<p>Oh yes, violadad. Thanks for the reminder. We donated a barely used Fr. horn to a Mississippi middle school band dept. after Katrina. Wished we’d had more to give. I’m looking for the link for Pass Christian Middle School.</p>
<p>It’s actually a great idea. We have donated a cello and horn to the high school, but they don’t want to take posession until the fall. Apparently, the band director has less space at her home than I do!</p>
<p>For another idea about the smaller instruments, we actually do recycle cellos (with their accompanying stools) by providing them to adult friends that are musicians (or fellow orchestra members) for their own children or students to use. In that way they are put to good use, however, I will eventually get them back, as I would like. Musicians are very appreciative of instruments that their family (or students) can use and I find they come back in pretty much the same shape in which they left.</p>
<p>One piece of furniture that adds sanity to my home is an antique mahogany armoire. It has drawers to hold sheet music, flutes, and tin whistles & the side intended for hanging clothing holds plenty of stringed instruments. It sits in one end of our living room across from an enormous player piano. We have seven or eight violins, a Fender electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, a tenor banjo, a mandolin, a button accordion, a french horn, a flute, a trumpet, a concertina, two keyboards, bodhrans, tin whistles, recorders, spoons, and odd percussion instruments. I put my foot down when S wanted drums, & he has to suffer with a drum pad. Thank God no double bass or tubas have made it into the house. D wants an electric fiddle, and they sure are cool…</p>
<p>violadad wrote: <a 6-string=“” acoustic=“” guitar,=“” 1=“” mandolin,=“” yamaha=“” keyboard,=“” flute,=“” harmonica,=“” fiddle,=“” violin,=“” electric=“” viola,=“” back=“” up=“” emergency=“” use=“” 5=“” or=“” 6=“” viola=“” bows=“” and=“” 2=“” violin=“” bows,=“” plus=“” his=“” concert=“” viola.=“” add=“” half=“” a=“” dozen=“” folding=“” music=“” stands,=“” one=“” professional=“” stand=“” (still=“” has=“” “property=”" of=“” hartt=“” school"=“” emblazoned=“” on=“” the=“” front),=“” 3=“” empty=“” instrument=“” cases,=“” bassoon=“” stand.=“”></a></p><a 6-string=“” acoustic=“” guitar,=“” 1=“” mandolin,=“” yamaha=“” keyboard,=“” flute,=“” harmonica,=“” fiddle,=“” violin,=“” electric=“” viola,=“” back=“” up=“” emergency=“” use=“” 5=“” or=“” 6=“” viola=“” bows=“” and=“” 2=“” violin=“” bows,=“” plus=“” his=“” concert=“” viola.=“” add=“” half=“” a=“” dozen=“” folding=“” music=“” stands,=“” one=“” professional=“” stand=“” (still=“” has=“” “property=”" of=“” hartt=“” school"=“” emblazoned=“” on=“” the=“” front),=“” 3=“” empty=“” instrument=“” cases,=“” bassoon=“” stand.=“”>
<p>Added to the list today was a Storey & Clark upright piano, in excellent shape. Doesn’t even need a tuning. Cost was the price of a small cube van rental and 3 gallons of gas. One of the older gentlemen who works part time with my son was giving it away and quite happy to see it go to a musician.</p>
<p>All things come to he who waits… ;)</p>
</a>
<p>Let me be the first on CC to address the Storey & Clark: Welcome to the family!</p>
<p>mythmom- I’ve had the opportunity before to acquire a number of free uprights, and while I could easily assess the casework, I had no way of telling (a) if it was in tune, or (b) if it was worth taking and then ending up with a potential money pit, so I always passed. The last time I came home with a “free” boat, the cheapest alternative was to pay someone to haul it away.</p>
<p>This time, my son was available to look at and play the piano and was impressed. What I like about the Storey and Clark is the quality of the casework. I’ve encountered a number of uprights with loose, spindly, wobbly tapered front legs, either from poor construction, improper moving or just plain old age.</p>
<p>All the casework on this piano is tight, the front legs are well designed, sturdy, intact and of a cabriole style. Whether this is indicative of Storey and Clark, or a reflection of the care given by the previous owners, I trust it will last for many more years.</p>
<p>violadad: I acquired an old, wonderful German piano because a dear friend rented it and housed in my house so he could continue to give piano lessons in our town once a week after he had moved to NYC. He used my “parlor” (house built in 1858) for free and I had use of it for the rest of the week.<br>
When he tired of the arrangement he had put so much money into the rental piano I got to keep it!</p>
<p>Fast forward X number of years – At four DS chooses piano study over Suzuki violin. Learns to read music immediately. Could read music and words perfectly in preschool. But I digress. Unattractively proud of S. Piano dies (well needs to be rebuilt) by the time S is 7 (when he is ready for violin – no Suzuki – he can read music.) Rebuilder advises too costly; piano was almost 100 years old.</p>
<p>Well, here’s where the problem came in. S had grown so fond of the mellow sound of the German piano that a Petrof, which cost way more than I had in mind, was all the would accept. Went so far as to say, “You can buy something else, but I won’t play.” I said, “And who are you? Paderewski?” But he prevailed.</p>
<p>The action of the keys was stiff initially, but that was good to develop his technique and has loosened up a bit since then.</p>
<p>Our most recent additions were a Yamaha WX5 Wind controller with VL70M synth module, and a tunable bodhran made by Mance Grady. Great stuff.</p>
<p>Then, son made the mistake of pulling the bandoneon out of the dim recesses of the back shelf in the cellar where someone had hidden it. None of us has quite figured out the bizarre logic behind the fingering for this concertina on steroids, but we have puzzled out a few chords for accompanying sea shanties. Some of the buttons appear impossible to reach without training your pinkies to splay at least 90 degrees beyond the ring fingers. The dog has taken to leaving the room when it appears…</p>
<p>BassDad - funny!</p>
<p>Violadad - congrats on the Storey and Clark - they are great pianos! My S2 and I make a great team – we’ve had to help a number of my would-be piano students evaluate used pianos ('cause I won’t teach them till they have a piano). The last time (a couple months ago) he and I had the piano pulled apart in a matter of moments, to the shock of the sellers and buyers, who had no idea that the piano came apart like that, and were a bit horrified to see their instrument in pieces. 
