This guide is designed to assist you in selecting a genuine used Steinway piano—from learning about how the Steinway piano is built and rebuilt to what makes a Steinway a genuine Steinway to what factors you should consider when shopping the used-Steinway market. This information was collected by dozens of piano specialists who have helped thousands of people find their Steinway – whether new or used – and have also helped those who unknowingly purchased counterfeit Steinway pianos from unauthorized sellers.
Seven Types of Used Steinway Pianos
Every seller, piano dealer, and technician will classify a used Steinway piano in a different way; but, for the sake of this guide, we’ve broken it into seven simple categories.
SHELL
A used Steinway piano that has never been restored. Typically, the piano is not in playing condition, if it will play at all. The piano has been neglected, damaged or compromised, and has had no annual maintenance for an extended period of time.
REPAIRED
This is a Steinway that has had parts repaired over time without replacing any major components. The piano has been maintained and is still capable of being played daily, but major parts will likely need replacing in the near future.
REBUILT
A rebuilt Steinway is a piano in which all the components have been rebuilt to its original condition. Some major components commonly rebuilt are the soundboard, bridges, and action parts, as well as the case.
FRANKEN-STEINWAY
A Franken-Steinway is a used Steinway piano that has had one or more parts replaced with non-Steinway parts. It was a Steinway piano; now it isn’t.
ORIGINAL
An original used Steinway piano is one that has never had any parts replaced since it was manufactured. Typically, these are less than 20 years old.
FACTORY RESTORATION
A Steinway piano that was restored by the Steinway Restoration Center in New York City and had the original parts replaced with genuine Steinway parts.
HEIRLOOM COLLECTION
Steinway Heirloom Collection pianos are available through authorized Steinway dealers. Each Heirloom carries the same 5-year warranty as a new Steinway, has genuine Steinway parts, and is distinguished by a medallion on
the inner-rim and a Certificate of Authenticity.
How to Determine the Age of a Steinway Piano
On Steinway Grand Pianos The serial number is found on the cast-iron plate between the tuning pins above the keyboard.
One of the most important factors in shopping for a used Steinway piano is the piano’s age. By determining the age of the piano, you will have a better understanding of its history, features, and construction. Below are three simple steps for determining the age of any Steinway piano:
Locate the serial number
As new pianos are completed, they are serial-numbered consecutively and the number is applied to the cast-iron plate.
Look up the serial number
Now that you have the serial number, you can use the chart below to find out the year the piano was built.
Look Up a Steinway Serial Number ▸
On Steinway Upright Pianos The serial number is located on top of the cast-iron plate when you open the toplid.
Request the piano’s history.
At the Steinway factory, there are several leather-bound log books that hold the records on every piano built by Steinway & Sons since 1853. As pianos are completed, they are serial-numbered and, even today, handwritten into the Steinway archives which list the details of every Steinway piano built.
Anyone with a serial number from any Steinway piano can contact Steinway & Sons or their local Steinway dealer for the information on a specific Steinway, including the model, original finish, completion date, and the dealer to whom it was first shipped. The historical records of each and every piano built is just another one of the things that make a Steinway unique.
Any piano missing a serial number, or with a serial number that doesn’t “look right” should be avoided.
If it doesn’t have 12,116 genuine Steinway parts, it isn’t a Steinway.
Used, vintage, and restored Steinway pianos are often prized for their unique beauty and enduring value. Unfortunately, many piano rebuilders use inferior aftermarket parts, seriously compromising the instrument’s performance and drastically reducing its fair-market value.
Built for a Steinway Piano
For more than 160 years, Steinway & Sons has been improving their pianos. This has included sourcing the best materials, improving construction methods, and finding the perfect balance of the many thousands of parts which make up a Steinway piano. When a Steinway piano is rebuilt, it is crucial that Steinway replacement parts be used in this process if the piano is to play and sound the way a Steinway should play and sound.
A Steinway piano is designed to use genuine Steinway parts, and it performs its best when these parts are used. If the parts are not 100% Steinway, then the piano is not 100% Steinway and its performance and investment value will be compromised.
Why do some rebuilders use non-Steinway parts?
