Any piano experts available

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RandyW

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My Daugther has the opportunity to pick up a 1950 Steinway Model S in very
good condition. The appraiser stated that the sound board is very flat.
Is this a good thing?
Also she currentley has a Yamaha GA1 which is a 2000 which is a very
nice piano.
She thinks her current piano has a little more volume and upper end.
But the Steinway has a richer sound and can be had for $6500.
If she don't get it her self I'm thinking of possibly picking it up as an
investment.

Is there anyone out there that can give me some useful info?
 
$.02

i'm afraid your not going to fid too many around here into real pianos cant say i remember the "s" but doesn't sound outaline for 50+yr steiny... you try ebay to see what it might be worth there?? btw would not trust 1 appraiser get a 2nd... or see if you can speak to the tuner responsible for it's up-keep...
 
I'm not an expert by any means, but I play, tune, and know a bit about piano repairs and used instrument selection. I'll see what I can tell you.

RandyW said:
My Daugther has the opportunity to pick up a 1950 Steinway Model S in very
good condition. The appraiser stated that the sound board is very flat.
Is this a good thing?
Click to expand...

Yes. A flat soundboard is a good thing. :D

There's one on eBay from 7 years later and they're asking $30k. That seems absurdly high to me considering that a new Boston costs less and IMHO tends to play a little better than a Steinway of that vintage unless the Steinway has been rebuilt very well.

Don't know if the one you're asking about is a New York or German Steinway. If it is German, you should definitely buy it and get somebody to redo all the felts and maybe replace the hammers. You'll have yourself a wonderful piano for a great price. If it's from New York, your mileage may vary a bit more from piano to piano. $6500 is a very good price either way, though, IMHO. I'd have expected you to say $12-18k from a dealer, though $6500 seems reasonable from a private buyer that hasn't had any part of it rebuilt/adjusted ever.


RandyW said:
Also she currentley has a Yamaha GA1 which is a 2000 which is a very
nice piano.
She thinks her current piano has a little more volume and upper end.
But the Steinway has a richer sound and can be had for $6500.
If she don't get it her self I'm thinking of possibly picking it up as an
investment.
Click to expand...

I would definitely pick the Steinway over any Yamaha in a heartbeat. The only thing about the Steinways is that they are -very- inconsistent. You'd want to try it out and see if the keyboard has a good feel.

Make sure:
1. Action isn't sloppy:
a. a "thump-back" a moment after hitting keys hard is bad
b. pushing the key halfway down before the hammer starts to move is bad
c. keys not level will require some work (though I think that's easy to take care of---usually by replacing felts and/or adding shims)
d. dampers should mute all the notes correctly when you release notes (again, very easily fixed, but it does reduce the value of the piano a bit, IMHO, since you'd probably have to pay to get it fixed)

2. Action is comfortable:
a. should not be too heavy (too hard to get volume out of it)
b. should not be too light (too hard to get soft dynamics)

3. Good tone:
a. Not too muffled (hammers too soft or strings in bad shape)
b. Not too bright (hammers too hard and/or worn down)

4. Listening environment:
a. Make sure that the dealer isn't showing it on a hardwood floor if you're putting it on carpet or vice-versa. (Alternately, consider adding a small hardwood area on top of the existing floor under the piano.)
b. Make sure the room is a reasonable size so that you have some idea what you're going to get.

5. Tuning (used pianos):
a. Find out how recently the piano was tuned. If it has been a while and it is still in tune, that's a good sign.
b. Find out if the pegs have been replaced with oversized pegs. This is commonly done to fix pegs that have wallowed out the holes. If the piano is 50+ years old, it would be a miracle if it didn't need at least a couple of pins replaced. If they haven't done so, you should ask them if they have checked the pegs to make sure they have proper resistance.
c. Examine the bridge where the strings pass over it between the dampers and the tuning pegs. If the bridge is rusted (usually due to water damage), you should insist that this be repaired. Rusted bridges will stick badly and make tuning a royal pain in the @$$. If they aren't willing to do the work to sand and paint the bridge, I'd walk away, personally.
d. Examine the strings to make sure they don't have any rust damage. This usually goes along with a rusted bridge, but you may find rust only on the strings if it is caused by decades of atmospheric moisture rather than water damage.

