The 'old clunker' dilemma: Experts assess the fate of pianos

They're likely to be "old clunkers", as long-time piano tuner technician David Ricketts calls them - cheap pianos bought by parents of yesteryear who were afraid their children might not enjoy lessons.

"When I entered the trade [around 30 years ago] most of what I did was keep old instruments going for beginners ... that we called the 'clunkers', the old 1914 pianos up to the 1920s," he said.

"Generally speaking, anything now that's made before the 1970s you have to look at it like it's going to be a lot of work. It's either going to be worn out or damaged ... or an uneconomic repair."

Ricketts did acknowledge some of the aesthetics of old pianos could be "absolutely beautiful" but much of the "structural integrity" would be gone now.

But what do you do if you've inherited great granny's pride and joy that's either too expensive to fix up or simply not wanted?

Trevor Vines from Extreme Piano Removals will happily take your unwanted relics and whisk them away for a "fair" fee to move 200-400 kilograms of equipment.

"We have a pretty constant flow of old pianos that come into our warehouse to dispose of, I'd say at least two or three a month," Vines said.

"I pull them apart and salvage what I can for scrap metal and whatever else ... instead of going to landfill which is the last case scenario.

"You've got copper around the strings, you get lead from lead-weights in the keys, you get a lot of screws, nuts and bolts ... and you also get a bit of brass from piano too - a lot of pedals are brass."

If the casing is still in good condition, then Vines will try and repurpose it such as a 100-year-old beauty that recently was delivered to the film set of Nicole Kidman's latest movie at Fox Studios.

But if people are thinking they might open the lid and pull a piano apart themselves, Vines warns against it as the tension on the strings "could take your eye out". He uses specialist piano tuning tools.

Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot and Reviva Dunmore receive up to two pianos a year, though Reviva won't accept them if in poor condition to resell.

Kiama Council only wants residents to bring in a piano as "a last resort" and asks them to contact the Minnamurra Waste and Recycling Centre first before doing so.

Sometimes pianos can be diverted from landfill via Kiama Council's free Up4Grabs shed, but overall they prove "very difficult to find new owners", a spokesman said.

Wollongong Council declined to comment by the deadline, while there are no mentions of how the Whytes Gully tip handles pianos on their website.

Like the other two aforementioned piano experts, Dean Beaver of Piper's Music in Wollongong said there are still plenty of people learning to play piano, with numbers increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic.

But what has changed is the type of instrument people learn on.

"Most of our business for pianos is digital nowadays," Beaver said.

"It's just more of a convenience factor because you can play at night time and you're not annoying anyone, it's a lot easier to move... [and doesn't need] regular maintenance."

Little Johnny can butcher Pachabel's Canon in D all he likes now with a portable keyboard costing $300 and a pair of headphones.

But once he masters it, digital pianos come in all shapes and sizes to look like authentic acoustic pianos and can range in price up to tens of thousands of dollars. Pipers also still sells big acoustic pianos too.

"Lots of students come in getting their first piano [from Pipers]," Beaver said. "People are still playing, it's just the logistics of owning an upright piano is not as desirable nowadays when the technology has gotten a lot better [with electronic versions]."