Non-Steinway replacement parts used in the rebuilding of a Steinway piano are purchased for one reason only: They are cheaper, both in price and quality. There is no other reason.
To the right is a comparison of genuine Steinway parts vs. non-Steinway parts for
a Steinway Model O (5’10″) grand piano.
As you can see, there is a significant cost difference between genuine Steinway parts and non-Steinway or “Steinway style” parts and this is the reason why there is such a great deal of confusion when shopping for
a used Steinway piano.
Three Keys to Shopping for a Genuine Steinway & Sons Piano
ONE
Steinway pianos are designed to use genuine Steinway parts. They play and sound their best when these parts are in the piano.
TWO
The price of a rebuilt Steinway piano with non-Steinway parts should cost significantly less than one with 100% genuine Steinway parts.
THREE
Most people selling a used Steinway with non-Steinway parts will NOT advertise it as a counterfeit or Franken-Steinway. It’s always best to ask and get the answers in writing.
The Heart of the Steinway
The soundboard lies at the heart of a Steinway grand or upright piano, which is why Steinway & Sons takes great care in its design and in the selection of the wood used. The soundboard is a critical component in producing the sweet “Steinway Sound” you desire.
About the Soundboard
Close-grained, quarter-sawn Sitka spruce, with a prescribed minimum number of annual growth rings is the wood used for Steinway soundboards. These close-grained lines enable the sound-producing energy to travel more efficiently to the end
of the soundboard. When combined with the soundboard being gradually tapered from the center to the edge, which permits the freedom of movement, it creates a sound of unparalleled richness, sonority, and sustain.
Soundboards from Scratch
Steinway does not buy their soundboards, instead, they buy the spruce planks to make their soundboards. Steinway’s strict standards for soundboard spruce and their yield factor on the prime-grade planks they purchase is only 50%. Meaning, of all the spruce that Steinway inspects and purchases, only 50% of that spruce goes into the making their soundboards. This allows Steinway to build each soundboard to their standards, not the lumber supplier’s.
Steinway NEVER sells its soundboards
Steinway sells their soundboards to no one, since the skill, expertise and machinery necessary to replace a soundboard is only available at the Steinway factory. So if a used Steinway was restored somewhere other than the Steinway Restoration Center, it may still have the Steinway & Sons trademark logo on it, but if it doesn’t have a genuine Steinway & Sons soundboard, it has lost the internal magic that makes it a Steinway.
If the soundboard was replaced, how do I know if it was replaced by Steinway & Sons?
Determining if the soundboard was replaced by Steinway & Sons can be difficult to the untrained eye. It’s highly recommended that you ask the rebuilder or seller for documents that include the serial number and state that the soundboard was replaced with a genuine Steinway soundboard at the Steinway Restoration Center.
Assuring a Steinway Piano Is Genuine
In the two previous sections, we’ve covered the importance of making sure the used Steinway you purchase is in fact a genuine Steinway. But how can you be sure you are investing in a genuine Steinway piano?
The only guarantee is to work directly with an authorized Steinway & Sons dealer, like Steinway Piano Gallery. The relationship between the factory and your local dealer is a strong bond, with both companies committed to preserving Steinway & Sons’ reputation as being the best pianos in the world by only offering their customers genuine Steinway & Sons pianos.
A Legacy of Innovation That Continues Today
The very first Steinway & Sons patent was granted in 1857, and since that time, the company has been granted more than 125 additional patents. As a consumer shopping for a used Steinway, it is important to consider when these patents were implemented, how they work, and what benefits they provide for pianists like yourself.
“Strive always to improve the instrument.”
It is important to remember that a Steinway piano will only feature the patents preceding the date of its completion. This means that a Steinway grand piano completed on March 5, 1923, will NOT have any of the innovations or advancements developed after that date such as:
Accelerated Action
October 13, 1931 • Patent #1826848
The touch of a Steinway is the most sensitive and responsive of any piano made. This is not merely an opinion. It is a fact that results from the way the piano is designed and manufactured. In fact, tests have proven that the keys on a Steinway piano can repeat 14% more quickly than the keys of any other piano.
