Piano????

[van cleef]

I'm new here so hope there is someone here who can help.

My father grew up in a local house when he was younger and has now purchased it to do up as his new house.So here it goes after gutting the house we came across an old piano in need of restoration....The piano is stamped with what i can make out Beury Ambridge London, It is in quite a sorry state and wondered if these pianos are worth the money to restore not to sell on but to put back into the house after the build is finished.I used to play a little when i was little and was maybe thinking about doing some lessons again.

Thanks.......

[joseph]

hello!

The only pianos that are financially worth restoring are Steinway, Bluthner, Bechstein, Bosendorfer and Grotrian Steinweg - or basically premium rate brands. Even then, it is only in the case of Steinway that you could buy one to be restored and have a chance of making back any of the money you put into the restoration, in a re sale.

The above applies to someone who has a piano needing restored and of course does not apply to workshops who sell pianos.

I think your best bet is to ditch the old piano you have and spend the same money that it would cost to restore the instrument (which would be at least £2000 and then some if you want it done properly) on a new piano.

There are people on this forum that will sell you a good piano if you PM them, I'm sure they will point you in the right direction. If you want a new instrument then you should look at Yamaha, Kawai, Brodmann, Wendl und Lung, Petrof and such like.

If your budget will buy you a used piano then look at restored Chappell and Broadwood uprights - some very fine examples available, and of course Yamaha, Kawai etc.

There are others of course and you will find the piano that suits your budget.

Ditch the old one though. Its not going to help you!

[van cleef]

Thanks for the reply.......it's more of the sentimental worth of the piano because my father used to play around with it up to the age of 7 or 8 when it was still in the house as a boy.It is in rather a poor state but what you nice people have informed me i'll forward onto my father.

[Gill the Piano]

Depends what you mean by restoration; there's a difference between tarting it up and getting it playable, and restoring it to 'new'.
The first option would be worth doing, probably, the second not. Get a local tuner in to tell you; it's worth paying for a professional opinion based on actual experience of the piano, rather than a verbal description! And don't forget, the case is NOT the piano, it's the box the piano is IN. So a rough case doesn't necessarily mean a knackered instrument.