Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Selling my Knabe and buying an upright

Friends, I have sold my beautiful vintage and rebuilt 5'2" Knabe grand. I'm in the process of looking for a decent upright. I have a limited budget. In the Nashville area there are many sub $1,000 price range, many of them less than $100, but most of them are pretty junky. My budget is about $1,000. I love the sound of the big old uprights but so many of them have dead, thunky bass strings and a miriade of action problems. The smaller consoles don't seem to have the sound I want. I've played a Charles Walter that didn't do it for me and the action was extremely light, too light for me. I'm not sure if I'm asking a question, but I would value anyone's thoughts that might have something to contribute. My wife wants a beautiful cabinet too.

I'm assuming you've seen this.....

https://nashville.craigslist.org/msg/d/franklin-baldwin-studio-upright-piano/7234349809.html

That is a very nice looking Baldwin 243 studio upright. I have owned one, from the mid 1980s, and have to say that I enjoyed it while I had it. I liked the tone and the keytouch, and it held a tuning like a rock.

It does, however, sound like the seller is a piano dealer in the CL ad. But for the piano, moving and tuning included in the price (and the bench, which should be a given, but an added sales pitch at least) sounds like a good price.

Pianolance, I have my grand pianos in my music room, and my older Kawai K48A upright in my living room, and I play the upright almost as much as much as I play the grands, as a general rule. I do like the grands better, but I like my upright too. The keytouch is the biggest difference I notice, and that gives the grands an advantage/preference.

You'd be hard pressed to do better than the Baldwin 243, including delivery and tuning (and the bench ) for $1000 (if it is indeed in good condition).

But with your piano knowledge and experience, you may well do better.

Good luck, my friend!

Rick

I have seen that piano ad. My wife calls that a "plain Jane" piano, lol. I'm looking into this piano as well as others.

In my view, most any newer upright is going to be a "Plain Jane" looking upright piano, for the most part, in terms of cabinetry and finish.

In order to get away from that "Plain Jane" look, you will likely be looking at an ornate older upright, which as you mentioned, may need work.

I have seen some newer upright pianos with ornate looking cabinets, but they still may be made of "Plain Jane" materials, likely in China.

Even the higher-end uprights from the well-known makers (Steinway, M&H, Yamaha, Kawai, and others) would have the less ornate, European style cabinet compared to the older uprights from yesteryear.

It would be nice if you could find an older upright from a fine maker, that had been rebuilt and refinished in recent years for a good price. But I would imagine those would be few and far inbetween.

Here is a pic of a newer Steigerman XUY-22 studio upright with a rather nice looking cabinet that I saved, back when I was shopping around:


Here is a new, no-name upright sold by A440 pianos in Atlanta. He's been selling these for a while. The cabinet does look nice, but not sure about the quality of the piano; at least it is new.

Good luck!

Rick

If you want something "less plain" for around $1K, see if you can find one of these.....

Everett "Chapel" Studio Upright

https://www.piano4u.com/piano/Detail/1076

The one I bought in Kansas City in 1976 is still in the family. Built like a tank - still sounds and plays great. Was designed for churches - in fact that's where I first saw one.

That Everett "Chapel" Studio Upright is a nice looking piano, Carey. The cabinetry is definitely a little more ornate, and different from the norm.

Also, judging from the pics, the wider cheek-block on the left of the keyboard than the right indicates longer bass strings, at more of a slant, and I'll be it sounds great to be a studio upright.

Rick

Update, I ended up buying a Kawai UST7. I'm very happy with it. It plays very well and sounds great for an upright. Thanks for your insights.

Congratulations!!! Did you buy from a dealer or private seller?

I got it from a piano mover. He had it there in his little shop
I went and played it and asked myself if I could live with it for the next 20 years. My answer was, happily. It has a very nice tight action, great touch weight, and even sounds nice. It's not the equal of my Knabe but pretty darn good anyway.

Congratulations on the Kawai UST7, Pianolance! A good choice indeed. I once owned an older Kawai UST6, and thought it was a very nice studio upright. The action felt nice, not too heavy like some of the older Kawai grands, and the tone was nice. It held a tuning well.

Perhaps not quite as ornate as your wife would have liked, but a very nice vertical piano still.

Happy Holidays!

Rick

Apparently the UST7 was one of the best, if not the best institutional studio upright ever produced by Kawai. You are very fortunate to have found it.

Wow, reminds me of a PW contributor (from the Vancouver area?) years ago who visually and musically restored really beautiful art case verticals, he posted even more ornate samples of his work in this forum. Wouldn't be $1K or even $10K, though.

Hey Ricksrer, my wife already has a long scarf over the piano and has set up our Christmas Village on top of it. She does like the waterfall lid as opposed to a slab board on the top.

Sounds like she dressed it up nicely, Pianolance!

Rick