Diaphragmatic Soundboard
August 18, 1936 • Patent #2051633
The current production of the
Steinway & Sons soundboard is based on a 1936 patent to achieve optimum performance in dynamic range, and maximum sustain. Under this patent, the soundboard is gradually tapered from the center to the edge, permitting freedom of movement and creating a sound of unparalleled richness, sonority, and sustain.
Hexagrip Pinblock
May 28, 1963 • Patent #3091149
Due to the unique design of the Steinway pinblock all Steinway pianos hold their tune longer. The secret lies in the grain of the wood. The grain of each layer is positioned at 45 degrees to the grain in the next layer. As a result, the tuning pins are exposed on all sides to the tenacious grip of the maple’s end grain. The tighter the grip on the tuning pins, the longer the piano stays in tune.
The “Golden-Age” Myth
There are rebuilders, technicians, and non-Steinway dealers who will claim that Steinway pianos built during the “Golden Age” are the best Steinway pianos ever built. This is a myth that has been around since Steinway started building pianos.
Are older Steinway pianos really better than new ones?
As the late Henry Z. Steinway, great-grandson of the founder of Steinway & Sons, often said, “Steinway pianos crafted 40 years ago are always from the reputed ‘Golden Age.’ It doesn’t matter which year it is today—1920, 1950, 1980, 2008—the ‘Golden Age’ was always 40 years ago!”
Why the Myth Exists:
There are very few piano dealers that are authorized to sell new Steinway pianos throughout the world (only about 68 in North America) but any piano dealer can sell a used one. Since they can’t sell new Steinway pianos, and have probably never played one, it is in their best interest to sell their used Steinway’s as being better than new models, unique from other used models, or from the fictional “Golden Age.”
Artists demand the finest.
The myth of the “Golden Age” is easily disproved. Just look at the concert halls throughout the world who cater to the most discriminating pianists of our time. How old are the pianos you are hearing? On average, they are less than 10 years old. If the world’s most prominent pianists felt that pianos from a “Golden Age” were superior to those produced today, we would not see new Steinway pianos on these stages.
A Sound Investment
Times change. Markets rise and fall. But for more than a century and a half, every handcrafted Steinway piano has increased in value.
Retail Price
The best time to invest in a Steinway piano is always the same: TODAY. That’s because when factory prices of new Steinway pianos increase, the value of genuine used Steinway pianos also rise.
There is a Steinway piano for everyone
Selecting a Steinway piano should be an enjoyable experience, and to help insure it is, here is a list of 5 things to do while shopping for a used Steinway piano:
Play a new Steinway piano
Playing a new Steinway will be a treat and offer a point of reference for you as you shop for a used Steinway piano.
Watch “Note by Note, the Making of Steinway L1037”
“Note by Note” is a feature-length, independent documentary that follows the creation of a Steinway concert grand from the forest floor to concert hall. It explores the relationship between musician and instrument, chronicles the manufacturing process, and illustrates what makes each Steinway unique in this age of mass production.
Watch the Trailer ▸ | Rent It on Netflix ▸| Buy the DVD ▸
Tour the Steinway factory
Steinway & Sons has a factory in Long Island City, New York, and one in Hamburg, Germany, that build Steinway upright and grand pianos. Each factory offers a 3-hour tour to the public during the week. What better way to learn about Steinway pianos than to see first-hand how they are built?
For more information and to schedule your factory tour, contact your authorized Steinway dealer or e-mail info@steinwaynaples.com
Read “The Official Guide to Steinway Pianos”
A compilation of thirty years of research, by authors Roy F. Kehl and David R. Kirkland, that offers a thorough and accurate production history of Steinway pianos. In this guide you will find the complete list of Steinway patents, Steinway models—past and present—with production dates and serial numbers, and the characteristic detail changes.
Learn More and Purchase On-line ▸
Download your free copy of the Piano Buyer’s Guide
Choosing the right piano can be a very pleasant and rewarding experience for an informed buyer. This guide will assist you in educating yourself on how to select the right piano—based on your specific needs.
Learn More and Download Your Free Copy of the Piano Buyer’s Guide ▸