Oldie but Goodie!

I recently evaluated two very old upright pianos for people interested in buying or taking in a free piano. One was a Hallet Davis Upright; the other was an Everett upright. Both pianos were too good to pass up. Yet the Hallet Davis was in much need of repair. If the Everett upright needed the same work done as the Hallet Davis, I would have advised my friends not to buy that clunker because once the repair was completed, it still would not amount to a whole lot of quality as the Hallet Davis would have.

The man considering the Hallet Davis was getting a piano for free because the person giving it away just needed space in her home. The man was ready and willing to spend some serious cash on the upright. But the amount he was willing to spend was still not enough to put in quality workmanship into the old upright because there was too much rust on the strings and there were broken strings already and the piano was more than a whole step below standard pitch.

Since this person was not looking at this piano as a permanent instrument and he was moving in the future, the money put into that piano would have been a waste. Yet, for another person, this would be the perfect piano to invest all that money because there is so much potential in that Hallet Davis that would make it a most beautiful sounding instrument to the point of surpassing any new piano sound. The Hallet Davis was built in the year 1900. It featured an uncommon method of transferring sound from the string to the soundboard using agraffs instead of pins in the bridges.

Another person was considering purchasing the Everett Upright for just $200.00 from the owner. He waited for me to show up at the person's house so I could evaluate the piano. Well, when I got there, it didn't take me long to see that what he was purchasing was definitely worth every penny he spent. the piano was old, but it was close in tune. The keys played nicely and it had beautiful tone. If the piano was sold for a thousand dollars, it would still be worth it. He got a very good deal. There are still many good upright pianos out there. Please be sure to recognise that not all upright pianos are doomed for the junk yard. It's easier to recycle a piano by fixing it up than to let it go to the land fill especially when there's gold (superb value) in them pianos.