6. Soundboard condition (used pianos):
a. Except for the support ridges, the soundboard should be perfectly flat, or at least really, really close. If you see warping, this is usually a sign of water damage (or very seriously excessively moist atmospheric conditions). This is hard to fix.
b. If you see splits, this is usually a sign that the soundboard got too dry. This is fixable, but the general consensus from piano repair people I've talked to is that it is usually better to just leave small cracks, since fixing it can often make things worse in the long term. Of course, if you hear it buzzing noticeably, you'll want to fix the cracks.
c. If the soundboard has separated from the supports, you will likely hear buzzing. This should be fixed promptly. :)


As for your question about it lacking high end, there are three possible reasons:

1. The dealer has it on carpet and/or in a large room and you're used to hardwood and/or a small room with hard walls to reflect the sound back at the performer.

2. The hammers are too soft. Hammers harden significantly with age, so if they just rebuilt the Steinway, it is likely that it simply isn't broken in yet.

3. Pianos when tuned properly are tuned with a stretched tuning. That means that as you get higher, the notes are tuned slightly sharp, and as you get lower, the notes are tuned slightly flat. The norm is about one cent every two octaves, though I like mine at about a cent per octave, personally.

Anyway, if you don't stretch it or if it isn't stretched enough, it will sound dull. I -think- that pianos lose their stretch over time, so even if it was properly tuned at one time, there's a good chance it will have sagged.
 
dgatwood said:
I'm not an expert by any means, but I play, tune, and know a bit about piano repairs and used instrument selection. I'll see what I can tell you.



Yes. A flat soundboard is a good thing. :D

There's one on eBay from 7 years later and they're asking $30k. That seems absurdly high to me considering that a new Boston costs less and IMHO tends to play a little better than a Steinway of that vintage unless the Steinway has been rebuilt very well.

Don't know if the one you're asking about is a New York or German Steinway. If it is German, you should definitely buy it and get somebody to redo all the felts and maybe replace the hammers. You'll have yourself a wonderful piano for a great price. If it's from New York, your mileage may vary a bit more from piano to piano. $6500 is a very good price either way, though, IMHO. I'd have expected you to say $12-18k from a dealer, though $6500 seems reasonable from a private buyer that hasn't had any part of it rebuilt/adjusted ever.




I would definitely pick the Steinway over any Yamaha in a heartbeat. The only thing about the Steinways is that they are -very- inconsistent. You'd want to try it out and see if the keyboard has a good feel.

Make sure:
1. Action isn't sloppy:
a. a "thump-back" a moment after hitting keys hard is bad
b. pushing the key halfway down before the hammer starts to move is bad
c. keys not level will require some work (though I think that's easy to take care of---usually by replacing felts and/or adding shims)
d. dampers should mute all the notes correctly when you release notes (again, very easily fixed, but it does reduce the value of the piano a bit, IMHO, since you'd probably have to pay to get it fixed)

2. Action is comfortable:
a. should not be too heavy (too hard to get volume out of it)
b. should not be too light (too hard to get soft dynamics)

3. Good tone:
a. Not too muffled (hammers too soft or strings in bad shape)
b. Not too bright (hammers too hard and/or worn down)

4. Listening environment:
a. Make sure that the dealer isn't showing it on a hardwood floor if you're putting it on carpet or vice-versa. (Alternately, consider adding a small hardwood area on top of the existing floor under the piano.)
b. Make sure the room is a reasonable size so that you have some idea what you're going to get.

5. Tuning (used pianos):
a. Find out how recently the piano was tuned. If it has been a while and it is still in tune, that's a good sign.
b. Find out if the pegs have been replaced with oversized pegs. This is commonly done to fix pegs that have wallowed out the holes. If the piano is 50+ years old, it would be a miracle if it didn't need at least a couple of pins replaced. If they haven't done so, you should ask them if they have checked the pegs to make sure they have proper resistance.
c. Examine the bridge where the strings pass over it between the dampers and the tuning pegs. If the bridge is rusted (usually due to water damage), you should insist that this be repaired. Rusted bridges will stick badly and make tuning a royal pain in the @$$. If they aren't willing to do the work to sand and paint the bridge, I'd walk away, personally.
d. Examine the strings to make sure they don't have any rust damage. This usually goes along with a rusted bridge, but you may find rust only on the strings if it is caused by decades of atmospheric moisture rather than water damage.

