4 Things To Know Before Buying a Used Steinway

Just over a year ago, I made a huge decision and bought a 1928 Steinway M. Finding the right combination of model, vintage, and quality was a huge challenge for me, and I was fortunate to have bought a first-rate instrument. Today's guest post is written by the folks over at Park Avenue Pianos, a specialty seller of high-quality Steinway grands in New York, who talk about what you should be looking for before buying a Steinway grand. You can find Park Avenue Pianos at 230 Central Park South in New York City, just a short walk from Lincoln Center. 

Buying a used Steinway piano is a big and exciting undertaking. A great Steinway is sure become the centerpiece of your piano playing life but it’s also a pretty big investment. Here are four things that you need to know before picking out your very own used Steinway.

1. Always check the serial number and age of the piano. You always want to determine the age of a Steinway to try to infer what type of life it has had since it left the factory. Different eras of Steinway production imply different things. For example, Steinway’s Golden Age was between about 1900 and 1955, and Golden Age Steinways are highly sought after. Identifying and aging a Steinway iseasy with this serial number age chart. Simply find the serial number on the cast-iron plate between the pins, and the number there should correspond to a year on the chart.

2. Learn the different types of used Steinways on the market. Each Steinway piano leaves the factory a technically perfect piano - what happens next is anyone's guess. There a few different categories of used Steinways on the market, and each suggests a different life the piano has had since leaving the factory. The trick is to get to know the different varieties of used Steinways out there. Steinways built with in the last few decades which have had regular maintenance are a great investment. They will most likely not require any repair work in the medium-term future. On the other side of the coin, restoring a Steinway in non-working condition is a big undertaking. It seems obvious but should always try to gauge your investment properly. Get as much information about the piano as possible, learn about any repairs it has had, any repairs it might night need, and if it’s had routine maintenance throughout its life.

3. Know what a soundboard is, and ask about it! The soundboard is the heart and soul of any piano. This is the piece of wood above which the string vibrate, the resonance of the wood amplifies the string’s vibration as well as adding its distinct tone. Steinway fabricated their own soundboards from close-grain Sitka Spruce. This is what gives Steinways their unique sound. When purchasing a used Steinway you want to make sure that the soundboard is in good condition or has been refurbished well. Remember that the soundboard is what gives a piano a lot of its auditory character.

4. Steinway pianos are a financially sound investment. As the cost of factory new Steinway pianos increases, so do the prices of used Steinways at a much higher rate than inflation. For example, a Model B Steinway built in 1985 now sells for over twice the original price. A Model B built in 1960 sells for over nine times the original price. Steinways have always been a sound and potentially profitable place to invest your money. The craftsmanship and integrity of Steinway & Sons insures that the pianos will continue to retain their value for a long time to come.

Manufacuring a Steinway Piano...in 1929

Back in the 1920's, Steinway was churning out pianos at the absolute height of the piano market without any of the cost-cutting and industry consolidation that could come into play in the ensuing decades, and all built from the oral tradition of its artisans. Watching this 1929 silent film brings to life the workmanship of that golden age. I sometimes wonder if the guys in the silent film are the same ones who built my 1928 M...




(Via Kottke)

Steinway Releases Q1 2009 Results

Steinway (NYSE:LVB) just released its first quarter 2009 fiscal results, with net earnings of 0.12 per share:

First Quarter Results

• Sales of $70 million, down 26%
• Gross margin decreased to 26.6% from 29.1%
• Operating expenses reduced $4 million, or 17%
• Net income of $1 million, down 49%, which includes a gain on debt extinguishment
• Diluted earnings per share of $0.12, down 48%

Balance Sheet Highlights

• Cash of $27 million
• Revolver availability of over $86 million
• Working capital of $223 million

For more financial numbers and outlook, take a look at the full Steinway press release.

Steinway Ice Sculpture

It must have been sad to see this piano sculpture melt.

(Via ~Spencer~'s Photostream on Flickr)

WGBH's New Hamburg Steinway

Edgar B. Herwick, Senior Marketing Coordinator of Boston's WGBH, sent me the following anecdote about the arrival of the venerable Boston classical radio station's new Hamburg Steinway:

A radio host, a classical pianist, and a highly trained instrument technician walk into an inconspicuous New York City warehouse, which just happens to be chock-full of prized Hamburg Steinway pianos, and begin taking one apart...

This was the scene when a small but remarkable faction of Boston's robust classical music set piled into a rental van and headed south to New York City. Their mission? To find the musical equivalent of a needle in a haystack: the perfect piano for WGBH 89.7's brand new state-of-the art performance studio. It had to be versatile: one that would sound dazzling to live audiences in the studio, brilliant when broadcast, and impeccable when recorded; an instrument that over the next decade and a half will be played by some of the world's finest musicians and heard by literally millions of people from Brighton, Masachusetts to Brighton, England.

It was no small task. In tow were WGBH 89.7 Program Director Jon Solins, WGBH 89.7 Classical hosts Cathy Fuller and Richard Knisely, BSO piano guru Jon von Rohr, and two renowned local pianists: Marc-André Hamelin and Mihae Lee. From Von Rohr's a-hoc tutorial in the van to the moment when the final decision was made over a platter of kung pao chicken, it was a fascinating day.

They eventually settled on a Hamburg Steinway that the musicians described like this:

"From my first experience playing this piano, I was immediately drawn in to its robust sound and broad spectrum of color. These are the qualities that I always seek in a piano, but it is rare to find an instrument that contains such a range from raw power and brilliant clarity to exquisite delicacy and shadings as this piano has. I can't wait to play it as it is reaching its full potential in your beautiful new studio.
-- Mihae Lee, pianist

"As I played it, it acted as an extension of my heart and fingers. There were no barriers between what I imagined and what I could play. This is the highest praise I can give any piano."
-- Marc-André Hamelin, pianist

Last week the piano arrived at our new studios in Brighton, Massachusetts. You can see pictures of the warehouse, the piano, and its arrival in our new sudios on our flickr page at http://flickr.com/photos/wgbhradio/sets/72157600533780688/

Enjoy!

Thanks for the info, Edgar, and best of luck to the entire WGBH family, whose new Steinway will have a happy home in the station's new Fraser Performance Studio (pictured above).

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