Bosendorfer model 225 black polyester case

Thank you for viewing this newly restored and rebuilt turn-of-the-century Bösendorfer grand piano. It has been rebuilt and finished in Ebony with a beautiful white maple interior and the frame finished in the authentic Bösendorfer bronze gilt.

I'm afraid that the photographs don't do the piano justice.  It really does look fantastic "in the flesh" with unbelievable presence, and the same attention to detail has gone into the things that are out of sight. Every last little component in the action has been either cleaned or replaced and the piano is an absolute delight to play.  You are very welcome to play the piano yourself as well as some of the other instruments at TP Pianos showroom.  Best to phone ahead and arrange a viewing at a mutually suitable time.

Please find below a testimonial for the recent sale of one of our Steinway A's:-

Hi Peter,

Many thanks again for the piano, it is stunning, I only hope I will be able to do it justice with my playing sometime over the next few years. Although I have messed around on a piano for quite a number of years now, I only started taking lessons last winter, so I have a long way to go, there is no doubt though, that what little I can play at the moment already sounds so much better.

I would of course be absolutely delighted to give an endorsement. Never having done one before I am not too sure how you would like me to script it but I can honestly say I have been impressed at every stage of the process of buying the piano. From the advert which was most informative and very well presented with the personal touch. Viewing was easy, it was done at an hours notice, the pianos are in an easily accessible showroom, the staff were welcoming, helpful, knowledgeable and informative. The method of payment was flexible to meet with my timetable and commitments as well as being reassuringly secure.

Delivery was on time as arranged, the piano was delivered into my home without any fuss or damage and I felt confident to leave the technicians to do their job. I was treated with the very personal touch of the vendor travelling close to a 100 mile round trip to ensure I was entirely satisfied with the piano and service, which indeed I was.

Kindest regards, and thank you again, Bernie W

Please take some time to google other restored Bösendorfers. Big restored Bösendorfers are a real rarity as you'll see, this ought to be at least equivalent to a Steinway C, (both in size and scarcity!).

Some additional general information

Bösendorfer Pianos

Bösendorfer is an Austrian manufacturer and one of the oldest piano makers in the world (established 1828). Unlike most manufacturers (including Steinway), Bösendorfer have adhered to the technique of fabricating the rim in solid sections of spruce which are then jointed together, rather than using the simpler and cheaper technique of glued veneers bent around a form. Bösendorfer have always been proud of the fact that their grand pianos are built with the maximum possible use of mountain spruce from the Alps. Spruce is better at transmitting sound than reflecting it. This is perhaps why Bösendorfers tend to have a more delicate treble and a bass that features the fundamental tone more than the higher harmonics. There are also some other features of Bösendorfers that are shared with only a few other piano brands. One is a removable capo d'astro bar in the treble, which facilitates rebuilding of the instrument and, Bösendorfer says, provides greater acoustic performance. The other is single-stringing, providing each string its own individual hitch pin on the plate instead of connecting it to a neighboring string. This design may slightly improve tuning stability and is an advantage in case of string breakage. Finally, there is the open wrest-plank which ensures excellent tunability and tuning stability due to the optimum fit of the tuning pins in the wrest-plank.

88 key vs 92 key

Bösendorfer offer models with extra bass keys.  The top of the range 290 cm "Imperial" has 97, and later versions of the 225 cm have 92, although the more recent 280 cm model returns to the traditional 88 keys.  The extra bass keys were provided originally to enable the pianist to play transcriptions of Bach's organ work.  They are seldom used although the extra strings may contribute some extra resonance. They also contribute up to six inches in the width of the piano! They are apparently considered a pain in the proverbial by piano technicians, as they vibrate very slowly indeed, making them very difficult to accurately tune.

This Bösendorfer has 88 keys.

Soundboards

There is a huge amount of discussion/argument on the net regarding whether or not soundboards should be replaced during restoration. Since there is no consensus, it makes sense to keep the original soundboard where it is possible and where the soundboard still has many decades of life left. Where the soundboard has deteriorated to the extent that it compromises the rebuild, then it obviously ought to be replaced from the same supplier as supplies modern soundboards to Bösendorfer themselves.

This piano has the original soundboard in first class condition.

Sound

It is not too difficult to tell the difference between, say, a Bechstein and a Steinway. The more practised ear can hear differences between individual pianos, even identical models from the same manufacturer. This is particularly the case with handmade marques such as Bösendorfer and Steinway as each piano is individually handmade and hence lacks the uniformity of mass produced, machined pianos. Having said this, these differences are very subtle and probably not particularly evident unless you are an expert or gifted with very sensitive hearing.  It is very important to realise that, however a piano sounds in the showroom, it will most certainly sound rather different in a domestic room as solid/suspended floors, ceiling height, room volume, soft furnishings, temperature, humidity etc all influence the sound. It is also important to realise that a new or newly rebuilt piano will go out of tune quickly as the new strings stretch and settle down and the piano will probably need to be retuned quite frequently over the first couple of years. Finally, I personally think that It is important not to get too obsessed with a particular sound! The consequences of this are well detailed in “Grand Obsession” by Perry Knize! http://www.grandobsession.com/reviews/index.html

Old versus new

Sellers of new pianos would argue that a new piano is probably better than a fully restored antique or vintage piano, but then they would wouldn't they? In reality, grand piano design has remained pretty much completely unchanged over the last hundred years, a point made by one of the remaining Steinway heirs in the highly recommended DVD  “Note by note. The making of Steinway L1037”. A preview is available at:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE0ayK_wmqo The craftsmen in this DVD also point out that the materials going into modern pianos are of a significantly lesser quality than those that were available to the craftsmen a century ago.

A century ago, top pianos were made to last indefinitely, and to be restored over and over again. Quality was the determining factor. With the exception of Bösendorfer, and a tiny number of other top end manufacturers (Steinway, Bechstein, Fazioli, Bluthner), todays pianos are mostly mass produced in the far East (even those with N American/European names), machine built down to a price with the cheapest possible materials and methods, will never be worthy of restoration and will become effectively worthless over a shockingly short period of time.

Restorations/rebuilding

The phrase "rebuilt" can mean different things to different people.  "Rebuilt" or "restored" pianos can range on the one hand from little more than new strings and hammers and a quick spit & polish, to, on the other hand, a meticulous 700 - 1000 man-hour stripping down and complete rebuild. The quality of the latter can also vary hugely. Not all restorations are created equal. Be careful out there!

A word of warning

Bosendorfer pianos are expensive and there are a lot of dodgy individuals out there who recognise that high priced items are ideal material for a bit of internet fraud. It is not uncommon for such characters to download pictures of pianos for sale and then offer them for sale themselves, usually via sites such as craigslist/ebay and with a promise to ship the piano once funds have been wired. If the deal is too good to be true then it probably is! If you are worried about a deal, insist on escrow and offer to pick up the extra cost yourself. I've used escrow.com on two occasions and they're very good (eBay recommend them). If the seller won't even discuss escrow, then draw the obvious conclusion and walk away!

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