Steinway Upright Models Ranked

Steinway made far fewer uprights than grands, and most buyers only ever meet a handful of models. This page ranks the ones you are most likely to find in the UK, from the best to the most modest. The order is my own judgement of tone, build and how much people want each one. It is not an official Steinway list.

For each model you will find the years it was made, what a properly reconditioned one usually costs from a dealer, and what you might pay for an old original one from a private seller or an auction.

A quick word on the prices

Steinway uprights come up for sale so rarely that no two are alike. The dealer figures are rounded guides from UK dealer listings. The auction figures come from the published results of Piano Auctions Ltd between 2015 and 2020, covering more than 60 Steinway uprights. They are hammer prices, so a buyer pays a fee on top. Treat everything as a sensible starting point and not a quote. By "reconditioned" I mean a piano that has had proper work and comes with a warranty. Our guide to reconditioned Steinway pianos explains what to ask a seller.

The ranking at a glance

1. Steinway Model K

The Model K is the one to beat. It stands 52 inches tall, with the longest strings and the biggest soundboard of any Steinway upright. Steinway says its soundboard has the same speaking area as a six-foot grand, and you can hear it. The bass is deep and even, and the tone carries well in a large room.

The original design arrived in 1903 under the name Vertegrand. New York stopped making it around 1930, but Hamburg carried on until 1943. Steinway brought it back in 1982 as the K-52, and Hamburg now builds a K-132 as well. New, a K-52 costs £40,000 and up.

The catch is condition. Vintage Ks range from magnificent to very tired, so the question to ask is what has been replaced. A properly rebuilt Vertegrand with genuine Steinway parts can be a wonderful piano. An unrestored one with its original parts may need thousands spent on it.

From a dealer, reconditioned vintage examples have been listed at about £8,000 to £16,000 in the UK. Later models from the 1980s onwards cost more, and prices rise with age and condition. At auction, 1920s and 1930s Ks in original condition have mostly sold for £1,200 to £3,300, and the older Vertegrands for £650 to £2,500. A K described as completely restored made £7,500. Later Ks from the 1990s and 2000s made £8,800 to £21,000. Pianos at the lower prices nearly always need serious work.

2. Steinway Model V

The Model V is 49 inches tall, a little shorter than the K, and it is built in Hamburg. It has the same careful build and a rich, balanced tone. It takes up the same floor space as a K but sits lower, which helps in rooms with a window or shelf above the piano.

Examples dated from the 1930s turn up regularly, and Hamburg still makes the V-125 today. It ranks second because it has slightly less bass depth than a K. In every other way it is a superb instrument, and many players would happily choose one.

UK dealers have listed reconditioned examples at about £9,995 for a 1936 piano and £18,000 for a 1980 piano, so expect roughly £9,000 to £18,000. At auction, 1930s Vs in original condition have sold for £1,000 to £4,800, with most between £2,400 and £4,100. A 1938 piano restored by Steinway in 1992 made £4,800 and a 1985 piano made £4,600. A 2004 piano signed by Lang Lang made £9,500. Allow for restoration costs on top of the cheaper ones.

3. Steinway Model Z

The Model Z is the charmer of the family. It is 45.7 inches tall, built in Hamburg, and no longer made. Most were made from the late 1930s into the 1970s. John Lennon wrote "Imagine" on a Model Z that was built in 1970.

Z cases are often beautiful, with walnut, cabriole legs and handsome front panels. The tone is sweet and well balanced. It ranks third because the smaller soundboard and shorter strings cannot match the power of a K or a V. If you have a smaller room, that may be exactly what you want.

Reconditioned examples have been listed in the UK at about £7,500 to £9,500, with a restored 1938 piano in London at £15,000. At auction, Zs in original condition have sold for £1,750 to £4,000, with most between £2,400 and £3,500. The gap between that and a dealer's price is the cost of the work and the warranty.

4. Steinway Models 1098, 45 and 4510

These three are the same basic piano. The 1098 and the 45 stand 46.5 inches tall, and the 4510 is the same instrument in a more traditional cabinet. They are built in New York, where Steinway makes its own actions, so the touch feels a little firmer than a Hamburg piano. The 45 first appeared in 1938, and the 1098 was in production by 1953 and carried on until at least 2011.

They are sturdy, honest studio uprights and very popular in schools and teaching rooms. They rank fourth because the cabinets are plainer and the tone has less depth than the tall models. A good one is still a proper Steinway.

UK dealer prices for these are harder to pin down, as most were sold in the United States. Auction results are thin. A 1987 Model 45 made £2,400, a 1982 New York 118cm piano made £6,000, and a 2007 traditional 1098 made £3,000, well under its estimate. Reconditioned examples from a dealer are generally in the £6,000 to £10,000 area.

5. Steinway Model 40

The Model 40 is the smallest of the common Steinway uprights, at 40 to 41 inches. It was made in New York from 1939 to 1987 and came in well over a dozen case styles, including a wartime "Victory" design. Steinway built it to offer Steinway quality in a low, modern-looking piano.

It is a pleasant instrument, but it lacks the size and depth of the pianos above it. It is also often priced for the badge more than the sound. If the Steinway name matters to you and your budget is modest, it can make sense. Otherwise a taller piano will give you more music for the money. One sold at auction for £2,100.

Others you may see

The Upright Grand (Model I in New York, Model R in Hamburg) was a 54-inch giant made from 1894 until 1929 in New York and 1943 in Hamburg. Steinway never revived it. It is rare and collectable, and a restored one was listed at £14,000. Buy it for the rarity and check the condition very carefully.

Older Victorian and Edwardian uprights, such as the Model E, are handsome pieces of furniture. At auction they have been estimated at around £1,000 to £1,800. Many of them do not play as well as their looks suggest.

What the auction results tell us

Pre-war Steinway uprights in original condition sell cheaply. Most are a century old, and the buyer expects to pay for a rebuild. A good Vertegrand or 1920s K can cost less at auction than a decent Yamaha U3.

Newer Steinway uprights sell for far more. The 1990s and 2000s Ks made between £8,800 and £21,000, which is much closer to what a dealer asks for a restored vintage one. Age matters less than whether the piano has been properly looked after.

The jump from auction price to dealer price is the cost of restoration, a warranty and the time spent finding a good one. That gap is fair when the work is done well, and it is worth asking to see what was done.

Condition matters more than the letter

A fully rebuilt V with genuine parts will outplay a tired K every time. Before you buy any Steinway upright, ask what has been replaced and whether the parts are genuine Steinway. Our guides to buying a used Steinway, restoring a Steinway and Steinway serial numbers will help you check what you are being offered.

The honest alternative

If it is a fine tall upright you want rather than the Steinway badge, a reconditioned Yamaha U3 is well worth hearing first. It costs a fraction of the price of any model above. See how the two compare in our Steinway K-52 vs Yamaha U3 guide.

Back to Steinway upright pianos
Ask Mark a question