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This reminds me a LOT of our first piano, a Kimball "Consolette". Like this, it wasn't a spinet, but was just barely one step above it, and had a "compressed action". We got it for free from the last relative alive of the original owner's family. They had had it for decades, the lady that gave it to us said that the original owners had bought it in '48 or '49 the year after they paid their house off. The wife played piano and played that piano for 50 years before she died in the late 90s. then it sat a few years without being tuned or played until their daughter died, and then it sat about 12 years without being tuned as a piece of furniture in their nieces home, and then when the niece was ready to move to the retirement condo and couldn't find a buyer for it she contacted me and offered it to us for free because otherwise she'd have to have it hauled to the dump and she said that having to do that would have really depressed her. She said that if it could come back to our house and be put back against the wall in the living room where it came from that would make her very happy and I'd been wanting to get a piano for the kids but my wife had always been against it because of the cost when "they're way too young and you don't even know if they'd want to play it anyway, PLUS no one in my family has ever had musical talent and its just going to be a big waste off money and get torn up and on and on and on", but she couldn't argue with it when it was free and I was doing all the moving,

Anyway, I rented a trailer and a dolly, went over there and picked it up. Got it home and called a tuner. Tuner came out and spent a couple of hours bringing it back up to A440 and fixing a couple of broken keys. He told me that if I was planning on getting my kids lessons then it would only be good for a couple of years because the action was worn out and it wouldn't make sense dropping a couple grand into a piano that even after the work would only be worth a few hundred bucks.

My wife thought I was crazy, but I got the piano tuned up, found a piano teacher through our neighbors, and put my 5 year old son, (2 months shy of 6), into lessons. He practiced on that piano every day for 2 years, and like the tuner said, eventually the Kimball's limitations became obvious, so when we got our stimulus check, we. upgraded to a 60's Baldwin M and gave the Kimball to a family friend who knows a few chords and wanted it to bang around on. I made sure to let him know, though, that I wanted it back if he moved or no longer wanted it. I don't want it going to the trash either.

Anyway, the piano was free, the trailer/dolly rental was $25, first tuning was $200, had a second done in 6 months for $150, and after that we had it tuned again one year after that for another $150. Altogether, I spent $525 on that Kimball plus the labor of loading/moving/unloading, and it not only got my son through the first 2 years of lessons, but also lives on at my friend's house, so I'd say it was quite the bargain. My son is still in lessons, and doing great! My wife finally came around after she saw our son actually reading sheet music, saw him practicing, sat in on lessons and saw/heard him learning all of this, now instead of her sisters commenting on how I was wasting money on the piano and lessons, they all want to know when my daughter will start lessons because "it's unfair for one child to get piano lessons if the other cant have them too. The piano in this video seems like it might be a similar piano.

Being in central New York, I still work on many East Rochester Aeolian pianos. I believe the George Steck uprights were a different scale than the Chickering / Knabe / Mason & Hamlin scales. While somewhat lacking in the bass, many of the Stecks like the one in the video (which is a console, not a spinet) can be nice sounding pianos for their size.

I took James’ comment to mean, if you wanted to buy a piano made of solid wood and quality casework like his $100 piano you’d have to spend (30,000-40,000 usd).

That may well be true. I imagine all the under $20,000 new pianos are made of particle board, MDF and, at the best, plywood. To get one with just a solid wood soundboard has to be over $10,000. Modern pianos dip their cabinets in an eighth inch of polyester to cover up their “cardboard” (MDF construction.

jakedaniel - nice story!

Agreed 👏🏻

jakedaniel、LOVE your story!!

There's just something special about pianos. :0

Thanks to y’all who liked my story, and agreed completely.

Really a badly needed this morning kinda happy ending story.

Who cares about the piano, that needlepoint bench is fabulous! A hundred bucks for the bench is a steal.

I agree Rick I find James is very entertaining and many people relate to this young man rather than a slick, shrewd piano salesman. His enthusiasm is catchy and I think if he really wanted to , he has the ability to play a whole lot better, if he worked at it.( if he really wanted to).
Do we always need a professional to show us a piano -- no we do not .It's a cute little piano and I love that bench !!! 😊

I once accidentally sold a piano in a music store to strangers !
That was a story I shall tell one day .........I was was a young person and astonished by the whole thing !

James looks much younger here but it says recent performance.(perhaps posted later) Sure there is untidy passages, in the last movement and a need for improvement generally but he has a certain capability.
I would disagree that he is incapable of playing well.
The piano can be improved !


http://cyberspaceandtime.com/i_-bFim9aP0.video+related

In the Presto Agitato the rhythm goes wild, from middle somewhere, he gets quicker but the rhythm is always there such a youthful enthusiastic performance !
We can forgive him ! He is a capable pianist.

Pianoloverus Can we not be a bit kinder to James ?
If these negative things are repeated here on every post in this forum about him all the time, do we not damage his career, his prospects for the future? No one wants that and I am sure you do not as well. Read Rich's post above. He is far kinder and even relates his early experience to him.
We do not know why he does this work , many just like his informal way of showing the different pianos, there is a difference to a sales person doing it.

The trouble is he acts likes or even thinks he is highly knowledgeable and gives quite a bit of false/misleading information.

Yes, we all learn from our own experiences, and sometimes we learn more from our mistakes, than our accomplishments or successes.

