What Really Happens to Old Pianos?

[peter.]

Old pianos never die, they simply decompose.

[texaswildcat]

I hate seeing pianos not being able to be restored. But I also realize it can be costly. In which case I'm very appreciative of you restoring the ones you can. Thank you for the video and as always blessings to you and yours 🕊💞💒💞🕊

[danaroland]

This picture literally broke my heart . There are always other options instead of getting rid of this beautiful instrument .

[kinkoshinkai]

Having worked in piano restoration, it's always sad to see the mistreatment of instruments that lead to early death. But even those who've simply outlived their musical usefulness, still sad to see them disposed of.

[MemphiStig]

My mother had an upright, a standard cheap piano that you can't give away when you don't want it anymore. So did both her sisters. Never knew what to do with them. But then I had an idea I have no way of using, so maybe someone else can. Strip the insides out of the upright, and install a lifting mechanism for a large tv, which nests in the body but can be raised for viewing. I got the idea at a funeral home, where they had a screen come up out of what appeared to be a chest of drawers type thing. I can't believe you could make money with this idea, but I'm just a musician, not a builder, and I think it would definitely look very cool, especially if you could tie its operation to the keys (as well as a remote of course). If you could do it cost-effectively, there are plenty of those pianos you could buy for less than a song. Just wish I could afford to try.

[lawrencetaylor]

Merci. And thanks for the work you do on old pianos.

[TheMisterGriswold]

Been in many homes where the piano was just a piece of furniture.

[melissarey]

What a video to start with a trigger warning. Lol!
But it's valid. Seeing any instrument damaged or destroyed makes me sad. Mythbusters tested dropping pianos on a house for some reason. I cried.

[clydebermingham]

This very subject matter is really very significant … and very touching 🙏🏽

[brucealanwilson]

I had a terrible time finding a new home for my family grand. It was an early 1940's Kimball Baby Grand which had been cared for lovingly. I couldn't sell it or even GIVE IT AWAY. (I have developed severe arthritis in my R hand and can no longer play.)

It seems that people who want a grand piano come in two categories: serious musicians and those who think a grand looks classy in the living room. The former either have one already or can't afford one; the latter get a cheap Chinese "piano shaped object."

I couldn't sell it privately, and no piano store in the area would accept it.

I couldn't even find a church that wanted it. I finally got a local university to take it. I made it clear I didn't want it to go into a practice room for kids to bang on; it became the studio instrument for the music department chair.

[clara]

My parents have a pair of Heintzman pianos. It's an old Canadian piano company that went out of business in the 60s. They have a soft touch and a very sweet tone. The upright is from 1928, made of mahogany, with all of its original ivory keys. The grand is from the early 60s and it's had a rough life. The previous owner had dropped it during a move, damaging the legs, and they were replaced with three legs that belonged to old upright pianos. My parents keep it tuned and maintained and it still sounds wonderful .... but those makeshift legs grow more wobbly every year. The entire piano sways gently when played.

I really love both pianos and my parents want me to have one of them. The upright is certainly the more "valuable" instrument but my heart lies with the grand. It's a very difficult choice, made worse by the knowledge that these pianos are seen as disposable by so many people.

[stephenwilson]

Great video Robert.

There are DISPOSABLE pianos (most of them) and SUSTAINABLE pianos.

Steinway says “It’s a lot easier to build pianos than to rebuild them.” ‘Easier’ maybe, but still more expensive, by a wide margin, as the market economics tells us.

[AllThisOverASliceOfGabagool]

Oh it's been so great to find this channel again, like reuniting with an old friend 😊

[steveschramko]

The key phrase here is..."The expense is MORE than what they're worth..." i.e. the concept of value. Unfortunately, we live in an age when the art, and love of piano playing, and the piano itself as a part of this is at a very low ebb. Let's just face the truth. At some level, we all know this, though there is much denial here. Moreover, this describes EVERY serious art form, not just music. One hopes that eventually we will awake from this malaise, but how long will this sleep of reason last...? Who knows...? In the meantime, all these beautiful instruments that belonged to an age of higher cultural aspirations will have disappeared, never to reappear. Something will have been lost FOREVER ! My heart weeps for the TRAGEDY of this...

[robostoic]

I'm a pianist and weekend composer; degrees in music comp. I have a 1939 Model S Steinway baby grand. I bought it in my 20s back in the early 90s. Had it regularly tuned every year. Almost 10 years ago, I found out it had verdigris, which hampers the action. It is now unplayable in any true performance setting. I also have a digital music studio, with access to sampled and modeled pianos from all over the world, of all sizes, and all manner of mic placements and room/hall acoustics. These virtual pianos are the bread and butter of modern sound recordings for film, bands, and live performances in many settings, though not all settings, obviously. They reproduce not only the character of different manufacturers, but also the sound of sympathetic string resonance, hammer and pedal noise, and open and closed lids. Due to these virtual instruments, I have no reason to spend $4-$6K replacing all the parts in my Steinway to bring it up to the standard it was 10 years ago. For that price, I can put together a composer's studio to die for that will also generate revenue. That's the reality for some, not all, of us. And I'm an old fart who still thinks Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Chopin, Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and all the rest are still relevant. Still...I'm not resurrecting my Steinway. It had a good life. I can find a FREE upright online on any given weekend if I want more wood and wire in my house. It's sad, but true for me.

[velcroman]

202402. I had a circa 1970 Yamaha Spinet, I paid AU$2200 for it and I named “her” Kimiko, kimmy for sort. An idiot piano mover “DROPPED HER 😱😵‍💫!”. Fortunately, the only damage was one of her legs. The new leg cost AU$800 dollars to be made. The remaining cost for staining which I did, cost AU$200. The stain was not all that expensive but matching the stain colour was a challenge. All up the repair cost AU$1100 to stain and mount her repaired leg. That repair was half the price of Kimmy when new. She has since been adopted by a family with young children. I cried when she left for her new home. It was hard to see her leave but her new family are very nice and I am sure that they too will love Kimmy as much I do.

[alanclarkeau]

I visited a sweet old couple quite a few years ago. And, pride of place was a small Grand Piano - English Challen I think.

After a while, he said "would you like to give us a tune?" - neither of them played.

Eeeek - it was awful. Most keys worked, but the action was sloppy, the tuning I suspect was from several decades ago.

I had a glance inside - unlike the beautiful outside, it was dirty, I could see one damper missing.

They said their children had learned on it - they were now 60 or 70 years old. And they were giving the piano to their granddaughter (or was it great-granddaughter?). Who was doing really well in piano studies.

I thought - "or sadly, the dump".😢😢😢😢

[leetingler]

I have a sad story 😢.
I have an old Velodyne subwoofer. It was very expensive, when new.
Unfortunately, the servo amp. died. It was not replaceable due to its age. The casework is beautiful. Unfortunately, no one wanted to use the cabinet for a rework. I held onto it for years, trying to find a home.
Tomorrow, it goes to the dump. This, along with some old electronics that cost too much to repair 😢.
So l feel your pain.

[gjoseph]

Somebody in Louisiana many many many years ago knew what to do with old pianos. Henry Roeland Byrd; *Professor Longhair* !

[zdogg]

Robert, I love your videos. How about a enterprise zone (usually inner city, gov't zoned for tax breaks) training project center to teach teens craftsmanship skills, that would translate more broadly in the jobs market: carpentry, wood finishing, painting, refinishing, cabinet building, furniture making, furniture repair as well as all the usual skills associated with piano Pianos could be saved and given away or sold cheaply.