Well, it was!
> Generally, people don't realise that pianos that don't get restored have something of an expiry date.
Agreed, especially once the soundboard or pinblock are cracked.
But those are actually quite good on this particular instrument. It was simply a 'budget' grand, 135 so fairly small, made in the DDR so not the best quality (to put it mildly). The fun is in getting it to work again and a great piano to practice repair skills on, you couldn't possibly mess it up much further.
> But I guess if you put in really hard work one can?
Absolutely, but it would definitely not be economical, then you'd have to work on a more valuable instrument.
> Conversely, old pianos in good shape sound great. I think that's my issue with Yamaha grands. They sound soulless.
I'm not good enough to distinguish from a technically good grand and one that sounds 'great', this one actually sounds a lot better than it's $100 price tag would lead you to believe, in fact it sounds a lot better than my $1500 digital one, and it's in many ways much more fun to play.
> Steinway pianos for example have to be restored with Steinway parts to have resale value. I guess that's why you get such high prices for them.
Steinway pianos are valuable because they are sought after, not because each and every one of them is great. I've seen really crappy Steinways sold for their weight in gold.
Bosendorfer is very good too, not nearly at the price of a Steinway, Pleyel has some really nice instruments (but those are getting much older now), Fazioli, Kawai and many others. The history of a piano is about as good as the trees from which its parts have been cut and with wood being a natural product that puts a lot of variability in at the core.
That's why the really good brands pay a premium for the highest grades of wood, that's the easiest way to make a huge difference in quality.
