Getting rid of a piano.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd say any pikey would be happy to remove the frame - given the cost of scrap metal these days.

[Bill]

In message , Invisible Man writes

My experience with freecycle have been very mixed. And I can't imagine why they use that awful Yahoo application.

About 30 years ago we were given a good old iron framed piano, which we still have and which still sounds great. My daughter got to Grade 8 on it and bangs away every time she comes back to visit. About 15 years ago we moved house and thought the old piano would fall apart in the move, so we bought a second piano at a good price from a teacher, and put it in the new house. With a bit of woodwork from me, the old piano did survive the move, and daughter later took the second piano to her house.

When she comes here and we hear her play her old black piano, it makes it all worthwhile. This talk of smashing a decent piano is sacrilege. It could change someone's life. It's your duty to try to find them.

[George]

Smash it up into pieces,I had a great time doing this as a nipper on our old piano...me am wanted firewood for the coal fire as we couldnt afford coal now and again. ;-)

[stuart noble]

Acoustic sound isn't valued too highly these days

[Alang]

bay and freecycle have ben mentioned. There is this too

[mogga]

As long as you don't ask for more than 3 42" plasmas a month my group doesn't mind. :(

[Stephen Howard]

Generally because most half-decent digital pianos will knock spots of A.N.Other old upright. No need for tuning, headphone capability, weighted and touch-senstive action that never needs balancing, portability - and in some cases a choice of piano/harpsichord/organ sounds.

I got £12 for my old upright back in the 70s - it was so knackered I had to have it tuned to Bb. The only value it had was in the soundboard wood.

Regards,

[dennis]

Digital sound is often undervalued by old farts. A decent (more than ~£99) digital piano is almost certain to be better than a 1920s upright if it wasn't tuned two hours ago if its connected to some proper speakers.

[Graeme]

In message , Bill writes

Slightly off on a tangent, but just how heavy, and difficult to move, is an upright piano?

My wife would love one (she plays, but does not have a piano), and have seen them on Freecycle occasionally, but are put off by the imagined (?) problems of moving, tuning etc.

[dennis]

Ahh, mythbusters.. proving that they can't duplicate a myth.. not that the myth didn't happen..

they aren't the brightest of people.. they don't even know what makes a suspension bridge a suspension bridge as anyone who watched them make one for a myth will know.

The program can be fun though.

[dennis]

Neither has geoff ;-)

[stuart noble]

But maybe kids need to hear acoustic sound. It's just musical typewriting otherwise

[geoff]

In message , "dennis@home" writes

missed my post on how I made the approximation then ?

">> all 200 of them ? >not counted them, that's was just my get out of jail free card :-) >

88 * 3 - bass strings , round off to the nearest sensible number"

[geoff]

In message , "dennis@home" writes

better in what way ?

I have yet to come across a digital keyboard which can compare with a half decent real piano in terms of feel and dynamics

Give me a proper piano any day

and yes, I have both, learnt piano "classically" etc

[George]

About the weight of a car engine.

[geoff]

dennis has just shown that he's not a musician

[endymion]

I cant say how heavy it is but it is HEAVY! Its on castors ( I guess most are) and when I moved we wheeled it in and tugged it up a couple of steps. When I had it originally it took me and one other person ( male) to lift it up 15 steps! It was a job and I was much younger then. My current home is a bungalow so when we moved here it came along relatively happily. However, I know even removers job at moving piano's.

Getting it tuned is relatively painless except for the cost - 45 quid a time.

I really just want to move mine because I dont use it. I cant play. I want a new carpet and cant put one down because its so difficult to work round the piano and its a bit in the way.

[zymurgy]

I can speak from experience on this. I moved an old iron framed upright with a burly mate for my girlfriend from a 1st floor flat.

They are *very very* heavy.

We used ratchet straps slung around the legs to lower/slide it down the stairs on blankets.

We then lumped it on its back on a trailer and bounced it down the A23 in the rain under a scrap of plastic sheet to my (then) girlfriends house.

She let it settle for a week or so, then had it tuned.

Lasted 5 years with her, then she traded it in for a newer, better quality upright.

They are quite hardy.

Cheers,

Paul.

[stuart noble]

Doesn't need to be with his £99 keyboard plugged into his surround sound system, ennit?

[Kevin]

a bridge is one thing a snapping steel wire is another :-)