6. Soundboard condition (used pianos):
a. Except for the support ridges, the soundboard should be perfectly flat, or at least really, really close. If you see warping, this is usually a sign of water damage (or very seriously excessively moist atmospheric conditions). This is hard to fix.
b. If you see splits, this is usually a sign that the soundboard got too dry. This is fixable, but the general consensus from piano repair people I've talked to is that it is usually better to just leave small cracks, since fixing it can often make things worse in the long term. Of course, if you hear it buzzing noticeably, you'll want to fix the cracks.
c. If the soundboard has separated from the supports, you will likely hear buzzing. This should be fixed promptly. :)


As for your question about it lacking high end, there are three possible reasons:

1. The dealer has it on carpet and/or in a large room and you're used to hardwood and/or a small room with hard walls to reflect the sound back at the performer.

2. The hammers are too soft. Hammers harden significantly with age, so if they just rebuilt the Steinway, it is likely that it simply isn't broken in yet.

3. Pianos when tuned properly are tuned with a stretched tuning. That means that as you get higher, the notes are tuned slightly sharp, and as you get lower, the notes are tuned slightly flat. The norm is about one cent every two octaves, though I like mine at about a cent per octave, personally.

Anyway, if you don't stretch it or if it isn't stretched enough, it will sound dull. I -think- that pianos lose their stretch over time, so even if it was properly tuned at one time, there's a good chance it will have sagged.
Click to expand...


Thanks for all the info dgatwood, I'll forward this to my daughter she is gettng worried over getting it. The appraiser said it should be rebuilt but
compared to her new yamaha it didn't feel that bad. She contacted 2 different people she uses for tuning. One told her to jump on it and redo
it for another 6K it would beworth of 20K it is beautiful condition.
The other who has an early 1900s yamaha says just to keep her yamaha.
He states you don't want a Steinway unless it is over 9' .
Before he told her this she was excited about it now she is to worried and thinking it would be worth the hassle.
 
dgatwood another question

I have another question. How big of a job is a complete rebuild of the action and possilby replacing a couple the tuning pins.
I will probably be looking at this piano Monday to check the bridge condition.
The owner said it was in very good condition, but as I mentioned I have not
seen it myself.
My daughter said it was last tuned 3 or 4 months ago and that a few of the strings were out of tune so it sounds like it my need a couple replaced.
I'm just wondering if I would save any money by having a rebuilder pick it up and take it to his shop for rebuilding rather than having it moved to my house and them possibly having to have it moved again the the restorers.

Is this something they can come to you house and do onsite? I do have a small wood shop in my basement if they needed an area to make mods to the action.

BTW that piano on ebay had the comple rebuild done and is suppose to be in excellent condition. I have a few pics my daugther emailed of the Steinway which is an American made model if you would like I can email them to you.
I may attempt to post one right here.

Thanks for a the info.
 
pic

Here is a scaled down pick of the baby
 

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Good advice and info from dgatwood.

That piano looks pretty good, you might want to seriously consider picking it up. Very nice bench too, lovely. Really impossible to know for sure without playing it and hearing though. From the picture and your description it sounds like a possibility.

The Yamaha GA-1 is an entry level piano. But the Steinway is one of their smaller models as well. I do think the Steinway could be a step up. It really depends on the instruments. You have to play them, or your daughter has to play both. It's *impossible* to know without playing them, like with a violin or any other instrument.

Of great importance is the pin block, which is what the pins sit in and is what holds the tuning. If that is in good shape then tuning should be okay. It's pretty normal for some strings to go out of tune before others. If they go out of tune immediately after tuning that can be indicative of a problem though.

As far as rebuilding a piano, that's a big job and they would do it at their shop, not in your shop. If you just want new hammers and whippens, they can take the action out and take that to their shop. After they've finished they bring it back to your home and put the action back in the piano. It usually requires some follow up visits to make adjustments.

That piano looks to be in really good shape, based on what I can see in the picture. I personally would not have it stripped and refinished, unless it looks significantly less good in person. It's possible the only work you'll need to do on it is replacing the hammers and other parts of the action, and possibly size up some of the pins if they are slipping. That much should not involve a trip to the shop for the whole piano, just the action should travel.

To make it perfect cosmetically, flawless and all that, then yes it would have to be put in the shop and completely restored. But for a piano that will look fine in a home and be used for playing and practicing, it looks pretty good as is. Certainly a lot better than my 1922 Steinway Model "O", and I'm a professional pianist! Mine is a beater cosmetically but plays well, it's been in the family since my great grand-parents bought it new. I'm the fourth generation to play it, although none before me in my family were professional musicians. I wish the case of my piano looked that good!

But somebody has to play both the Steinway and the Yamaha to get a fair comparison.
 
