buying a used piano... any advice?

Chris Tondreau

Chris Tondreau

Member
Hey all;

I know some of you are really knowledgeable about pianos and stuff.

We're looking at picking up a used piano - $500 or so Canadian. My general opinion of pretty much any instrument is that "if it feels good and sounds good, then it is good." However, there must be some "look fors" that would be specific to the piano. I can play a bit, for what it's worth.

One person my wife spoke to seemed really embittered for whatever reason. "If you don't spend at least $1000..... it costs $2000 to re-string it..... half of the ones you get from the paper aren't even tuneable..... etc." If it needs new strings, it won't sound good, right? Just like a guitar? If it is pretty close to being in tune, but just needs tweaked, then it's probably tuneable, no? If it is miles out, that might be the sign of a problem? What would I check for there? I know machine heads on a guitar can get stripped and stuff. Could I try turning a couple and see if they stay? (like if it's that far out, it's not gonna wreck the tuning on it....) Maybe use a drum key?

Any advice here before we drop half a G-note on one?

Chris
 
I don't know, if I was selling a piano I certainly wouldn't let prospective buyers turn the tuning pegs. In the first place, you need something called a "tuning hammer", it's what piano tuners use. I doubt a drum key would work due to the fit and also the pressure piano strings are under. You also could very possibly snap strings by tightening them without knowing what you are doing. Like I said, I personally wouldn't let you near a piano I was selling with a tuning hammer or drum key.

What you need to do is find someone in your area that knows pianos. Like a pianist or piano tuner. If you have a friend that knows pianos and would be willing to help you that would be great. Then you check out a bunch of pianos and once you've found a few finalists you bring you pianist friend along to try them all out and make recommendations. I've done this for friends from time to time, and I think the buyer ends up with a much better piano by bringing a pianist to help out.

You also need to be aware that while $500 may seem like a lot to you, it's absolutely rock bottom as far as buying a piano. If you end up with something decent, count yourself as being *extremely* lucky. You may chance upon a piano in good condition, but it will take a lot of looking and most if not all of the pianos will have issues of one sort or another.

The most important thing to me would be that all the keys play properly and are even, meaning that they have the same weight. I don't like it when some keys are lighter than others. Also check to make sure the pedals work well. Ask when the last time the piano was tuned. If it has been a long time and the piano isn't horribly out of tune, then it may hold a tuning okay. Or not. Just don't expect the world for $500.

I personally wouldn't care how the piano looked as much as how it played and sounded. I'd take a piano where everything worked and sounded okay but the case was rough over a piano that looked great but played and sounded poorly.

But again, you best bet is to bring an actual pianist along.
 
Bring a good piano tuner along - it might be worth paying them for their time to come with you and check it out - after all, they are going to be tuning it, and they most probably have more experience than the average pianist…

- Wil
 
I agree completely with SonicAlbert and I would like to add a couple of links that may be helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929145012/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/002-9645065-1018426?_encoding=UTF8

The Piano Book by Larry Fine is an excellent guide to pianos and what to look for in an instrument whether new or used. You can also get the annual supplement that gives "list prices" to almost every piano model. It also gives advice on how to estimate actual prices for the instrument.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/19...426?v=glance&n=283155&_encoding=UTF8&v=glance

Another site that I found very helpful:

http://www.chicagopianos.com/

This is a dealer site but it has a lot of very helpful information. I ended up purchasing a piano from them after spending a ton of time doing research.

Best of luck to you!
 
Yo Chris: :D

Here are some of my thoughts on your piano buy:

Wait until after Xmas/New Year has passed.

Shop around for an ELECTRONIC STAGE PIANO, 88 KEYS OF COURSE.

If you don't want too many bells and whistles, you can get a good one to fit your budget.

AND--IT WILL NEVER REQUIRE TUNING OR STRINGS OR A SPECIAL TECHNICIAN.

Look at the YAMAHA MODELS, KORG, AND ROLAND. Check out any model you can at a vendor store or on the net. You might even post and ask what the BBS experts say about an 88 key electronic piano.

AND, you can pick it up and move it any time you want. You will need to buy an amp/speaker but you can also play most all of them using headphones--play any time of the day/night and disturb nobody.

Amp/speakers come in all price ranges--you don't need to spend a bunch of pezzutos on an amp/speaker if you are just having home fun.

Merry Christmas,
Green Hornet :D
 
Hey Chris ........ I put a post up over there about some things to look for.
I also PM'd you my phone number so you can call and ask.
Piano tuner for 27 years ....... tune 20 pianos a week. I can flat out tell you what you need to know so call.
 
Hey all;

First, sorry for posting and disappearing. I got squashed writing report cards for the past week. I fell of pretty much *everyone's* radar. Your advice IS appreciated.

Lt. Bob - PM received. Posted back over at RP.

SonicAlbert and Wil Davis - good advice about bringing an actual pianist along. Before I actually go shopping, though, my goal is to narrow down the prospects myself. Good point about the pedals. I might have missed that.

Davidson - Thanks for the links. I'll check 'em out.

Green Hornet and Adobian - good point about post-Christmas sales and stuff. I have a Korg M1 hooked up in the studio, which is great for a lot of the stuff I do. The reasoning for getting a piano, though, is so that our kids (or my wife, for that matter) have something to play on that doesn't require navigating mixers, Cubase, and midi cables. :D On top of that, of course, is despite the versatility of what I already have, there is no substitute for the sound of the real thing. (I have some decent samples, but it's just not the same, y'know....)

Chris
 
Hey Chris, know what you mean about "theres nothing like the real thing" but, for 500 bucks you arent getting an acoustic piano, unless its fallen out of a 10 story window :)

If you are worried about functionality and/or ease of use for your kids, I would check out some yamahas. You can get a 76 key electric piano that should have great sounds and ease of use in the price range.
 
frankieballsss said:
Hey Chris, know what you mean about "theres nothing like the real thing" but, for 500 bucks you arent getting an acoustic piano, unless its fallen out of a 10 story window :)
Click to expand...
I actually have no problem with an electronic piano but: It's simply not true that you can't get a piano for 5 or 6 hundred bucks. Bow I don't know how that relates to Canadian money ..... but I see customers of mine all the time that buy passable pianos for $500. Yes, you want to be careful 'cause there's some crap out there but if you take your time and wait 'till you find the right one ..... you can find a piano that's workable for that.
 
i have a terrific yamaha keyboard, and ive had it for years and i love it. but i long for anything real, i really do. thats all i have to say
 
As we've been collecting information, we've found that our options are far greater if we go up closer to a grand. Still, at that, we're obviously not entering Steinway Grand Piano territory. :D The advice that has been offered so far, and a call to Lt. Bob would certainly not go amiss in the "up to $1000" range either, I'm sure.

Will keep you posted.

Chris
 
absolutely ..... if you can get up around the $1000 area there's a good chance you can find a nice little console of some kind. Someone who's moving and doesn't want to take their piano is a great place to get one.
 
moving sales are always great. A lot of times you'll get owners who purchased a piano as "furniture" and don't know the value of the instrument, only see it as something that's too heavy to take with them. I've seen brilliant pianos given away for free this way, check your local classified listings; desperate seller may = nice piano at an incredible price.
 
may i also add, do not purchase an electric piano. I go to my local music store every few months and try out the newest models, i have yet to play one that i liked; and we're talking $3,000 EPs here...
 
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