PIANO BRANDS TO AVOID Here are some brand names from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s—and others from a little earlier and later—that are probably best avoided by students, though some may be acceptable for casual use if carefully serviced or reconditioned.
Aeolian
Other U.S.-made brands of the period
The following were some of the many brand names owned and made by the Aeolian Corporation, which went out of business in 1985. Many of these, and other names not listed, were “stencil pianos”—essentially identical instruments with different names applied to them, to meet dealers’ needs. Note that this list applies to the use of these names only during the mid to late 1900s. Some of these names were used in earlier periods on fine pianos, and several are still being used today, but on pianos that have no connection to the ones warned about here. Bradbury Cable Duo Art George Steck Hallet, Davis & Co. Hardman, Peck & Co. Henry F. Miller Ivers & Pond
J. & C. Fischer Kranich & Bach Melodigrand Pianola Poole Vose & Sons Winter & Co.
Small, cheap, American-made pianos from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s—During this period, American companies started feeling the competition from Japanese (and, later, Korean) makers who could undercut their prices. The result was that the few remaining American makers of inexpensive pianos began to cut as much cost as they could from their production. In addition, small pianos, especially spinets, were heavily promoted for their cabinet styling at the expense of their musical qualities. Spinets, which are 36" to 40" high, have a recessed, or “drop,” action that is connected to the keys with long “stickers” of wood or metal. These actions are difficult— and thus expensive—to repair. Also, during the 1950s and early ’60s, many spinet actions were manufactured with connecting parts, called “elbows,” made of plastic—a technology then in its infancy—which eventually deteriorated and broke off. Installing a set of replacement elbows can cost hundreds of dollars. Spinets were usually the least expensive entry-level pianos a company would manufacture, and most are not worth repairing. Many of these small, cheap pianos were so poorly designed and constructed that, even when new,
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Betsy Ross (by Lester)
Kincaid (by Grand)
rambach (by Kohler & B Campbell)
La Petite (by Kimball)
Currier
arantz (by Grand/ M Marantz)
Estey Grand
Lester
Gulbransen
udolf Wurlitzer R (by Wurlitzer)
obart M. Cable (by H Story & Clark)
estbrook (by W Currier)
Jesse French (by Grand)
Whitney (by Kimball)
Foreign-made brands of the period Belarus (Belarus)
Sojin (Korea)
Daewoo (Korea)
Suzuki (China)
Horugel (Korea)
Tokai (Japan)
J . Strauss (various countries)
and regulated and tuned as well as possible, they played poorly and sounded terrible. The first wave of pianos from this era began to enter the used-piano market in the 1980s, as the people who originally purchased them began to retire. But many others were passed on to this generation’s children, and now, as those children retire, a second wave of these instruments is entering the market. Even pianos from this period that were well made—and there were some—are now 30 to 50 years old, and so are likely to need some restoration before they will be suitable for the student. Caution should be used to separate those that have potential as good student instruments from those that don’t. (See sidebar for some of the names from this period to be avoided.) Early offerings from Korean and Chinese makers—Korean pianos made before the early 1990s, and Chinese pianos from before the early 2000s, often exhibit unpredictable, idiosyncratic problems. Quality control was erratic, and wood was often not properly seasoned, resulting in sticking keys and binding cabinet parts. Replacement parts can be difficult to obtain. Especially problematic were the small console pianos without legs
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