old upright with sentimental value: restring? rebuild?

I've got an old upright (1889 Lindeman & Sons), which is generally in good shape. (I should be in such shape at that age.) The action had some work done twenty-five years ago, before my brother began lessons. It isn't perfect. The damping isn't very good in the lower octaves (I think almost all the felt is original). The case is beautiful. The sustain is excellent. The central 4-5 octaves sound good, with the bass pretty 'thuddy' (and some action trouble in the bottom few keys), and the upper octave and a half are tinny and at the very top untunable. There are two missing strings, and one or two others that clearly broke at the pin and were shifted a bit. Except during the period my brother was taking lessons, it hasn't been played very much since my g-grandmother died, 40 or more years ago.

This was my gg-grandparents piano, so there is sentimental value. It moved west with them a century ago, and was passed from them to my g-grandmother to my mother to me. I've had it about two years. I play it some, and am thinking of starting lessons. My daughter, who is six, has expressed interest in lessons.

I know the general feeling on this list about the 'value' of old uprights. My tuner/tech, on the other hand, thinks it is well made, and probably worth at least restringing and (he thinks) some significant work on the action. It hasn't been torn apart, so the exact extent of needed work isn't yet clear. But we are certainly talking (many?) thousands of dollars (and I live in a very high cost-of-living area, so it will be even more expensive than most places).

Am I crazy to think of spending this kind of money on this kind of piano? I'm not worried about resale value

Hi,

Chances are that this piano can be rebuilt, but spend only what it's worth to you personally because you will never be able to resell it for what you have invested in it.

I agree with John Inzer.

I service a few Lindeman uprights regularly (one's a Cluett, but the same as a Lindeman). In my experience, they seem to be quite above average in quality. I installed new bass strings in the Cluett about 5 years ago - great results and a terrific sounding piano.

They, however, are 15 to 20 years newer than yours. Their actions were made by Wessell, Nickel & Gross, which, at the time, were top of the line action builders, and generally used in better quality pianos. I've had excellent results working with the old WS&G actions. Not sure if your 'older' Lindeman has that type of action. The Lindeman actions I've seen all have a true sostenuto pedal - another sign, IMO, of a better quality piano.

Hope this helps.

Eric Gloo Piano Technician