To our Maine customers,
As our Maine customers have noticed, Parks & Sons Piano Service in Maine has been closed since 2021.During the government enforced lock-downs during 2020-2021, we were greatly restricted from servicing customers, and so the decision was made to relocate out of state. It has been 3 years and we feel the time has come to close the Maine website.
We understand the dificulties in locating professional piano technicians in many parts of Maine, but a business could not sustain itself without income.
We want to thank all the customers that allowed us to come into your homes, businesses, and venues to provide piano services. We remember fondly all the kind words of praise, and thank you.
Thank you very, very much -
Parks & Sons
Interested parties may submit an offer by the "Make an Offer" button directly below, through our Contact Us page, by phone, or email.
Parks & Sons will consider any reasonable offer and provide a quick answer.
If the offer is accepted the buyer will be expected to place a security deposit of 20% of the accepted offer within 30 days. This will reserve the piano and also prioritize its completion. There may also be customizing options presented for the buyer's choice (depending on instrument).
Once the instrument is completed the buyer may inspect the piano in person, by a designated party, or request high resolution photos and audio of the piano.
The buyer will then decide to either complete the transaction and provide 50% of the remaining amount due (the other 50% will be due upon delivery), or cancel the purchase.
If the buyer cancels the purchase full 100% refund of any money payed (including security deposit) will be returned to the buyer within 14 days. The buyer bears no risk.

- Matching Bench
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Free Delivery to any ground floor location within 450 miles,
- Free in-home tuning upon delivery
- Wm Knabe & Co. builds this piano.
- The Statue Of Liberty is presented to the Unites States by the people of France (it would be erected 2 years later).
- Mark Twain publishes “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” for the first time.
- Baseball rules change, allowing pitchers to pitch overhand. Previous pitchers were forced to underhand pitch.
- Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady) is born in October.
- Ringling Brothers present their first circus show.
- Grover Cleveland wins his first term as President (he would be the only U.S. President to serve two nonconsecutive terms - 1884 and 1892).
- Dentists begin using drugs to prevent pain.
- The General Postal Union is established to promote mail deliver between countries.
- The prime meridian is designated to the meridian passing over Greenwich in the U.K. (0 degrees, i.e. Greenwich meridian).
Wilhelm Knabe originally planned to become an apothecary as his father was, but due to Napoleon’s campaigns in Germany in 1813, he apprenticed with a cabinet maker. He spent two more years as a journeyman cabinet maker, then three years working for a piano maker, and finally working as a journeyman piano maker in various German cities.
Knabe emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1831, took the name William and settled in Baltimore Maryland with his wife. By 1839 Knabe had formed a partnership and began making pianos, but in 1855 he acquired the entire business and began selling pianos as Wm. Knabe & Co.. The business expanded rapidly, winning many awards for their pianos.
In 1864 the business was passed to his two sons, William and Ernest, and a son-in-law Charles. The business continued to grow and produce high quality instruments. By 1866 Wm. Knabe & Co. was employing about 230 workers, producing about one thousand pianos a year.
By 1869 Knabe piano sales were ranked third in the United States, being only behind Steinway & Sons and Chickering & Sons. By 1871 Knabe pianos had won 65 Gold Medals at various competitions, and in 1879 the Government of Japan, wishing to furnish their country’s classrooms with instruments, chose Knabe uprights.
Knabe’s practice, like other quality builders, included open weather seasoning of their wood for many years, followed by indoor drying at a constant temperature. This produced long lasting stable wood that would resist cracking and warping (cheaper makers often forgo this process to speed production). When Peter Tchaikovsky, the Russian composer, toured their factories (the third largest in the world by 1891) he wrote, “The sight of so many workers with serious, intelligent faces, so clean and carefully dressed despite manual labor, leaves a fine impression”.
A more complete history of Wm. Knabe & Co. can be found on our blog at Piano Makers > Wm. Knabe & Co.
This particular piano (#25228) was made at just about the same time that Wm. Knabe & Co. were reaching their greatest heights. William Knabe’s sons were still in direct control of the business.
Knabe pianos were built for quality and tone to compete with their biggest rivals - Steinway and Chickering. The French composer Saint-Saens played Knabe pianos. Louis Gottschalk (a famous American piano virtuoso) wrote, “The Knabe pianos, on which I have played, are exceedingly remarkable for their qualities of tone. The bass is powerful, without harshness, and the upper notes sweet, clear and harmoniously mellow”.
It is not too little to say that the cabinet of this piano is truly elegant, without becoming gaudy. The rounded corners, trim, and light carvings of simple geometric shapes along with leaves and vines provide just the right amount of enrichment to make the piano stand out as truly artistic. Back in the day the New York Daily Tribune described Knabe pianos as having “a pure, full and equal tone, in quality melodious, rich and sonorous, housed in cases rich and elegant in design.”
As can be seen in the photos burl and oak are used throughout the instrument.
Parks & Sons Piano Service is very happy to be able to provide such an instrument for sale. In fact we had been servicing this piano for some time before acquiring it. It was previously owned by a church, for which we had reconditioned the piano in 2013. Eventually the church was dissolved, at which time we acquired the instrument.
Work Schedule: The following is a basic list of the work to be completed.- Bridges recapped,
- New flanges throughout
- New nickle tuning pins
- New Mapes music wire (this is wire made in America and used by Steinway & Sons and other quality makers)
- New custom-made duplicated bass strings using solid copper windings
- New custom-made duplicated hammers from Germany
- New dampers, also important from Germany
- All action and back action felts, springs, leathers, etc. replaced with new
- All keybed felts, papers, pins, etc. replaced with new
- All key bushings replaced with new
- New casters
- Complete regulation
- Multiple in-shop tunings to increase initial stability
- Full cabinet and veneer repairs
- Full refinishing




Ivory keys are in excellent shape. Depending on buyer location the ivories may need to be replaced with faux ivory or bone.











Free Delivery
Unless stated otherwise, free delivery of piano is to first floor locations within 120 miles of Weston, ME. A location with a total of 3 steps or less, from gound level to location the piano will be placed, is considered "first floor". Locations that do not conform to this guideline may require an additional charge. Parks & Sons Piano Service, at their own discretion, may wave such extra fees.
Warranty
Warranties vary depending upon work completed for each instrument. If interested, please request a sample warranty.
** Payment Plans
Parks & Sons Piano Service reserves the right, at their sole discretion, to offer or withdraw any offer(s) of a payment plan at any time and for any reason.
To request a sample of a Payment Plan Agreement please contact us through the Contact Us page.
The figures provided in the above Suggested Payment Plans do not constitute, under any circumstance, a binding Payment Plan Offer. A Payment Plan will only become binding once the requirements of the specific plan have been met (please contact us for a sample plan).
All information is believed to be correct. Parks & Sons Piano Service is not responsible for mistakes in information, descriptions, pricing, and offers.