Piano valuation

We buy quality grand and upright pianos. Piano makes of interest include: Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer, Fazer, Fazioli, Feurich, Grotrian Steinweg, Kawai, Knight, Lipp, Sauter, Seiler, Steinway, Welmar and Yamaha. Please see our common makes page for ratings of all common makes of piano.

Note: we can only value pianos that are in the UK.

UPRIGHT PIANOS

rosewood bechstein 7 upright piano

Bechstein 7(1911)

The table below gives the best ones available in the UK, placed in order of the most common good pianos available. We’ve listed the ones tuners and performers regard as the best, irrespective of age, but taking into account tone, touch and appearance. Prices are a guide only. There are of course hundreds of upright pianos and we have only listed the most common and some of the best. For a fuller list of common makes available in the UK, please see our common makes page. If you are interested in purchasing or selling a make not listed please contact us. For Yamahas, see the menu on the left.

GERMAN UPRIGHT PIANOS

Make Model Length Year un-restored restored
Bechstein All 122-145cm 1880-present £500-£2,000 £4,000-£9,000

There is much variety in Bechsteins available, so it’s hard to generalize on price. We deal mostly in models 10, 9 and 8. Model V (5) is also very common and often has attractive inlay, but models I to V suffer a lot from loose tuning pins and so need repining and often a new pin-block. Model 7 is excellent but rare. Model 6 is rarer still but in superb in every way. (prices as of 2014)

Bechstein 10 126cm 1902-1929 £500-£1,000 £2,500-£4,500

Normally comes in black, rosewood or mahogany. Beautiful warm rich tone. NB bass not very deep tone as strings are short.(prices as of 2014)

Bechstein 9 122cm 1902-1929 £700-£1,500 £2,900-£5,000

Normally black, rosewood or mahogany. Rich tone. (prices as of 2014)

Bechstein 8 129cm 1902-1929 £700-£1,200 £3,000-£9,000

Usually black, rosewood or mahogany. Rich tone. Action difficult to set up. Good all round piano with more “serious” tone than models 9 and 10. (prices as of 2014)

Kaps One Model 130cm 1898-1915 £200-£700 £2,500-£4,000
Well made pianos, often decorative Art Nouveau and Art Deco with strong rich tone. Can vary in quality.
Steinway K 156cm £1,000 – 6,000 £8,000 – £13,000
N/A
Steinway N 154cm £1,500 – £4,000 £9,000 – £12,000
N/A
Steinway V 153cm £1,000 – £6,000 £8,500 – £12,000
N/A
Other less common good makes include Blüthner (older ones are usually over-dampers), Steinway, Förster (old ones good), Bösendorfer (Austrian, excellent but rare), Feurich, Gors & Kallman (varied), Grotrian Steinweg (excellent), Ibach (older ones common but over-dampers), Schimmell and Zimmermann (not recommended until 1995 when merged with Bechstein). Modern Bechsteins, Steinways, etc are notlisted above because they rarely appear on the second-hand market.

MODERN ENGLISH AND OTHER EUROPEAN UPRIGHT PIANOS

Make Model Length Year un-restored restored
Knight K10 122cm 1963-1988 £500-£1,000 £1,500-£3000
Knight K20 110cm 1963-1988 £500-£1,000 £1,500-£3000
Modernstyle. Usually mahogany, sometimes walnut or teak. Teachers’ favorite, made with great integrity. Full singing tone for modern piano. Older knights from 1950 to 1960 smaller and more varied. Post 1989 pianos are not made in the original way and are inferior.
Welmar Modern style 104-120cm 1965-1991 £300-£1,000 £1,700-£4,000
Consistent good quality, rich mellow tone and fine touch. The 30s ones are taller pianos influenced by Blüthner (Welmar were the importers of Blüthner) and of similar quality.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH AND OTHER EUROPEAN UPRIGHT PIANOS

Make Model Length Year un-restored restored
Welmar  30’s Style  130cm 1928-1940 £300-£1,000 £1,500-£3,000
Fine quality with rich tone and smooth touch. In collaboration with Blüthner, for whom they were the agents.