John Brinsmead upright piano, post 1960

[stonemartin]

My daughter has an example of the above piano with serial number 86376, which indicates post 1960 manufacture. Its previous owner may have been Manchester Education Committee, since I believe it came from a school in the area. Its case,,a light oak colour, bears the marks of many years of use, and abuse, but it seems to tune well and sustain pitch. To my inexpert eye it appears to be otherwise in reasonably good condition. I am thinking of moving the piano from Sheffield to my home in Stoke on Trent,,since my daughter no longer wishes to keep it.,Having recently retired I now have time to resume lessons I began a few years ago though I need to re acquire a piano. I am assuming that this model was one of a number supplied to schools and wonder in view of its years of service whether it is likely to be worth the investment of transporting over the Pennines and then looking at reconditioning. I would be grateful for any observations/ advice you might have.

[Colin Nicholson]

Welcome to the forum.....

There are various options for refurbishment, depending on providence/ heir loom/ 'was my granny's piano' .... that sort of thing. If the piano doesn't have much sentimental value, and just wants to play well and perhaps look nicer.... then you can choose from the following options. Prices vary depending on its original condition and how much you want to spend....

1. Basic Mechanism overhaul [most popular] - hammers & levers/ new tapes & leathers/ some repinning if needed.
2. Complete mechanism overhaul: hammers/levers/dampers/ rails etc.
3. Casework/cabinet strip-down/ original wood restained & wax polished
4. Keyboard refurbishment/ rebushed/ new plastic key tops
5. Pedals restored/ brass work

Then there are more serious restorations such as....

6. Re-stringing/ wrest pins & mechanism (mech must be partly restored if restrung)
7. Soundboard /bridge repairs/ re-varnish/ re-graphite etc
8. Wrest plank replaced ( - only done in extreme cases)
9. Misc.... Back cloth/ castors

Following any of that, the piano is then regulated/ serviced and tuned.

I recently refurbished a Bechstein upright for a lady in Leeds, then she moved to London - the piano was fully restored as she moved home. She chose to have the mechanism fully refurbished, ivories to be burnished & polished, and fitted a muting kit to it (like the middle practise pedal) .... and quick 'tidy up' of the cabinet/ some scratch repairs.... later, she may decide to have it re-strung.... dated 1904, so strings & pins a bit old & false beats.

If you decide on any work to be done, your piano should be assessed first, and inspected. If there were any major defects (eg cracked wrest plank) - most restorers would walk away - unless you wanted the whole hog!

Also depends on your budget, how much you want to spend - and bearing in mind, the costs may outweigh the value of the piano/ uneconomical, and who may never get your money back later. Brinsmead are OK.... a middling piano in the market, but many are not worth £20.

Hope that helps....

Colin