Steinmayer Upright

[soliver]

I have recently come into the possession of a rather old, pretty unpleasant looking and horribly sounding, Steinmayer upright. The serial number is 60137.

The piano clearly needs a lot of money spending on it to bring it up to anything like an acceptable standard.

I'd be interested if anyone is able to give an indication of the history and, perhaps more importantly, the potential of this type of piano. It's not a make I'm familiar with. I'm not looking for a valuation.

Many thanks for your help.

[Bill Kibby]

We have to assume that you have checked the spelling. Ehrlich's book "The Pianoforte" lists Steinmayer as operating in Germany around 1883. Otherwise, very little is known or published, and serial numbers don't help. The Steinmayer name was later available as a cheap name transfer, so it could be placed on any piano when the original name transfer was lost during repolishing.

If you could post photos of the WHOLE piano here, or email them to me to post, I may be able to tell you more about the individual.

[Colin Nicholson]

Regarding the 'potential' of your piano (and it's condition), if you are thinking of a part (or whole) refurbishment i.e. cabinet, mechanism, re-stringing etc.... you are advised to contact a piano restorer (not someone who just tunes piano or does odd repairs onsite) - who would be able to carry out an assessment report. Then to decide how much to spend within your budget.

I refurbished an old Steinmayer upright about 12 years ago; mechanism/ re-string / pedals / casework (ebonies cabinet with lots of carvings) / overstrung and 3/4 iron frame.... and still in good working order and tunes well every year.

The main areas to check would be the tuning pin torque, and condition of the wrest plank. Regrettably many acquired or "come into possession" pianos are not checked over prior to purchase, and some are not easily restorable or uneconomical to have much money to spend on them. Some auction bought pianos also have issues from time to time. You may be lucky and have a piano that only requires moderate work on it.

[soliver]

Thank you for the helpful responses. As suggested I've uploaded a couple of images. Not sure if these will help. I am thinking that the amount of money required to bring this up to a usable standard will be prohibitively high, but it won't hurt to arrange an inspection and an estimate. I remain open to other suggestions and advice. Thanks again.

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[Bill Kibby]

If you have a look at my Edwardian page at
http://www.pianohistory.info/

near the bottom of the page you will see an item about modernisation, and a row of pianos that are very similar.

This is almost certainly a fictional alias stuck onto any old piano when it has been modernised. The height suggests that it is early 1900s, and any real clues to its identity will be hidden inside.

Have a look at my Date-Marks page for help finding them.

[Colin Nicholson]

Have you had the piano tuned yet? .... or attempted to be tuned?

I suggest if not, the first job would be to book a tuning (or pre-tuning), to see if your piano is tuneable.
By the keyboard design, this piano is straight-strung, possibly over-damped with a 3/4 frame..... if the sound is "horrible" as you suggest, I would get the tuning pins checked first & some attempt at tuning it before thinking about any possible refurbishment. The tuning "inspection" aspect has to be done as the tuner goes along - as though you had just booked a tuning visit alone. Fingers crossed there are no cracks in the wrest plank.... the odd loose tuning pin can be replaced.... that's if and when a tuner 'hits' that particular note.

Some tuning attempts are cut short - problems like sticking keys/ dampers ringing on, mechanism not working correctly/ hammers hitting wrong strings.... that sort of thing. If the tuning stops short.... then ask for a repair quote/ regulation etc.

Regrettably, some piano tuners will not even consider the casework unless you ask - completely by pass it and start to remove the front panel to inspect inside. The casework would be nicer if stained darker, and possibly finished in Danish oil.
Obviously cannot comment on the mechanism condition (or type) as no one can see it!
If this was a cheap auction piano.... usually not economical to refurbishment unless it has sentimental value.