.
Get a technician to check it out, check out the hammer wear, the condition of the action, the condition of the strings, bridges, soundboard, pin block, all of it.
This could be a beautiful piano but you'll need a professional to check it out before parting with your cash, or at least a nice warranty to go with it. It comes with 3 years warranty and tuning and voicing in my home after 8 weeks. So I will ask him what _could_ be done to improve it now. Guy seems honest and very very competent though. I think that what JF is suggesting is that you have an independent professional check it out, that is, one who is not associated with nor working for the dealer. Regards, Mh, don´t see how that would work though... I don´t even know one.
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It's a 40 year old piano so all the usual things apply.
Get a technician to check it out, check out the hammer wear, the condition of the action, the condition of the strings, bridges, soundboard, pin block, all of it.
This could be a beautiful piano but you'll need a professional to check it out before parting with your cash, or at least a nice warranty to go with it. It comes with 3 years warranty and tuning and voicing in my home after 8 weeks. So I will ask him what _could_ be done to improve it now. Guy seems honest and very very competent though. I think that what JF is suggesting is that you have an independent professional check it out, that is, one who is not associated with nor working for the dealer. Regards, Mh, don´t see how that would work though... I don´t even know one. We all think an independent inspection is warranted You can disclose your location and maybe someone can advise You can also use the search by zip code function at PTG.org
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I mean, if there's a full three year warranty that's promising? There *could* be things wrong with the piano but I suspect a dealer offering a full three year warranty if they hadn't inspected the piano themselves first.
That said, when parting with a load of cash, it's nice to know the condition of the piano. Bösendorfers from that period range from the absolutely wonderful to the slightly rickety, but that's not anything special about the 1980s build quality and more to do with how old the pianos now are. I suspect the piano will be OK but the advice on this forum is always have it checked.
YAMAHA Artist
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And dealers are okay with that? I will check if there is something similar to the PTG in Switzerland. I will need to think about this - the piano is around 13k and a I suspect a tuner in Switzerland will charge at least 300-400 CHF just to take look.
Joseph Fleetwood - thanks. I will also ask what kind of rework they´ve done to the piano.
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And dealers are okay with that? I think that they should be... I will need to think about this - the piano is around 13k and a I suspect a tuner in Switzerland will charge at least 300-400 CHF just to take look. CHF 300.00 seem very high for an assessment. I once asked for such a check. One asked some CHF 50.00 for an oral assessment, or some CHF 100.00 for a written report (cannot remember the exact fee required). Another one said that it is free, but charges per distance from his workshop to the place of the piano. Good luck with your piano search.
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13k CHF, yes (pretty much the same in USD) Maybe I´m paranoid about Swiss prices Will ask the guy if it´s okay and then find someone to check. It might also be possible to just rent the piano.
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Hi Keybender,
As others have said, it is impossible to give sound advice without knowing more. The 13k CHF could be a great price (if the piano had enough work performed and played as a new one might) or it could be nothing exciting.
IMHO, any dealer that is not ok with an independent assessment of their pianos is not someone I would do business with.
Good luck!
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Hi, I didn't expect sound, in depth advice on this particular piano - I probably haven't stressed that enough. I was just wondering if there is anything specific to this model year or model, such as "oh, this is the model where the strings break all the time if you look at them funny" or "yeah, those 1980 bösendorfers really had a fatal flaw in their design...". Which doesn't seem to be the case (or nobody knows...). But since you're all in favor of the idea of having it independently examined this is something I will take into consideration. So I "just" need to find a trustworthy independent piano technician in zurich...
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Oh, you are in Zurich! What a beautiful town!
A few years back I spent time with the guys from Musik Hug, Zurich at the Grotrian Steinweg factory in Braunschweig. I made it a point to visit them later in my trip and I spent some time in the town as well. Curious - is this piano there?
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Almost - I live near Basel (which is OF COURSE much more beautiful and everyone from zürich is an arrogant snob anyway ). I haven't been to the Hug store in Zurich but I tried a Grotrian at the Hug store in Basel but it wasn´t quite the sound I was looking for... but maybe I should also stop by them when I´m there anyway. Piano is at another dealer in Zurich
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Almost - I live near Basel (which is OF COURSE much more beautiful and everyone from zürich is an arrogant snob anyway ). No kidding. Do you speak Swiss?
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Hi,
I have a bosendorfer from 1980. It’s great! No design flaw. Mine comes with 3 pedals, full ivory keys, the fallboard lettering is smaller than current model though (not as big and flashy) and the fallboard doesn’t have a soft close. Which is ok because I keep them open all the time anyway.
As someone already mentioned it it’s nothing to do with 1980 batch but more to do how well the piano is maintained during that 40 years.
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Almost - I live near Basel (which is OF COURSE much more beautiful and everyone from zürich is an arrogant snob anyway ). No kidding. Do you speak Swiss? My dad does, I grew up in Germany so unfortunately I don't. I understand it well and my dad spoke Swiss german with his mom obviously. But that wasn't enough for me to pick it up I've worked, studied and finally moved to Basel since 2009, so I really came to love the area.
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Hi,
I have a bosendorfer from 1980. It’s great! No design flaw. Mine comes with 3 pedals, full ivory keys, the fallboard lettering is smaller than current model though (not as big and flashy) and the fallboard doesn’t have a soft close. Which is ok because I keep them open all the time anyway.
As someone already mentioned it it’s nothing to do with 1980 batch but more to do how well the piano is maintained during that 40 years. I played another (new) 120 today and I find that it tends to build a lot of resonance (more so than other pianos) when you press the pedal - it was the same with the 120 Studio. Is that a Bösendorfer thing? Or is it also because of the suboptimal placenebt at the dealer? How big is the room you keep it in? I am a bit worried it might be too loud for my relatively small living room (a tad more than 3x5m).
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