From the Road
Our second Stilwell Pianos blog!
These last few weeks have been some what of a blur at the shop… The “busy season” has definitely started and is keeping me on my toes. Two of the last four used baby grand pianos we got in California sold before I could even get them online! Because of our videos, I have had more and more people coming in to see used pianos in general (as opposed to a specific one they saw online). I like this approach a lot more because they are truly trusting me to find them a good, sound used piano at a reasonable price. I am very humbled that people are able to put the future of their family’s piano in my hands!
I am currently writing this blog in a hotel room in Moreno Valley CA. My cousin Justin Stilwell, did this trip with me and it has gone really well so far. We got some very young amazing used baby grand pianos. Our first stop was in Chino Valley where we bought a 17 year old Kohler and Campbell 4’8″ high gloss black baby grand from a family who was downsizing. The piano is in great shape and really just needs a good tuning and a clean up. Our next piano was in Sherman Oaks and was a 2004 Pearl River GP-142. I have bought/sold a few of these and I am always happy to have them in the shop. Pearl River is owned by Yamaha and they actually make some of Yamaha’s parts in the Pearl River factory. This one is in mint condition, measures 4’8″ and is in a high gloss black finish.
After the Pearl River, Justin and I grabbed some Chipotle in Burbank right across the street from the Warner Bros studios. Since it was so crowded and we had no where to park the trailer, we had to eat in the truck (and watch SNL on the iPad…). Once we finished lunch we had a short 8 minute drive to Toluca Lake where we picked up a 7 year old used Schafer and Sons baby grand piano. It is one of the newer Schafer and Sons baby grand pianos so the logo is different than what I usually see (in a good way!). It was made by Young Chang and was VERY heavy for its 5 foot size. The family we bought it from was moving to the beach so they didn’t think they would have room for it at their new/smaller house. Getting this one loaded up was a little difficult since they lived on a very busy street, right next to a school… That was just getting out! There were honking mini vans everywhere and our big truck and trailer would not fit in any spot on the block… Finally a big truck moved and I was able to wedge our rig into the spot. Its a good thing my dad taught me how to drive with a trailer when I was 16… I dont want to brag, but I am pretty good with that thing!
After our third piano we had an hour and a half drive to Lake Elsanore where a piano mover/stoarge company had a beautiful high gloss black 6’1″ Samick for us. The company (San Diego Piano Movers) had recently claimed this piano after the previous owner stopped paying the storage payments on it. About 6 years ago, an old lady bought it for her San Diego home but a few years later she passed away and left the piano to her son. Her son had hired San Diego piano movers to store it for him but after missing MANY payments, San Diego piano movers asked him what the deal was. He said he did not have room for the piano and just wanted to be done with it so San Diego movers bought it from him and in turn, sold it to Stilwell Pianos! This piano is in beautiful shape and has a nice rich sound due to its size and “newness”..
Well thats it for this trip! We have to get on the road and head back to the valley of the sun… Like always, if you have any questions about our used baby grand pianos or our used upright pianos in Arizona, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Thanks for reading!
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