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richarddale

buy a new Kemble 131 for 4500

richarddale

I have considered buying a Steinway upright of this vintage in good playing condition (I'll get it checked out), I've seen a few for around ?2000 - ?2500, spend say up to 2-3000 on a rebuild/restore, total outlay say 5000 or I could buy a modern quality german s/h upright say grotrian steinweg for a...

richarddale

according to them they price was &9000 in 2000, the US price is now $14000 I think they have rapidly escalated in price over the past few years due to inflation
I can't find a contemporary UK price

richarddale

can someone please tell whether these prices are fair or not 1991 (sold 1993) August Forster Modell D 116 &3500 (dealer) 1997 (sold 2000) AF Modell E 116 &5000 (private) assume normal or underuse, good condition, no problems, no scratches etc NB I've seen other AF pianos advertised for less ...

richarddale

are these grey market jap pianos that bad, I mean are they somehow unsuited to our clime (cannot adapt to dampness or whatever) or are the importers merely protecting their market by saying that grey import are "bad"

richarddale

can someone please tell whether these prices are fair or not 1991 (sold 1993) August Forster Modell D 116 &3500 (dealer) 1997 (sold 2000) AF Modell E 116 &5000 (private) assume normal or underuse, good condition, no problems, no scratches etc NB I've seen other AF pianos advertised for less ...

richarddale

I would very much recommend Anthony Meek 07796587081 who has taught me piano playing and composition over the past 15 months or so. He can teach different styles of playing, improvisation and composition/theory as well as conventional classical tuition. He lives in Liphook Hants which is about 40 mi...

richarddale

the piano has been confirmed by anne forster as 1991 vintage curiously enough retailed by the same dealer in Poole as the 1997 model E so that ties in quite neatly the 1991 AF is much better than the older model that Lanes have for sale at 3K which is in fact 1970s rather than 1980s as they intimate...

richarddale

I've played the Model D they have in Lanes at &3500 serial number 160819, Lanes say it is a 1993 piano though pianos.co.uk have it at 1991 I like it, is this a good price, it sounded a lot better than the petrov (dampened) and seiler (very bright) Forsters are made in E Germany, any horror stori...

richarddale

I still can't believe that even a hardwood case as you describe would be more than say &1200 manufacturing cost, since it would be machined rather than hand made, which on a piano that would say retail at 10-14,000 is not a lot
the case of an upright must be a lot easier to make than a grand

richarddale

i got a small sample of the laminate used by Kemble on their K131, a slither of veneer covering thick chipbored, considering the piano is 6 grand I think thats a pretty poor show what about those mAnufacturers that charge 10 grand for an upright yet its still made of chipboared which must be the che...

richarddale

would it be true to say that (the cases of) all modern uprights are made of veneered chipboard rather than solid wood panels or can it vary by cost, cheap pianos up to &5000 chipbored, expensive pianos - wood?

when did they start making uprights out of chipboard anyway

richarddale

things were pretty leisurely in those days!

I would date the piano at 1906 in that scenario

richarddale

thanks barrie

hopefully I can knock a bit off the asking price

richarddale

this piano I'm interested in was reported bought in year 2000 but according to the serial number it is 1997, could it have been in the showroom (Markson) for 3 years.
If I were to value it now would I value it as a 1997 or 2000 piano in terms of depreciation
cheers

richarddale

duh.......

email sent to AF

richarddale

There are 2 August Forster pianos for sale at Lanes in Croydon, I hope to check them out soon, one is 1993 3500 model D, the other is an older model at 2950. How can I tell if they are the German as opposed to the Czech made piano.
Do they have made in germany stamped somehere!

richarddale

Yes whther there are copies about I don't know but I doubt whether any Korean piano sounds as good as a U3, anyway you can pick them up for &2500, why not buy a 1980s welmar for &1500
anyway a Kawai K60E sounds better than a Yamaha U3

richarddale

I would say the Kawai is a better sounding piano, though its up to you to compare side by side,I compared a Kawai K60E vs Yamaha U3, I'd go for the K60 if you want a Japanese piano

they have an 18 month old K60E at Horsham Piano Centre going for &3995 I think

richarddale

i am gravitating towards a new K131, has anyone got any reviews

richarddale

It is a sad fact that the Welmars that came out of the factory at Woodchester

for future ref. in what years were Welmar pianos made at Woodchester, so that I can persuade potential buyers to avoid them and buy mine!

