Steinway Grand Piano Buying Guide: What You Are Actually Paying For

 

 

 

 

A Steinway grand piano is one of the largest single purchases most musicians will ever make and one of the few instruments where the price is genuinely justified by what it delivers. That is not a marketing statement — it is the consistent experience of pianists, recording engineers, and technicians who have worked with both Steinway and comparable instruments at similar price points. The Steinway sounds different in ways that are immediately audible and the used market makes ownership possible at prices that are significantly below new.

Used Steinway grand pianos appear on Reverb regularly across every model and decade of production. Finding the right one requires understanding what the models mean, what the decades of production produced, and what to look for when buying an instrument of this value used.

Steinway Grand Piano Models — Size Changes Everything

Steinway produces grand pianos in six sizes, each designated by a letter. The size of a grand piano directly affects its tone — longer strings produce richer overtones and more complex sound. Here is what each model actually is:

Steinway Model S — 5'1" Baby Grand

The smallest Steinway grand and the most common in private homes. At 5 feet 1 inch it fits into living rooms and music rooms where a larger instrument would be impractical. The S is a genuine Steinway with the same construction quality as the larger models but the shorter string length produces a slightly brighter, less complex tone than the mid-size models. Used Model S pianos appear in the $20,000 to $45,000 range depending on age, condition, and whether they have been rebuilt.

Steinway Model M — 5'7" Medium Grand

The Model M is the most popular Steinway for home use among serious pianists because it balances the tonal richness of a larger instrument with a footprint that works in most music rooms. The additional string length over the S produces noticeably more depth and sustain in the lower register. Used Model M pianos run $25,000 to $55,000 depending on era and condition.

Steinway Model B — 6'10.5" Semi-Concert Grand

The Model B is the instrument that professional pianists choose when they want a full-size Steinway sound in a home or studio environment. At nearly 7 feet it requires a dedicated music room but produces a tonal richness and dynamic range that approaches the concert grands without requiring a concert hall to sound correct. The B is what serious recording studios keep in the piano room. Used Model B pianos run $40,000 to $90,000 depending on era, condition, and rebuild history.

Steinway Model D — 8'11.75" Concert Grand

The concert grand. This is the instrument on the stage of every major concert hall and in the recording studios of every major label. The D is not a home piano — it requires a large space to sound correct and is most commonly owned by concert venues, universities, and recording studios. Used concert Ds appear on the market when institutions upgrade and run $60,000 to $150,000 and above.

Steinway Production Eras — Which Decade to Buy

Steinway has been manufacturing pianos in New York since 1853 and in Hamburg since 1880. The production era matters for both quality and value.

Pre-1960 Steinways — The Vintage Era

Steinways built before 1960 used older scale designs and construction methods that some technicians and pianists prefer. The action feel is different from modern instruments and the tone has a specific character that players describe as darker and more complex. These instruments require careful evaluation because their age means more potential maintenance issues — restringing, action regulation, and soundboard condition are all critical to assess.

1960 to 1985 — The CBS Era

CBS acquired Steinway in 1972 and the production during the CBS ownership period — roughly 1972 to 1985 — is considered by some technicians to be more variable in quality than pre-CBS or post-CBS production. This does not mean these pianos are bad — many excellent instruments were produced during this period — but it means individual evaluation matters more than era alone.

1985 to Present — Modern Steinway

After Steinway was returned to private ownership in 1985 production quality stabilized and the instruments from this era forward are considered consistently excellent. A well-maintained modern Steinway from the 1990s or 2000s represents strong value on the used market — it has already taken significant depreciation from new prices while retaining the full Steinway construction quality.

Rebuilt vs Original — What Rebuilding Actually Means

A rebuilt Steinway has had major components replaced or restored — typically new strings, new hammers, new action parts, and soundboard repair or replacement. A well-rebuilt vintage Steinway can play and sound as good as a new instrument at a fraction of the cost. A poorly rebuilt Steinway has been worked on by someone without the skill or materials to do it correctly and may sound worse than it would have before the rebuild.

Always ask specifically who rebuilt the piano, when the work was done, and what components were replaced. A rebuild by a Steinway-certified technician using Steinway parts is a genuinely different thing from a rebuild by a local piano technician using aftermarket parts.

What to Do Before Buying Any Used Steinway

Hire an independent piano technician to inspect the instrument before you buy. This is non-negotiable for a purchase of this magnitude. A qualified technician evaluates the soundboard condition, the string condition and tuning stability, the action regulation, the hammer condition, the pinblock integrity, and the structural condition of the case and frame. An inspection typically costs $150 to $300 and can save you from a $40,000 mistake.

Play the instrument yourself at the dynamic range you actually use. Pianos that sound acceptable at moderate volume can have serious regulation issues that only reveal themselves when played softly or at full concert dynamic. The voicing — the tonal character of the hammers — should be consistent across the entire keyboard without dramatic changes in brightness or color between registers.

Find used Steinway grand pianos on Reverb — filter by model, era, and condition, and always arrange an in-person inspection with a qualified technician before committing to any purchase at this price level. More Like This

 

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