International Shipping of Knight Piano

[karenincanada]

Hello fellow Pianists, Teachers, and Musicians,

I'm in need of some advice. I live in Saskatoon, SK Canada (Google it) and have been teaching piano here for a number of years. I'm from a very musical family, and the scenario is that I have a very dear, very elderly, very ill Great Aunt living in London, England. Because she values music, she had a Knight piano custom made, which she has willed to me.

Yes, I realize I'm getting ahead of myself... she hasn't technically passed away yet, nor do I wish it! But I'm trying to get a feel for what I should do when this finally does transpire. I have played this piano once and thought it to be a very nice, very suitable piano, but I didn't play it for very long, and this was also long ago.

Question 1 - Does anyone know anything about Knight pianos? Are they worth saving?

Question 2 - I received a quote from a company regarding int'l shipping. The cost for International shipping is 1560 GBP, plus insurance. Is that a reasonable price? And, is the piano likely even worth that much (factoring in sentimental value, also)?

Thanks for the help!

Karen

[rgreig]

This page may be helpful: http://www.robertspianos.com/pinao-makes-knight.html

Do you know how old the piano is?

I suppose a key question is whether you have space to accommodate another piano in your house, or are you trying to decide whether it should replace the piano you already own (what do you currently have)? Or does the sentimental value have a greater weight in the decision?

Robert

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Question 2 - I received a quote from a company regarding int'l shipping. The cost for International shipping is 1560 GBP, plus insurance. Is that a reasonable price? And, is the piano likely even worth that much (factoring in sentimental value, also)?

The piano is most likely to be worth just a few hundred pounds.
Upload some photos showing the inside and outside of your piano so that we can comment further. For a fully accurate valuation you should pay someone around £60 for a proper inspection

[joseph]

Knight pianos are very well made, sweet sounding pianos. I find the action on them is quite limiting. However, if we're talking about sentimental value, only you can judge that.

The retail value of a Knight, reconditioned, from a shop, will be in the region of two thousand pounds. It depends on how much you want the piano as a reminder of your aunt. We all like to think practically, but where emotions and sentiment is concerned, perhaps we should put practicality to the back of our minds and just go with it.

If you paid 1560 pounds for a Knight piano you'd probably be paying a little over the odds, but not by so much. Depends on the age of the piano and the condition. If it was me, I might just go for it because of the family connection.

[NewAge]

Unable to advise on your shipping query, but today I did find something relating to a Knight piano that I found interesting. Notably the sound.
I'd been looking for a YouTube performance of a catchy piece I've been practising this week, and stumbled upon this performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrNeCJSZAzM of the same piece played on a Knight. I like the sound although the tuning certainly needs a touch-up.
Now, to ship or not to ship. That is the question........

[joseph]

- brings back memories of the Knight I used to own. It went too bright towards the end of me having it, but then I practised on it from 1996 til 2002, about 3 to 7 hours a day on a regular basis. I wish I'd been able to have a grand piano as a youngster but alas I couldn't. I didn't come from a musical family and they saw the piano as an inconvenience really. We were offered a grand at a good price but it was a resounding NO!

Sore point.... anyway now I have 2.

[andersonkim]

Hello fellow Pianists, Teachers, and Musicians,

Question 1 - Does anyone know anything about Knight pianos? Are they worth saving?

Question 2 - I received a quote from a company regarding int'l shipping. The cost for International shipping is 1560 GBP, plus insurance. Is that a reasonable price? And, is the piano likely even worth that much (factoring in sentimental value, also)?

Thanks for the help!

Karen

Hi Karen,

Well, Knight pianos are quite popular in England, although not much in the United States. It has good reputation too, at least those Knight pianos made between 1963 and 2003 (original Alfred Knight manufacturer). I don't see any reviews yet after the manufacturing was transferred to Bentley Piano Company Ltd, I heard it was owned by another two more companies.

As for the international shipping, you may want to check several International Moving quotes first. This website - http://www.internationalmoving.biz/ - will make the task easier for you, you only need to post one request and you will receive up to 5 free quotes from reputable international movers, you can compare the rates and quality of services as well.

Good luck!

[Thewayne]

Canadian transportation companies provides express air, road, rail and ocean shipping in the GTA and all over the globe. We also offer truck services for companies.

Toronto Freight