Cheers
Richard

richarddale

went to Horsham piano centre to try the Kemble K131, unfortunately it was out of tune, but sounded nicer than the Yamaha or Kawai, but will revisit when tuned up BTW the Kawai equivalent of the U3 was IMO much better, though I wouldn't buy a Jap piano some newer welmars were not a patch on mine (197...

richarddale

somebody mentioned the K131, I've been trying to find a stockist in the Surrey Sussex area, have contacted Kemble but they didn't send me the list (only brochures). I presume I'd have to buy it new, as there are few examples on the second hand market. Has anyone compared this to the Yamahas which th...

richarddale

what are the contact details for this dealer thats closing down

thanks
[/quote]

richarddale

and then there is the skill of the person fitting them

yes quite a lot of factors to take into consideration

do you recommend a restorer in the Sussex Surrey area, I have come across a Simon Gray (of Newdigate) who used to tune my piano, but now seems unobtainable

cheers

richarddale

Bernie thanks, its getting more and more complicated, I had assumed that piano makes tend to have a "house" sound, e.g welmars tend to sound like this, yamahas like that, all other things being equal I would like to obtain at the lowest cost a piano of a make of which I like the typical so...

richarddale

Visited Reigate piano workshops, this is what I found Bosendorfer upright 1986 121, brilliant action, harsh sound, could not live with this at all 1920 Steinway vertegrande, nice piano but sounds a bit dated, don't really want a piano quite this old, but maybe the best upright in the shop, but quite...

richarddale

I suppose this might be it, a little more than I wanted to pay

http://www.pianos.co.uk/pianodetails/u004762

richarddale

OK find me a Boz upright for sale second hand, 131 cm

think that is a model 120 = 120 cms?

cheers

richarddale

this is the only definition I could find Duplex Scaling Normally, the length of string outside the speaking length is damped by a strip of cloth woven between the strings. In some grands and uprights this length is undamped and subdivided so that in vibrating sympathetically with the speaking length...

richarddale

Is a baby grand that much better than a good upright, most of the ones I've heard have a very harsh mid range (the 2 octaves up from mid. C) at least they look like a proper piano as you say great that you've rekindled your interest in playing I did the same about 5 years ago, practised 10 mins a da...

richarddale

I note it is a smaller piano, 120 as opposed to 130/1 is it, does that make a lot of difference, presumably it does otherwise they wouldn't bother to make them

cheers
Richard

richarddale

think I might go for this kind of thing http://www.pianos.co.uk/pianodetails/u004498 1975 Steinway (I'd have it checked out to ensure that it hasn't been hammered to death 8 hours a day by a professional pianist) or this http://www.pianos.co.uk/pianodetails/u004141 1986 Bosendorfer ALternatively I m...

richarddale

thanks Barrie for the very prompt reply! and the good advice Yes I do hope to find a private bargain but as you say I will find out when the piano was last recond. (if old) and (unless it is less than 10 years old) get a full report from a restorer of course some pianos from the trade have had minim...

richarddale

I currently own a Welmar upright C 1980 vintage, which has served me well for a few years, I'm looking to upgrade the piano to something noticeably better, e.g. one of the well known German makes, again an upright. According to another forum the Welmar is a 4 star piano, with the only better rated m...

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Restore Steinway upright c1920 or not

Value August Forster pianos

case construction of modern pianos

Identify August Forster German made pianos

Upgrade from Welmar