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Hi all!

I am new to the piano world. This past weekend I purchased a Ricca and son upright piano. It was built in 1925. I am not finding anything on this in the internet. Any information on the value?? I wanted to see if I got a good deal. Thanks.

Please forgive me if this sounds flip:

Did you get it for free? Even then, it may not be a good deal.

Pianos have a lifetime roughly equivalent to a human. So you can see that if your piano hasn't gone through any "transplants" of parts over the years, it's a pretty good guess that it is on its last legs. As for all old upright pianos, it really doesn't matter what the name is (except for maybe Steinway and less than a handful of others) because what it was in its heyday is not what it is today.

If, however, the piano was well maintained over the years and kept in a stable (humidity-wise) environment and had parts replaced as needed, you might have a workable practice piano. The action, or feel of the piano as you play it, will not likely rival what is available today from new pianos. But, old uprights tend to be much taller than today's counterparts and thus are able to have a much deeper bass sound. They also can have beautiful case work in woods not found today. Most pianos of this age --in good working order -- go from somewhere between free and maybe $800-$1,000.

Only a piano technician (one can be found by going to ptg.org) can tell you for sure how good a piano you have.

penny

Another suggestion is check with your local firewood store, how much is the current price for a pound of firewood.

hi tberti!
please feel free to ignore iyi's posts... We Have!!

oh, & welcome to the forum!

Brad

Sorry, to the new poster but that was a VERY nasty post made by someone with questionable credentials, who is does NOT have a reputation of being courteous to new (or anyone else for that matter) posters on this forum.

Advice? Ignore it. Yes. He or she is an it.

Consider them a non-person.

Editing to note that my reference was to "iyi's" post.

And just think how dangerous it would be to chop up a piano, which is under a lot of tension!!!!!

penny

Posted by the artist:
How do you ignore a post you just read and commented about it?
Relax use your sense of humor, don’t take everything as full gospel.

And don't make uncalled for comments that can make people sad or upset about what they own. You can be witty, sure, but pick the right moment. I'm sure that tberti was quite hurt when he read that.

Be polite, especially to those who are new.

Tberti, welcome to the forums! Not all people are like ivi, so just (as has been said) try to ignore their comments.

As for the piano, I'm not very familiar with it. However, how much (you don't have to answer if you find this to be too much of an intrusive question) did you pay for it? I'm sure it's a good piano. And as long as you're happy with it, you should be very pleased!

Welcome to the forums!

Regards,

tberti,Ricca&Son were made in New York.The verticals were very well made and were known for their strong bass and singing treble.I've seen some rebuilds that were very nice.Don't sink a lot of money into it if it is really worn and has not been maintained.

We need our "defender of the landfill piano" to weigh in. In his absence, though, I'll say this:

This piano may be OK. If all the pedals work, and nothing more than a sticky key presents itself, the next step is to call your tech, and have him check it out, and tune it.

If he gives it a clean bill of health, or it only may need a minor repair or two, you're ahead of the game, providing you didn't sink a lot of money in it.

Around here, if everthing's working, the cabinet is OK, and the piano is basically sound, I'd say about 800 to 1K.

Enjoy!

Hi all!

Thank you for all of your entertaining comments! I paid $125 for this piano. It was for a school fundraiser, so at a minimum, it went to a good cause right?

The wood looks like a mahagoney veneer.(can't spell, sorry)

I have never played the piano, and I wanted something cheap to tinker with, to see if this could or would become a serious hobby. Sounds like if I get serious, then I need a technician to look at it. Thanks for your help.

Our local schools have soaked me for far more than $125, and I never even got a piano out of the deal!

I agree with the previous estimates of value - somewhere between firewood and $1000. It's all about condition and the local market. A fancy case doesn't hurt, either.

Do have a technician out to check it out, and have it tuned as is possible. Even a "plunker" needs a piano that plays relatively evenly and will hold a tune. Your tech will be able to tell you if you are likely to be satisfied with it, and the cost of a tuning/inspection is normally quite reasonable.

Enjoy!