Brinkerhoff Piano Co. Brewster Piano Co. Boardman & Gray Bush & Gertz Piano Co. Bush & Lane Piano Co. Bush & Lane Cecilian. C Cable Cable Company Cable-Nelson Piano Co. Cable & Sons J.C. Campbell Carola Inner-Player Cambridge Carter Cecilian Celco Reproducing Medium Chase. If you have the Name of the Manufacturer, the Serial Number and the units General Condition, i.e., working or non-working player mechanism, appearance, etc., then visit the Blue Book of Pianos website and write to Bob Furst. He has collected quite a bit of information about numerous piano companies.
M Schulz Piano Serial Numbers
Pianos, player-pianos. Grand and Reproducing Pianos known throughout the piano world as instruments of the highest class. Schultz piano of the best known, most highly organized, reputable and extensive piano manufacturing concerns in the country. The serial number (NOT the model number) of the piano. To locate the serial number on a vertical piano, open the top and look inside. Almost all of them include the serial number on the plate in a small 'window' near the tuning pins. This lovely piano was built by M. Schulz & Company Piano in 1906. Schulz was a large and successful piano manufacturer that enjoyed decades of prosperity. This piano is made of beautiful exotic-grain book matched walnut wood.
Why Not Just Buy a New Piano?
Always there will be those who believe that new is better. Where pianos are concerned, this is just not so.
As costs continue to rise in all categories of our economy, piano manufacturers, as manufacturers in all industries, seek to minimize costs and maximize (or even just maintain) profits. Obviously, this goal must be achieved or companies shut their doors. Something has to give. Most often the quality of the piano gives first. Cheaper parts and mass production techniques may keep the doors open and may produce what appears to be a beautiful instrument, but when compared to an aged quality instrument built by old world craftsmen with materials unavailable or too expensive to incorporate in today's products, the differences are 'clear as a bell'. It is a facsimile of what was, a sculpture, imitating life. It might appear to be alive but it lacks a soul. These newer pianos do not have the sound or the feel that a musician craves and expects from a quality instrument.
What is your preference, a shiny piece of modern furniture, or a beautifully refinished and restored quality instrument overflowing with sound? A piano with a unique style, appearance, sound and feel that beckons you to play or a shiny piece of furniture that looks good under the vase and candelabras and sounds best when it is not being played?
The older pianos were built to last. They were made with the best possible materials by highly skilled craftsmen with a penchant for quality (sound like someone we know) and have a tone and feel that will put a smile on any serious musician's face. Many of the pianos Vincent maintains are over 100 years old and still have their original ivory keys!
M Schulz Piano Serial Number
Don't take our word for it, make an appointment to experience Vincent's pianos, compare them to the new ones being sold and draw your own conclusions.
The reasoning is sound for buying a restored, vintage piano, the most important reason you should buy from Vincent Izzo's Piano Gallery is:
Vincent guarantees his pianos for life,.
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It is actually much easier to approach the topic of value from an entirely different perspective. First, let's talk availability. Today, on the Internet, there are people who are selling 'complete' circa 1920 upright player pianos in unrestored condition for less than $200.00, and there are dozens to choose from. As far as prices at auctions, upright players hardly ever command more than $800.00 in working or semi-working condition. The same is true at sites like CraigsList. Here in New Jersey, if you can get $1200-$1500 for a fully functional circa 1920's player piano, you're having a great day. Reproducing players can go for as high as $14,000.00 to $16,000, and higher, but only when the piano is in the highest class and in perfect working order. Again, we come back to condition, for it is the condition of a unit, both inside and out, which determines it's basic value.
Let's say you have a working player that looks pretty nice and is regularly maintained by a qualified player piano technician. I can almost guarantee that the technician has a good idea of the units value and would be happy to tell you. If the unit looks nice and is not well maintained, you will most likely have to hire a professional to evaluate the units condition and he will give you an idea of it's approximate value. Let's say the unit looks pretty rough, has chipped ivories, a few corners crushed in, ding marks here and there and the player doesn't work but it's intact. Well, it's considered unrestored and it's worth less than $200.00.
What about restoring the unit. Surely they must become more valuable if they have been professionally restored. WRONG! At the present moment, it costs more to restore a player piano than it's worth. Remember those units that I was offered for the cost of moving? I usually decline the offer because even at cost, it's almost impossible to sell a restored unit for what I've put into it in time and materials. Generally speaking, the return one can expect is $0.35 for every dollar spent in repair or restoration costs. Then you might wonder, 'Why have it restored?' Answer... because you love it. That's the only reasonable answer. Player pianos are not an investment!!! Unlike a fine violin, player pianos get WORSE with AGE and every single one will have to be restored, at a healthy fee, at least every forty years (much sooner on certain types). Ouch!
So, what's it worth? If you haven't figured it out by now, you need the services of a profession technician who will charge about $80.00 to $95.00 an hour for his talents. Frankly, that's a lot less expensive than just two of the main reference books that any qualified technician has in his office and most good technicians have dozens of books. Have we got the time to do all the research for free? Frankly, No! It's best if you hire a professional rebuilder and have him perform a complete evaluation. If you have the Name of the Manufacturer, the Serial Number and the units General Condition, i.e., working or non-working player mechanism, appearance, etc., then visit the Blue Book of Pianos website and write to Bob Furst. He has collected quite a bit of information about numerous piano companies.
As a final word, all of the above is simply my opinion based on forty years as a player piano technician. I could be wrong!
This page was last revised on April 6, 2020 by John A. Tuttle.
One of THE most difficult questions that I am constantly being asked is, 'What is my player piano worth?' Honestly, I can't tell you with any degree of accuracy. It is the condition of a unit, both inside and out, which establishes it's basic value, just like with any other consumer good. There are, of coarse, classes of instruments ranging from 'unknown origin' to 'elite'. The fact is, there have been more than 12,000 different piano makers in just the past 150 years, and there have been over 1000 makes of player pianos since 1900. (And you thought there were a lot of car makers.) |
Schulz Piano Company
407 19th Ave, Brick, NJ, 08724 Phone Number 732-840-8787 |
M Schulz Piano Chicago
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