Re: Being nice, kind, and respectful to others.

I've also learned that not everyone is going to like us, no matter how likable we may be. Not everyone is going to be kind, no matter how kind we may be toward them. Not everyone is going to show us respect, no matter how much respect we may show them. Not everyone is going to treat us fairly, no matter how fairly we may treat them. It is just life, I suppose.

And, all these things (dislike, unkindness, lack or respect, meanness) seem to be enhanced when it comes to discussing pianos, for some reason.

I always try to see the good in others, but even the best of us can get riled up and upset at others, and tempers can flair, even if we don't have a bad temper. We may not have a bad temper, but we all have a temper or sorts.

Poem for the day...

It has been said, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you
Sometimes that's the way it is, and the saying is true
Other times, not so much, and our emotions can flair
Like a dog with its growl, showing its teeth, and raising its hair
Human we are, indeed, with imperfections galore
Despite our best efforts of lofty ideals and more
Yet, and still, if we could only be kind, and nice
At least on occasion, or perhaps once or twice
We can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, or so I've learned
Especially when we want or need something from someone in return
So let's all get along with each other, as best we can
Whether we are just learning, or even high in demand
Quite often, it doesn't take much to show a little kindness
And if we can show respect to others, it's like curing our blindness
Maybe not blindness of vision, but blindness of heart
And with that I'll close things out, at least it's a start

Rick

This Covid is an equalizer of sorts but we are all feeling the strain of it .It also driving some people crazy or just causing
real problems.
All I am thankful for is I do not need to take a bus .Just yesterday a woman without a mask (masks are mandatory on the bus) spat into the face of a man with a mask on.The man
took the woman pushed her out of the bus onto the pavement
at the next bus stop.( where are we going ,what are we doing?)
There was a terrible picture of the woman falling out of the bus. (the bus was stationary)

There is stress everywhere !

Here it could affect us in many other ways.
No one is perfectly good and we all have our quirks, our sensitivities ,our subjectivity and vulnerabilities. I once used to
always write negatively about a certain brand of piano. Then
a poster (in high regard ) asked me to please stop using the
same negative words when referring to that instrument. I am
pleased to say that I no longer do that. Yet the other day I did it in regard to different instrument. True I was trying to help the OP but I certainly never cared about any person who may actually own such a piano.
Temper and temperament just are .......

A good idea for another poem, Lady Bird!

Temper and Temperament just are…....

Temper and Temperament, two things they are
They are things we all have, whether near or far
They can be traits used for good, or even for bad
They can make us happy or make us sad
Our personalities are forged by their influence for sure
For better or worse, they seem to endure
From an early age they ebb and flow
As we live our lives and mature and grow
Charisma and charm can result from the two
So can bitterness or disdain and trouble too
Like birds of a feather, they linger close
Sticking together in order to make the most
Of who we are or who we wish to be
Or perhaps who we once were or who we used to be
Nevertheless, as time goes on
Temper and Temperament rides right along
One on the right shoulder, and one on the left
Whispering in our ears and putting us to the test
How strong of an influence can they possibly be?
I do not have an answer, but we shall see…
I recorded a song on my Baldwin R yesterday
Fat’s Domino’s “Blueberry Hill”, and I must say
Music can influence Temper and Temperament in a way
It made me smile and it made me feel good
Sometimes I think Temper and Temperament are just misunderstood

Rick

You are becoming a real poet using 3 words to create a
whole poem Rickster.
Temper, Temperament, Mood , I think can all be used to create
music or art. I once read that just in depression there is a huge amount of energy that is often put to good use in creating
art. That is just one mood ,one temperament perhaps., I do not know probably only one type of low mood but of course there are probably others and of course the higher ones.
But then there is personally.......which in a different category.
When I heard about the incident on the bus....really so scary.
How does one go away on the ferry for a few days at Christmas ?

Anyway never mind that , there is something poetic I suppose
about a $100 piano. One can be inspired by that. Sometimes it
is exhausting thinking about all the new piano prices.Perhaps we should all be a bit more spontaneous, and daring.
Mind you , you have the a ability to transform an old piano ,
give her a name ,and perform on that "oldie" on YouTube.
Thank you for your poetry.

You are becoming a real poet using 3 words to create a
whole poem Rickster.
Temper, Temperament, Mood , I think can all be used to create
music or art. I once read that just in depression there is a huge amount of energy that is often put to good use in
creating art. That is just one mood ,one temperament perhaps., I do not know probably only one type of low mood but of course there are probably others and of course the higher ones.
But then there is personally.......which in a different category.
When I heard about the incident on the bus....really so scary.
How does one go away on the ferry for a few days at Christmas ?

Anyway never mind that , there is something poetic I suppose
about a $100 piano. One can be inspired by that. Sometimes it
is exhausting thinking about all the new piano prices.Perhaps we should all be a bit more spontaneous, and daring.
Mind you , you have the ability to transform an old piano ,
give her a name ,and perform on that "oldie" on YouTube.
Thank you for your poetry.

I think we’re all a bit tense and edgy because we’ve been in a very weird quarantine for 7 months and we’re getting bored and cranky. We’re just talking about pianos not religion or politics so let’s all calm down and get back to talking about our favorite subject like the grown ups we really are.