Pianotech

  • 1.  Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Posted 07-07-2018 16:07
    I looked at A S&S M yesterday and there was no serial number in any of the usual places. The rear of the plate had 7/7 Y cast into the plate.
    When did S&S switch to letters and did they omit any in the sequence?

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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  • 2.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-07-2018 17:26
    Does it have the case number on the treble end?  If so, that, plus the raised numbers on the plate (and some diligent searching through the files) could come up with the serial number...though it has been said that some pianos "went out the back door" with no serial number on them anywhere. I had an L like that. From the 30's.

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 3.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-07-2018 18:11
    Likewise, I also service a S&S M with no serial number in any of the usual places. I learned from the local piano movers that Steinway also stamped their serial numbers into the leg(s) of the piano, right where the leg meets the bottom of the piano. Sometimes the only way to find the real serial number is to tilt it on its side and remove each of the legs until you find the SN.

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    Benjamin Sanchez
    Professional Piano Services
    (805)315-8050
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    BenPianoPro@comcast.net
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  • 4.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-07-2018 18:25
    Peter and Ben,
    If both the rumors you've heard are true, they could be tied together to suggest that Steinway did slip some of them out the back door by stamping the serial number on a part that is easy to replace; switch the legs and you have a different piano.
    Roger





  • 5.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Posted 07-07-2018 18:43
    Hard to swap these legs, Chippendale.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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  • 6.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-07-2018 19:21
    Jon, 

    I think I remember on this list someone had the 'translation' of the case part numbers on S&S.
    You can get the year from that, perhaps someone has the details.

    Regards, Michael

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    Michael Gutowski, RPT, TEC
    Chicago Chapter, VP
    chicagotuner@aol.com
    847-759-0369
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  • 7.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-07-2018 20:36
    With very few exceptions, I've found that Steinway usually stamps the serial number into the front & center of the keybed, right behind the keyslip rail. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the manufacturing number, which is also stamped on the front of the keybed, and the serial number, but they're both usually there.

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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 8.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Posted 07-07-2018 22:33
    I looked in ALL the usual places. The only areas not inspected were the tops of the legs and lyre. I suspect the piano was from the 1920's due to the color of the key sticks and the vertigris wippens.  The piano may have been restrung and the string frame refinished which could account for the lack of a serial number on the string frame.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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  • 9.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-08-2018 07:01

    They started with the letter "A" code in 1910, and I think I remember reading that they only skipped one letter (i or o?). Contact David Kirkland at the factory and he can probably set you straight.

     

    Mark

     

    Sent from Mail for Windows 10

     






  • 10.  RE: Steinway Manufacture Dating

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-08-2018 16:55
    I'm pretty sure that the Alphabet part of the case number simply cycles around A-Z (duh) but the numerical part gets started all over again each year.

    At any rate, the serial numbers are recorded numerically, but the case numbers are not. Therefore looking up by SN is quite simple, but looking up by case number requires that you know the year of production, and then thumb through the records one by one till arriving at the case number (this is where the plate info can sometimes help). Then, voila! The SN becomes evident.

    In my case, Mike Mohr looked for quite some time (he said much more time than usual) and ended up finding the pianos on either side of the one in question, but could never find the target piano. C'est la vie!

    So it all depends on the circumstances surrounding the "disappearance" of the SN. 

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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