Bentley Piano help needed.

[minardifans]

This is a Bentley Piano that I own. My parents bought it and I subsequently own it. I believe it is either mahogany or teak.

Now the thing is, is that I would like my young son to learn piano, but living in a small terraced house the Piano is far too loud for him to practice regularly so I would like to sell it and use the money to buy a Digital Piano (so that the volume can be turned down or headphones can be used without the neighbors complaining.) Also I would like him to learn how to record his music on the computer so he can get into recording music by plugging it into the PC. The problem I have is that I have no idea how much this piano is worth. I have a feeling that my parents paid about £3000 for it although it could be less. All the innards are wood. I have read stories about these piano's having plastic inside them that deteriorates, but I can't see anything inside this that is plastic. All I am looking for is a guide price so that I am not ripped off by someone who tells me it's not worth very much. Any help will be much appreciated because my 9 year old son is eager to learn and I played the piano when I was his age and I would like him to do better than I did. :)

[Gill the Piano]

You can have a celeste rail fitted - a piece of felt is lowered between the strings and hammers - to muffle the sound. That way he's still learning on a proper piano. You can get a cheap keyboard to do the electrickery on.

[Colin Nicholson]

Thanks for your post - just a few things that you should consider.
Firstly, I would KEEP the piano - definitely. Have a kind word with your neighbours, and explain that your son is learning & having private lessons (assuming you are taking him to a piano teacher?) I am sure your neighbours can stretch to up an hour's piano playing (but not bashed!) Lessons should really be taught, learnt and practised on an acoustic piano - not a digital. If you the parent had to learn to drive a car again - had lessons in a petrol car (using pedals/ gears etc) .... then learning at home in a dodgem car or golf buggy...... not the same - this is the same with piano.

I think the recording aspect of using a PC etc is a good one, but maybe at a later stage? Your sone would need to settle into weekly lessons first to see how he progressed. IF.. your piano teacher wanted to take your son one step further, and maybe do a piano exam (in the UK, ABRSM is recommended), there is no provision for "digital piano" examinations. The touch & sound is different, and pedalling on a digital is like stepping on a stone smothered in porridge...... and if you are happy with just moderate results - then digital are ok for that.

Its usually the other way for me.... some pupils of mine start with a digital - fine, but then when they get to around grade 2 standard, the pedalling device & sustaining power of a digital is no good - needs a proper piano with strings & dampers.

However - as Gill says, you can have fitted a sound muting device - a celeste rail kit - it reduces the sound by about half.... a neat lever tucks under the keyboard.... however its not really any good for practising legato, building a nice tone, playing on a day to day basis or being able to enhance dynamics (louds & softs) .... and if you had a digital, with headphones on - perhaps mum wouldnt be able to hear if things went wrong - or if your son was practising correctly? Practising with a celeste rail is fine for "extra practise on my scales" - but they keys feel a little dead, and not really the right forward for a beginner to learn from.

If your son is into recording/ PC stuff, maybe a good side-line later, but not for a beginner.

I wouldnt worry about plastic bits in a piano! - some have them - like a neotex/ nylon plastic - they are very strong, dont perish easily and dont become brittle with age. Many upright and grand piano mechanisms have them, and even carbon fibre parts - however, the hammer head & hammer shank is always made of wood that resonates against a real steel or copper wound string. Yes, there are certain pianos to avoid like Lidner - they have snap-on plastic parts - some still survive today, but you are fine with a Bentley - trust me.

Price - wise, these pianos (dated around 1950 - 1960) dont fetch alot of money - maybe £400 - £500 TOPS.... and that would need to be a private sale - not auction.... but it depends on the condition of the internal parts - which there are about 4,500 of them. However Bentley uprights are generally a good piano, hold their tune well.... but these days, you can buy a brand new piano for less than £3K.... and even a stool/ delivery & 1st tuning included.

Think carefully though, .... and if your son really wants to learn the piano properly - he will need to learn by using classical methods first - him actually producing the sound by his controlled touch of the weighted keys, not controlled by a volume knob.


Hope that helps....


Colin