Last edited:
Regarding stretch tuning:

The amount of stretch depends on the size of the piano. The longer the strings the more the tuning can be stretched. So a small piano like this 5' 1" Steinway would not be capable of handling much stretch at all. But a 9' concert grand could of course have the tuning stretched a lot farther.

The purpose of stretch tuning is to enhance the resonance of the piano.

Regarding tone, it is almost certain the Yamaha will have a brighter tone in general and probably in the upper range especially. It is newer and Yamaha's in general can be a bit hyped that way. The Steinway will most likely be a bit darker overall. I say "darker" not "duller". There is a difference between a darker tone and a dull tone. Again, it is impossible to know which without hearing the actual instrument.
 
Hey man ..... 30 years of piano tuning/repair here. Tuned 3 to 5 a day 6 days a week 'till a few months ago when I moved to Florida.

A few things ..... a 1950 Steinway wouldn't be considered really old ..... more like middle age.

A flat sound board may or may not be a good thing depending on what he was talking about. A proper soundboard is, in fact, not perfectly flat. There should be a certain amount of arch to it which is referred to as having a 'crown'. If he means it's not warped .... then flat is good. If he means it's lost it's crown ..... that's not good.

Steinways are indeed inconsistent and there are a couple of what I consider to be design flaws and they consider to be features that can possibly be a problem. Check and make sure that the keys will not move back and forth if you grab them and push forward and pull back in a horizontal plane. If they do ..... then you'll have to have maple inserts put into the bottom of the keys ... you'll have to send them off to do this ..... costs a few hundred dollars. If they don't move ... you're in good shape.

As for the piano being worth 20k ..... it's kinda like a diamond. It may be worth a bunch and might be appraised at a bunch ....... but just try to actually get that much cash for it ...... mostly doesn't happen.
I, personally, don't feel a Steinway is automatically better than a Yamaha .... depends on which Yami and which Steinway and how well they've been cared for.

Oh .... replacing a few tuning pins wouldn't cost a lot and rebuilding the action might run anywhere from $500 to $1500 .... possibly even more if it's in need of total rebuilding.
But actually, it's not that common to need to totally rebuild one unless you're a tuner that makes all his money that way.
 
SonicAlbert said:
Regarding stretch tuning:

The amount of stretch depends on the size of the piano. The longer the strings the more the tuning can be stretched. So a small piano like this 5' 1" Steinway would not be capable of handling much stretch at all. But a 9' concert grand could of course have the tuning stretched a lot farther.

The purpose of stretch tuning is to enhance the resonance of the piano.
Click to expand...
This isn't correct .
1. The amount of stretch is determined by the scale design. I've seen spinets that needed to be stretched a lot and concert grands that almost needed no stretch at all. In extreme cases you can end up with that high C pulled 50 cents sharp. And sometimes you'll end up with almost no stretch at all.

2. The purpose of stretching is a) Because we use what is called even tempered tuning which was one of J.S. Bachs' important legacies. Look it up .... I can't type that much but basically before even tempered you would have to tune pianos to a specific key and then it would only sound good in 4 or 5 keys and bad in the others. That's why Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavichord" was the first time anyone ever wrote in all 12 major and minor keys.

SonicAlbert said:
Regarding tone, it is almost certain the Yamaha will have a brighter tone in general and probably in the upper range especially. It is newer and Yamaha's in general can be a bit hyped that way. The Steinway will most likely be a bit darker overall. I say "darker" not "duller". There is a difference between a darker tone and a dull tone. Again, it is impossible to know which without hearing the actual instrument.
Click to expand...
Completely correct. In fact, new Yamis can be so bright that I'll have to voice the hammers on a brand new instrument. But there are very nice Yamahas out there.
 
RandyW said:
The other who has an early 1900s yamaha says just to keep her yamaha.
He states you don't want a Steinway unless it is over 9' .
Click to expand...

That one's nuts. :D If I were going over 9', I'd probably go with a Yamaha. No, seriously. They make some really nice concert grands....


RandyW said:
BTW that piano on ebay had the comple rebuild done and is suppose to be in excellent condition. I have a few pics my daugther emailed of the Steinway which is an American made model if you would like I can email them to you.
I may attempt to post one right here.
Click to expand...

Still not worth 30k, IMHO. :)

Like I said, look for rust, cracks or separation of the soundboard (and, for that matter, the pin block), and sticking. If nothing sticks and the action feels comfortable, probably the most you'd want to do to it would be to replace a couple of tuning pins, and maybe put in harder and/or less deeply grooved hammers if it sounds too dark.
 
