From a piano builders point of view, it would not cost much (if any)
more to build a quality upright than one of those god-awful spinets.
Some of these spinets have far more complicated linkage with all the
drop elbows than the common upright stickers.

From a cost point of view, we are talking about an extra three foot
average of cast iron, a little more string and spruce, and case
material.  The plate still has to be set correctly, and most procedures
in building a spinet or an upright are identical for the most part, so
extra labor would not be an issue either.

The way I see it, an upright has a taller strung back but the basic
action should cost the same as a spinet, taking in to account that
replacement stickers are much cheaper than spinet drop linkage! The
cost....a little more, but certainly not the major difference in price
that these builders are asking.

I know this has a lot to do with the market.  Modern folks don't want
a big heavy upright around; the way some people build houses today, the
thing would go right through the floor!

I am sure that 99% of the people here prefer the full sound of an
upright (or good quality grand) as opposed to a dinky little spinet.

In the next 80 years or so, most of these little spinet pianos will
meet the junk heap, (many are close now) and be destroyed by the
thousands, and not preserved nor rebuilt like these old uprights are.
It will be sort of like "The Model T ford massacre" where hundreds of
thousands of these old Ford cars were junked in the thirties because
they were made obsolete by the Model A Ford.

This is not a very good example I just gave, though.  The model T Ford
did have a redeeming quality: it did its job, the price was in the
reach of almost everyone, and it put America on wheels.  The spinet
piano, on the other hand, has discouraged many a would-be pianist.
The kindest thing that can be said about the spinet is that they are
not very heavy.

We all know and can appreciate a major chord or a powerful bass on
a good upright.  To me it made me want to learn how to play when I was
a child.  I found every new chord interesting.  That doesn't happen
on a spinet because it just isn't there.  If the instrument isn't
interesting to play, its worthless and discourages the student.

But yet and still, I still maintain that cost-wise it doesn't cost
much more to build a good upright than a spinet, and it should be
priced accordingly -- that is, if these modern piano makers want to
secure a living.

And have you ever noticed that most people who are in the trade almost
always have an old piano and not a new one?

Andy Taylor