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badams61
May 28, 2008, 02:17 PM
I have an old upright piano. I am moving and would like to know if this is worth anything or should I junk it?

Curlyben
May 28, 2008, 02:19 PM
Could we have some more information like make, model, etc.
Could you possibly post a picture ?

Clough
May 29, 2008, 03:27 AM
I do hope that you return. I am a piano tuner/technician as well as a professional pianist. And yes, we do need more information here. I have people who call me frequently wondering what to do with their old piano for various reasons...

I like to try to save old upright pianos, if they are worth saving. The sound of them can be very comparable to that of a small, grand piano.

Do you know how old it is?

How tall is it?

Do you know when the last time it was tuned?

Can it hold a tuning?

Do all of the notes play?

Does it sound good when it is played?

Are all of the keytops in good shape?

Where has it been stored for the past several years?

What is the brand of it? If you can't see this on the outside on the fallboard (above the center of the keys) because it has been refinished or painted, then please open up the lid and look on the plate for a name.

Does it have a bench that matches the leg style of the piano body? (Sometimes, the benches can be worth more the instruments themselves.)

Those are just some basic questions with which to begin...

As mentioned in the post above, it would be good to have an image of it posted here.

I can help you! I do hope that you will return...

Thanks!

Fr_Chuck
May 29, 2008, 05:08 AM
I can sometime get old uprights given to me free if I will haul them off, condition is normally poor. I can buy some fair ones for 100 dollars.

But so much of the issue is type and kind and history. I got one, I traced it back, it was the piano used in an old movie theatre before sound, where they had someone play music to go along with the movie. We got a photo of it in the movie place, some other info on it, and my 100 dollar piano went to be work about 2000 with all of its history.

Clough
May 29, 2008, 06:15 AM
If an old upright piano is a player piano, it's possible that it might sell for many thousands of dollars. If a piano is simply an old upright, what it's worth monetarily and what it can be sold for is a tentative issue at best...

I have a customer who is paying me over $3,000 to refurbish and refinish the old upright that was his grandmothers. Even then, this is not a complete rebuild. And, it's not a player piano. Will it ever be worth more than a number of hundreds of dollars? No. Does it have an extremely high sentimental value to him, and is thus priceless? Yes.

Clough
May 30, 2008, 03:53 AM
I do hope that you return to here, badams61 (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/members/badams61.html)!