$ .02

i am constantl amazed at the shit i pick up on here.... preach on brothers....
 
Lt. Bob said:
This isn't correct .
1. The amount of stretch is determined by the scale design. I've seen spinets that needed to be stretched a lot and concert grands that almost needed no stretch at all. In extreme cases you can end up with that high C pulled 50 cents sharp. And sometimes you'll end up with almost no stretch at all.
Click to expand...

I'll take your word for it, but the explanation I gave earlier was what I've been told by piano technicians. Maybe they over-simplified it for me or I didn't understand correctly.
 
Fantastic link, thanks so much for sharing that! I didn't know about that place.

No offense taken by your post. I know the piano business very well from a musician/pianist point of view, but very much less so from the piano technician angle.

The bottom line is still that it all depends on how that piano plays and sounds as compared to the Yamaha. It would also be a good idea to hire a tuner/technician to check it out prior to purchase. That would be well worth the money spent.
 
Wow look at the piano professionals we have here!

I don't know if but I think I stated this. But now that I have a group here I'll repeat it.

My Daughter is a very talented girl actually a piano major at Bob Jones who reads music like a robot, I think see got it from here Mom.

Any way see played the piano at the home it is located in which is in a large room with carpet and 15' ceilings. She thought it played great and sounded
richer in tone than her Yahmaha. But it was not as loud and did not have the
trebles of the yahama "goes along with what Albert was saying"

But her yahmaha is in a smaller living room with a bare hard wood floor and
miminal furniture. I'm sure it wood be louder if it was in her living room.

Any way the appraisers evaluation stated that the piano is in very good conditional considering its age. But also that the sound board has very little crown almost flat. But that the sound board has no cracks. He also stated that the bridge in excellent condition and the strings are in average condition.
He also mentioned that the action has vertidegrees. He appraised its value as is being $7700.

What exactley is vertidegrees to me it sounds like the action is loose enough that the mechanisms are not standing completely verticle. Sound right?

She said there were no sticking keys and it played fine a little harder than her piano. She said the ivory was in excellent shape along with the cabinet.
She said the E below middle C made a little buzzing sometimes if you hit it hard but hitting soft seemed ok. It sounds like the hammer or a linkage problem there?
She also said the piano had a couple notes that were slightly out of tune and that it had been tuned in the last 3 or 4 months.

I did go to a piano forum in a tech section put to tell the truth I think I'm gett ing more info here than therel.

I'm seriously considering buying this piano and putting it in the larger room of my 2 room studio. If I do this I'll be forced to get rid of the 8' pool table taking up half the area. Then I'll do what ever it takes to make it play as it originally did. If my daughter wants it she will have time to sell her piano and it will be ready for its new home.

If she whats to keep her shiny new yamaha, then I'll sell my little Kohler & Campbell and be the worst piano player on the planet to own a Steinway.
 
make sure the sound board has none, or at least a few very small cracks. They all seem to have some very minor cracks in there life time. Most are very simple to repair. Check the pinblock. This is where the tuning pins lock into. It they are worn the piano will not stay in tune. I would have a good piano tuner come over and tune the piano and see how far off pitch it is and how well it holds. I dont know a thing about piano except what I have picked up from my best friend who is a tuner/ rebuilder. I have helped him many, many times over the past twenty years pulling grands apart. Hope this helps
 
Just for the record ..... I am a piano technician and was probably one of the busiest tuners anywhere. Thought that would have been clear with the 30 years of tuning thing but I guess it wasn't. I need to learn to be clearer. :)

The soundboard has lost most of it's crown huh? You might remember I mentioned that.
That is probably why you have that note that buzzes ..... when you lose the crown there isn't enough downforce on the bridge and some strings'll buzz. It's unlikely that it's related to the hammer or action although sometimes hammers can get so hard that they overdrive the strings creating distortion artifacts similar to when you overdrive a speaker. It's often described as a buzzy sound. In that case you would voice the hammers ..... but I bet it's related to the loss of crown.

There is no way I or anyone else can really tell you whether that piano's worth buying or not without actually looking at it .... and pulling that action out and giving it the once over.
I strongly suggest that you hire a tech to come over and really go thru it. There are absolutely things that could be wrong with it that you'll never notice no matter how much good advice you get because that's not your field.
I (and any good tech) can play a couple of chords on a piano and go right to many possible problems just from hearing various sounds that we've come to know represent certain issues. You would never hear the kinds of things I'm talking about.
I'm not saying the piano has any problems but for that much money I'd have it checked out first.
I would charge someone 50-60 bucks to go thru a piano .... I imagine costs will be somewhere around that.

