It is always difficult to tell a piano owner that their piano has seen better days. Went out to Dutzow by Washington, MO to assess a piano for a young family looking to get a grand piano. Her mother in law's piano was available for free! I hate to say there is no such thing as a free piano. Kind of like a free dog. You will need to pay to move it and tune it.
The piano was beautiful, but I could tell by looking at it that it was very old. It is a 1903 Baldwin baby grand. 120 years old...wow! It would make a great piece of furniture.
But, if you actually want to play it...it has issues. Tuning pins were not very tight and probably won't hold a tune. It was last tuned in 2018 and was already very flat. The bass was over a note low. The middle of the keyboard was not terrible, but I think it will go flat fairly quickly. I could see that three of the pins had been replaced with larger pins. Piano tech probably tried replacing the loosest pins and gave up at some point. Probably needs a new pin block...not a cheap fix.
Also had a minor crack in the sound board...which is not a deal breaker. 3 of the ribs had very small gap to soundboard. Gaps and cracks can cause a buzzing sound in the piano. They can be repaired but can cost $1000s.
Bottom line, great looking piano, but would cost a lot of money to get into playable condition. Pianos do not get better with age...they just wear out.
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