advice needed - what to do with this great find - 1920s upright Seeburg Model E piano in need of restoration
I bought a 1920s Seeburg Model E player piano at auction. I believe it was made in 1926, but would appreciate any history anyone is willing to share if you happen to be familiar with the company or these machines.
It was originally a player piano and also had other accompaniments like percussion and mandolin. Unfortunately all that remains are the non-electric portions - so basically now it is just a very beautiful, large, and heavy upright piano in need of restringing, new keys, and a deep clean.
The piano case and stained glass, as you can see, are absolutely beautiful, and I would be more than happy to use it in my home as:
A half-restored piano (minus the player portions, which would have to be sourced or custom built, as most don’t exist). I could handle gutting it myself and then having someone come in and restring, new hammers and keys, and tune it. This would leave the option open in the future to take on a full restoration of the player components.
A beautiful case that houses my Yamaha electric keyboard, which I would retrofit to replace the original keys. In this case, I would remove the string plate in the piano, making it about 300 lbs lighter.
Does anyone have advice on which route I should take? And has anyone done #2? - using an upright piano case as a shell for an electric keyboard (which I am leaning toward due to my individual circumstances)
I am ok with the difference in sound and would benefit currently from being able to control the sound. I also live in the city, so removing some heft from this very heavy case would make it easier to transport in the future.
Thanks!