We have a Balthür upright piano in our parlour. It’s an unknown-generation hand-me-down with little known of its provenance. All we have to go on is the name written on the keyboard cover (sorry for the lack of terminology—I’m the percussionist; Mrs. Devil is the pianist). We’re scheduled to have it tuned, which got us to wondering about it. But Google is only turning up a handful of German pages on the name and nothing at all in the shopping tab.
Is this the equivalent of a Volga? Can we expect it to tune?
It could have been a Steinway or a Bosendorfer and, if not been well cared for, could have degraded too much to be able to be tuned. If it was stored in a place with too large variations in heat, cold or humidity the soundboard could have cracked, etc.
Only one way to know and that is to hire a tuner. Good ones will examine the entire instrument and let you know if it is a lost cause. Presumably it is worth that much at least.
Could it have been a Contender?
Tuner is on his way tomorrow afternoon (is it considered polite to offer him a tuna sandwich?). It’s always been kept indoors, in living space, but it’s been through at least four moves by regular movers (i.e., not specialized piano movers). No major chips or nicks, so we’re pretty sure (hopeful) it hasn’t been dropped. We’ll be sure to ask ahead of time for him to take a look before attempting the impossible so he doesn’t just go at it.
No, but hundreds of brands of piano have existed in the past that are no longer around. Around the turn of the last century they were a common feature of middle class homes, represented a lot of labor and were costly to ship so there were a lot of regional manufacturers.
Retired Piano Technician speaking. (32 years full-time pro; 6 years retired.)
I’ve never heard of the brand. Checked my Piano Atlas- it lists only the brand name and country of origin (Poland); no other info such as company history, serial numbers with dates of manufacture, etc, so it’s not a well-known name.
That in itself isn’t necessarily a bad omen, however. It’s not all that uncommon for a Piano Tech to encounter a good instrument with a name he’s never heard of, and I’ve met decent pianos that somehow escaped being among the 12,000 brand names listed in the Pierce Atlas.
And on the flip side: Many of the most famous and well-known names have made their share of clunkers. What matters to you is your piano’s original quality, and current condition. Your technician will be able to give you a pretty good idea of this before he starts doing any work on it.
Resist the temptation. Trust me on this one- We’ve heard ALL of those jokes a thousand times before.
Tom
By the way, what is the protocol for a piano that you would not be able to tune, or that would not sound decent once tuned or remain in tune? Base fee? Partial fee?
Our tuner said he charges $150 for the first hour; additional time as needed. Am I correct in assuming that barring the worst-case he’ll have to spend much of that hour trying to get it in tune before knowing it’s a lost cause?
We’re not professionals. We do play in the house, but it can be somewhat painful out-of-tune-wise. The tipping point was the Dudeling. He’s one and a half and starting to play the various instruments we have about the house. We don’t want him growing up thinking that is what middle C sounds like!
I can’t speak for everybody, but most of my colleagues and I had a minimum service charge for non-productive calls.
It’s possible. Sometimes it will be obvious at first glance that a piano either can’t be tuned or expected to stay in tune. Other times, the problem(s) are found after a closer examination. But often enough, unfortunately, the problem becomes apparent only after the tuning is underway or even completed, and tuning the instrument was in fact the only way to find out.
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Thanks for asking, but these days I’m too lazy and easily distracted to do justice to such a thread. Seriously- I don’t mean to sound flippant or snotty, and apologize if I did. It’s just that after 30+ very intense years, I now like to keep piano talk in smallish doses.
Could we just keep up the dialogue in this thread? I’d be happy to talk with you. Ask away. I’m not afraid, just easily tired.
Sincerely, and hoping I don’t sound like a jerk,
…holy cow, he’s here and it’s amazing. Wow, that probably sounds a bit weird, but I bet TreacherousCretin understands. The block is fine, so there are no major problems (a couple stuck/loose keys; things he was able to repair on the fly). It’s been about three hours now and he’s almost done. It sounds familiar but wholly different. It’s just fantastic. Oh, still can’t say anything about the manufacturer, but he’s impressed (in his thirty years or so of tuning he’d never heard of them either) with how it’s sounding. Not a concert piano, of course, but very rich sounding and (now) a delight.