And a bit embarrassed at the collection of dirt and dust inside (I assured them no one ever cleans inside their piano!) The main things we look for are cracks in the sound board (not good), rust on the strings, broken pieces here and there. Our “kit” includes a flashlight and a marble (to check for warping). My son’s ear is much better than mine, so he can check tuning and tone and touch more reliably.</p>
<p>Tuning is of only moderate interest - more often than not, the piano hasn’t been played or tuned in a long time. We want to know how far off it is, and how long ago it was tuned. Because it might take several tunings to get it back on pitch without breaking strings. Lots of people “brag” to us that their piano has “hardly been used.” This is actually not a good thing - pianos like to be used; unused ones can be brittle.</p>
<p>After all our “expertise”, such as it is, when we got to Germany, we bought a Petrof without hardly a second look. We were desperate. It is a lovely old case, completely rebuilt. Made from the root of a “nut tree” (our German was limited at the time - we think hazelnut - absolutely gorgeous.) Tunes well. It needs a bit of work on the action, someday when we have a couple extra hundred dollars laying around.</p>
<p>Highland Bagpipe! My 14 yr. old daughter will be playing her grandfather’s Henderson set of pipes (made in 1910) at Christmas!</p>
<p>Just a bump for an old, kinda fun thread. Lots of new “faces”, and many probably are not even aware of this thread’s existence.</p>
<p>Anyone want to add?</p>
<p>Bassdad, </p>
<p>It’s nice to hear that others have recorded in the bathroom.</p>
<p>Until S2 went away to music school, we had 2 baritone saxes, 2 alto saxes, a soprano sax, 2 clarinets, 2 flutes, an oboe, a banjo, a keybord, and a spinet piano, plus all the various music stands (3) and instrument stands (4). In addition, there are 2 large speakers and a mixer and mike & stand for gigs after the bass player quit and took his speakers, etc. These were scattered in at least 4 rooms of the house. Now, he’s taken about half of it with him and the rest is now sitting in the middle of his newly-cleaned room!</p>
<p>While not as many as some of you, we have:</p>
<p>1 upright piano, 1 electric keyboard, 1 acoustic guitar, 1 electric guitar, 1 electric bass guitar, 3 amps, 1 flute, 1 clarinet, 1 tuba, 1 trombone, 1 tenor sax, 1 ukelele, a few recorders, a few harmonicas, a few hand percussion instruments, a Chinese drum, thousands of musical numbers, several musical stands… Among other things (there are more, I just can’t remember. And my dad wants a double bass).</p>
<p>And of course, 2 Guitar Hero guitars.</p>
<p>We have an interesting collection of African hand drums that came from Ghana when my second son traveled there. He is a percussionist and has made a little reputation for himself as a hand-drummer. One is a djembe that he made himself under the tutelage of a Ghanian drum carver.</p>
<p>Well, my wife picked up another stray - a $25 garage sale special flute that looks like it will make someone a nice marching band instrument after a little TLC. We are also eagerly expecting an 8-keyed Rudall and Rose copy made by Rod Cameron after an original played by Chris North. That one was ordered about three years ago and will be a bit more expensive than the stray.</p>
<p>One viola… and one bow…</p>
<p>Lol.</p>
<p>worth bumping up to take some of the stress out of the “waiting” for those involved.</p>
<p>Maybe some of the newbies might want to ad to the collection.</p>
<p>DS built and plays a theremin. This is one of the earliest “electronic” instruments that has been used in popular and classical music. It was invented by Moog, of Moog Synthesizer fame. If you go to YouTube you can see and hear them played. The instrument has two “antennae” that stick out from a box – as you move your hands you can control pitch with one and volume with the other. Very cool and interesting.</p>
<p>S just acquired an EWI.</p>
<p>What a fun thread. In our home, it all started with a recorder. Then, a piano. Followed by an alto sax, 2 tenor saxes (one was DH’s from high school), 3 electric guitars. The guitars come and go as DH and DS enjoy finding old guitars on Craigslist and fixing them up. They sell them for just enough to afford the next project. Also, an electric bass, 2 acoustic guitars (one was mine when I was 12 - DS dusted it off and it sounds much better in his hands). Xylophone and snare drum, which led to a full drum kit. A mandolin. Recording equipment, 3 mics for the garage band. I’m sure I’ve left something off the list. We finished our basement for some extra space, especially needed in the winter when we are stuck inside. However, DS has taken it over.</p>