Oh ..... and I haven't heard that vertidegrees term before. But if there are parts of that action that aren't staying in their correct orientation .... that's even more reason to have a pro look it over.
 
LT Bob, now that sounds scary if its the lack of crown causing the buzzing.
But if that was the case wouldn't you get that same sound on atleast one other note? Remember it only does it when struck hard when she hit it at a normal level it sounded normal. I use to have an old upright that did that on alot of keys and the repair just put some new hammers on it and it was good to go. To me with my very basic play a couple bass notes with the left hand and a few chords with the right hand style I find I'm always in that area of the keyboard and it just seems like the most likely place for a hammer to get screwed up. But I know nothing about piano's and I have no ideal the how much arch needs to be on a soundboard. The only thing I would be able to relate it to is the soundboard of an acoustic which I guess also has a little arc even on a flat top unless it has become dryied out the top starts sinking.

If this is the case what are the options can it be reshape, zapped with some humidity and clamped in shape. I would hate to think what a piece of sitka spruce would cost big enough to do a piano :eek:

My daughter has the appraiser paperwork I'll see if his phone number is on it and give him a call before I go out and look at it.

btw: did you get to check out the VJ Special yet? It does have 3 tubes.
Since I got mine I delegate my VJ head to use for the right channel stereo on my QS8 keyboard the tube seems to make it sound better also.





Lt. Bob said:
Just for the record ..... I am a piano technician and was probably one of the busiest tuners anywhere. Thought that would have been clear with the 30 years of tuning thing but I guess it wasn't. I need to learn to be clearer. :)

The soundboard has lost most of it's crown huh? You might remember I mentioned that.
That is probably why you have that note that buzzes ..... when you lose the crown there isn't enough downforce on the bridge and some strings'll buzz. It's unlikely that it's related to the hammer or action although sometimes hammers can get so hard that they overdrive the strings creating distortion artifacts similar to when you overdrive a speaker. It's often described as a buzzy sound. In that case you would voice the hammers ..... but I bet it's related to the loss of crown.

There is no way I or anyone else can really tell you whether that piano's worth buying or not without actually looking at it .... and pulling that action out and giving it the once over.
I strongly suggest that you hire a tech to come over and really go thru it. There are absolutely things that could be wrong with it that you'll never notice no matter how much good advice you get because that's not your field.
I (and any good tech) can play a couple of chords on a piano and go right to many possible problems just from hearing various sounds that we've come to know represent certain issues. You would never hear the kinds of things I'm talking about.
I'm not saying the piano has any problems but for that much money I'd have it checked out first.
I would charge someone 50-60 bucks to go thru a piano .... I imagine costs will be somewhere around that.

Oh ..... and I haven't heard that vertidegrees term before. But if there are parts of that action that aren't staying in their correct orientation .... that's even more reason to have a pro look it over.
Click to expand...
 
Yes ..... it seems likely that it would show up elsewhere than just that one note. And yes ..... it can be a hammer. Over time as the hammers hit the string over and over it packs the felt tighter and tighter leading to those grooves you'll see on the hammer. It looks like the strings cut into the hammer but actually they pack the felt tighter making it harder. A reason that Yamis have a bright sound is that they come from the factory with hard hammers. They do this 'cause they want small children to get a big sound with a light touch. But sometimes they're too hard and the piano ends up being buzzy.

So it is certainly possible that it's just one hammer. But it is also possible that it isn't just that one string but that's the only one that's gotten bad enough to catch your attention. After all .... as a problem develops .... one note has to be the first one to get to that point.

Now .... I want to emphasize that I am NOT saying that's the problem and that you shouldn't buy it. But I am saying that with what you know ..... there's at least a possibility that it has a problem and that's why you should have someone check it out.
You can recrown a soundboard and it shouldn't be neccessary to replace it.
However ..... that's one of the only things I've never had call to do so I'm not sure of the procedure or what it costs. It's a pretty uncommon repair in the part of the country I'm from. Probably these concert tuners and rebuilders in New York or someplace like that do it but it's not something I've ever had to do. If it gets to the point where you really need to know about that I can call the guy who taught me ..... he's 90 but still kicking and even tuning sometimes although he's really lost his ear and probably shouldn't ..... but he would know about recrowning a soundboard.
 
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