In the case of Bechstein, the C presumably stands for Carl (Bechstein), the company's founder. In the current Bechstein range, the 'C Bechstein' pianos are the premium range, and the 'Bechstein' ones are the next range down (followed by W. Hoffmann and then Zimmermann). We have a 'Hofmann' in the fa...

The piano now has a new home -- I'm told mainly for accompanying other instruments. It does still tune up to concert pitch, and although it slips a bit, it's not that bad (and it's probably worse just now as I've been playing a lot, having started lessons again). I'll be sad to see it go, but hopefu...

Thank you for the advice. The supplier of my new piano will take the old one away for a fee, so I always have that option if nothing else works. It will be a shame to see it go...

Just out of interest, how old do you think it is?

I'm in West Norfolk, and access is reasonably straightforward (ground floor, lift through uPVC door then wheel around to front of house on patio/paved path, gravel area at front, no problems with parking/lorry access). I've taken a few photos, which are here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dobgc76fk25b8...

Yes it's underdamped and overstrung, but I can't tell you more than that -- I'm sure someone else will be along with more information soon.

To make way for a new piano, I'm looking for a good home for an old one. Where do I start? I could of course list on Gumtree, EBay and so on and hope that someone will be able to make use of it, but might a restorer want it to work on and resell? I'm not looking to make money from it, but I would ra...

I've tried a few more and I think I know what I'm getting now. I tried a couple of Yamahas which were quite nice (an SE model and an SU7). I also liked a small Kawai (but I'm not looking for a small piano) and a Kemble Conservatoire (which I had thought would be like a Yamaha, but it wasn't). The W ...

I would consider either private or dealer -- I know that I may not save money overall by buying privately, but it seems like there's not a huge market in the sort of thing I'm trying to find.

Or maybe I should look at the cost of a full restoration instead?

Thank for that, I'm in Norfolk, so not very near you. I've listened to some demos on Youtube, and although I realise that these have their limitations, I'm drawn more towards the good German pianos. I'm not particularly taken with the Yamaha U3s (I've played one recently too). I like what I've heard...

I have decided that I need to replace my piano, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it. The piano is an old (c.100 years) high-quality German one. Overall, tone and touch are very good, but its age is showing, and it needs more than just a bit of maintenance. Full restoration is probably not econ...