Piano Buying Tips: Things that you might want to know
Also see our article about which is better (for home pianos) Upright/Upright Grand/Spinet
Disclaimer: I am not a piano expert, nor do I claim to be one, nor am I a certified music professional. The advice below comes from the experience I have in buying my own pianos and self-research.
1. An antique piano is not necessarily a bad thing. (1. a., if the piano is being sold for a high cost because it is “antique” don’t buy it. Pianos DO NOT gain value over time, nor do they really become valuable for being “rare”.)
2. You should always play a piano before buying it. And, by play, I mean: Really sit down and play. If you don’t play yet, see if you can find a willing piano player. Be sure to look at other pianos before deciding on just one.
3. Space, space, space. The width of any piano does not vary, it’s the height that you need to worry about. It’s not a matter of it hitting your celling, but a matter of clearing wall-space. Also, some pianos may have more depth, but this varies by piano and does not have a general rule to go by.
4. Research the piano. Call the seller and ask them for a serial number, the piano brand, and the piano series (if the series had a name). The serial number is usually located on the soundboard towards the top, if it is not it may be on the panel under the keyboard. This latches on, and pulls out. Type this information into the Internet and try to find duplicate pianos, do consider that most information you will find will be based off personal opinion and that the piano being reviewed may be quite different from yours. Many pianos may be impossible to find on the Internet — don’t let this discourage you, if you can’t find it just go see the piano and try it out.
5. Inspect the soundboard. Ask the seller to do this for you before going to see the piano. Nearly all older pianos will have some damage to the soundboard.
When you go to see the piano, you will want to inspect the soundboard yourself: Open up the top of the piano and look down inside (bring a flashlight!). Look for cracks on the wood in the back of the piano.
Open the panel underneath the keyboard of the piano. This panel stands vertically and has a clip that must be disengaged before pulling the panel out… the clip style varies. Once that is open, you will see the bottom of the soundboard. Inspect for cracks.
6. While you have the piano open, look at the strings. If you see a great amount of rust, this might indicate that the quality of the strings has degraded over time to the point in which it may affect the sound and life of the string.
7. If strings of the piano are broken, ask the seller how they broke. If it was due to age or other unknown causes, other strings are likely to break in the near future. If the strings were broken due to physical abuse (say, a kid hit it with a hammer) then it may be worthwhile to replace the strings — do consider though that string replacement can cost a lot and the note of the replaced string may sound different from the others.
Along with this, it is also very expensive to replace the action (the moving parts within the piano). Only buy a piano if it is fully functional.
8. Bring a tuner with you, if you can afford to. Many tuners will take a look at pianos for you, but at a cost. In many cases, it could be worthwhile but not completely necessary.
9. Search for broken keys. The action (moving parts) of the keys is very difficult to replace, and if broken keys are in areas that will be played a lot it will affect playability. A tuner can help assess damage of keys. The ivories (though no longer made of ivory) can be replaced without sacrificing a great deal of money.
10. Figure in the cost of a pitch raise and tuning. After your piano sits at home for two or three weeks and settles in place, you need to get both tunings before the piano starts to sound pleasant. Tuning and pitch raise costs vary, so you will need to call your tuner. Some people choose not to tune their pianos, which is fine — it will not hurt the piano, it will only result in a sound that may not be as enjoyable.
Used pianos can be the best kind there are. Since the wood has settled inside the piano, it won’t go out of tune as quickly as a brand new piano (though if you can afford a brand new piano, you can afford the tuning) but will still need tuning every year (or every six months, if you can afford it).
Where can I find a piano?
Another often asked question. Watch the classified ads of your paper (look under “Musical Instruments” and “Ads Under $100”, get a Nickle Ad paper (or another free paper that just lists classifieds), and keep a close eye on www.Craigslist.org and watch your local area for musical instruments.
Tip: On Craigslist, don’t just look under “Musical Instruments”, also search for “Piano” or “Pianos” in the search bar.
Hopefully this article has helped you prepare for the long process of deciding on a piano to buy.
