My upright grand piano, a Weber that has been in the family since it was new (in the 1880s) has a fabulously beautiful birdseye maple sounding board. That is out of site 99.999 percent of the time (inside a case covered with a thick rosewood veneer). Imagine my surprise first time I opened this thing. It sounds wonderful, but needs to be refurbished (new strings, new hammers, various working parts updated). Every time I hear ads on the local classical station for new pianos for a couple of thousand dollars, I wonder what they sound like. This piano, to be restored, will cost somewhere from $6000 to $7500. Good Steinway's go for 10s of thousands of dollars (to over $100,000). The care that goes into the instrument and the wood used has to be a big part of the price (tho with Steinway you are also paying a hefty premium for that name and reputation).

SRS