The fate of old pianos (BBC link)

[poodlesrule]

BBC article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19706812)

I guess a lot of low-grade instruments still sit around due to their size...

[Spudman]

That was an interesting read.

While on the road, years ago, my old bandmates had a joke phrase, "hand me that piano." Pianos aren't something that you can just toss around and I'll bet people are realizing how difficult it is to move one and move with one, not to mention the expense of maintaining one. If the doomsday folks are correct and society fails and we are left without consistent electricity service, I'll bet they become quite valuable again then.

[poodlesrule]

Can't wait for doomsday...
harmonicas, kazoos, rubboards, washtub basses (I wanna make one, gotta pick a washtub one of these days!)

I am actually saving a special kitchen pan cover that has that incredible ping...!

[Spudman]

Can't wait for doomsday...
harmonicas, kazoos, rubboards, washtub basses (I wanna make one, gotta pick a washtub one of these days!)

I am actually saving a special kitchen pan cover that has that incredible ping...!

Can't wait for doomsday? That's a strange thing to say, but only about 2 months away... according to the Mayans. You probably are going to pick up a banjo too? :messedup:

[marnold]

Masses of people taking up the banjo certainly would be a sign of the end!

[piebaldpython]

But.....considering the "loud unamplified racket" a banjo can make......they would be KING of the plectrum-on-strings instruments....the only thing that could hold a candle to their noise would be a metal-bodied reso.........shade of Bukka White and Son House........:thwap

[R_of_G]

...I'll bet people are realizing how difficult it is to move one and move with one, not to mention the expense of maintaining one. If the doomsday folks are correct and society fails and we are left without consistent electricity service, I'll bet they become quite valuable again then.

I have a piano in my home now. We could have had the piano at least ten years before we got it to our house as it was in my wife's parents' house. However, it was never feasible/practical/affordable to move it to any of the apartments we'd lived in prior to purchasing our house. We hired professional movers for that move (unlike using friends for out apt-to-apt moves) so we had them pick up the piano at my in-laws' house on the way.

[Spudman]

Masses of people taking up the banjo certainly would be a sign of the end!

:rollover Good one.

[deeaa]

Yeah, thanks, a great article!

We bought a good piano for 200 just a few years back. Me & a friend of mine carried it, it IS a hard job for just two people...but surprisingly it even stayed quite well in tune too.
Hasn't seen much use, but it's nice to have one around.

I see a lot of quite OK, not even that old, like 20-30 year old pianos on sale all the time for a few hundred, more if they have a particularly pretty finish. But I haven't seen THAT old pianos on sale anywhere. I suppose they do go to the dump.

[sunvalleylaw]

I was raised on an old Acrosonic, kinda like this one: http://www.piano-play-it.com/baldwin-acrosonic-piano.html

I think it is sad that old pianos are just being dumped. We have an electric piano, but have access to my mother-in-law's acoustic piano next door, also a spinet or console style. The stand up ones I remember as a kid are the ones that seemed to really sound bad. Maybe something about the design.

I would like to start playing some piano again. I have not in years.