A player piano is a regular upright or grand that plays itself but can also be played normally by any individual. On uprights, the case is usually larger to accommodate the player mechanism. Older player pianos are controlled by pneumatics and newer player pianos are controlled by electronics. A reproducing piano has an additional element …
Piano size
Piano size greatly influences the musical tone and potential of the piano. The larger area for soundboard and string length the better. Lengths, for grands, and heights, for uprights, in general are: Concert grand 8′-9′ Medium grand 6′-8′ Small grand 4.5′ – 6′ Full size upright 49″ or more Studio 45″ – 48″ Console 41″ …
Antique Chickering Pianos
The Chickering piano company was established in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and James Stewart. It was the first piano company in the United States. The factory was located on Tremont St. in Boston, MA. Chickering took painstaking care down to the smallest detail which assured the Chickering piano the place of honor in the first …
Antique Pianos by the Lester Piano Company
The Lester Piano Company, an American standard, was established in 1888 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These were well built affordable pianos and have many good qualities. Lester Piano Company was well know for their Grand pianos, full size uprights and the Betsy Ross Spinet. The company went out of business around 1960. These pianos are consistent …
A Piano Bar
An unusual encounter today, as I looked at my schedule to notice that there was a piano to tune that the customer stated was an “English piano” and that it was also a “Piano Bar”. I thought I would arrive to find something that was not even serviceable but to my surprise was quite interesting. …
Piano serial numbers
**Do to an overwhelming amount of customers needing date of manufacturer information for their pianos, we are no longer able to give this service for free. If you still would like for us to look it up we would ask a nominal fee to be paid through PayPal.** Many piano manufacturers placed serial numbers in …
Purchasing used pianos
Many potential piano buyers believe they can obtain good quality used pianos for little or nothing. Most often they are very misinformed. Be cautious of free or almost free pianos. There is almost always repair work that needs to be done. There is high demand for good used pianos and many pianos are for sale …
Grand Piano Company of Morganton, NC
Worked on a Grand Piano Company console today. The company was established in 1961 at Morganton, NC. The piano was a console but seemed very much like a spinet. The difference was that the action dropped below the main level of the key bed like a spinet but the keys were angled to drop below …
Cast Iron, the best material for the piano’s plate.
The piano plate, sometimes called the frame or harp, is typically made from cast iron due to its high compression strength. The strings of the piano are attached to the plate in conjunction with the wooden frame and soundboard, and which the tension of the strings are supported. Many piano manufacturer’s use the O.S. Kelly …
Cast Iron, the best material for the piano’s plate.Read More
