Buying a PianoThere are a lot of things to consider when you are buying a piano. While this can be an exciting time, it can also be a very confusing endeavor. While shoppers may routinely track the price of other big-ticket items such as cars and furniture, they seldom research the price of new or used pianos until seriously considering a purchase.Most people are reluctant to spend a large initial sum of money in buying a piano until they feel sure that they are making the best purchase possible. There are several options to consider - including source, model, style, and price among others - when buying a piano and the decision between a new or used piano is usually one of the first to arise. The first inclination in buying a piano may be to search the newspaper or visit local dealers for a used piano costing a few hundred dollars. In their search, they will encounter the odd older 36" spinet and some consoles of 40" to 42" in height. Almost certainly they will encounter a number of old upright pianos ranging in height from 50" to 54". Most of these old upright pianos are between 70 - 100 years old and while they may look beautiful, most are not quality musical instruments. In their prime, they were very nice-sounding pianos, and were usually built by reputable manufacturers. Even today, a significant number of these pianos can be restored to beautiful instruments, but the cost of restoration can be more than the finished value of the instrument. Don't Create Obstacles for StudentsThere is a danger in possibly buying a piano that is inferior that will be an obstacle to the pianist or student rather than an enjoyable playing or learning experience. Many pianos are purchased for beginning students by parents who have very little, if any, experience at the piano.Introductory lessons, while exciting, can at times be frustrating or tedious. This frustration needs no further fueling from a piano that is not mechanically fit. New students can not discern between their own skill limitations and those caused by a worn-out piano. Each time children successfully attempt to play passages, they incrementally add to their self-esteem. When attempts are unsuccessful, even if caused by the piano, it detracts from the momentum of success. The sum of these failures can create the frustrations that cause piano lessons to cease. There are too many benefits of music education to let that happen. So if you buy a piano based on price alone that can be a terribly bad decision. Seeking Professional HelpParents will often ask a music teacher or a close friend that plays the piano to help them in buying a piano. Most welcome the opportunity to ensure a good instrument for the student and can, through playing the piano, judge the touch and tone.However, I well remember when my sister asked me to give my opinion on a grand when she was thinking of buying a piano long before I had become a piano technician. I played it and it felt good; it sounded good so I said sure - this should be great. She bought it, took it home, invited a technician to tune it only to be told it needed about $1,000 worth of work to replace the pinblock. Thankfully, my sister is very forgiving, and I learned a great lesson when it comes to buying a piano. Playing it and listening to it will not always tell you if it has any major or minor mechanical problems. Wise teachers will defer this request to a technician they trust. This is a good "insurance policy" for the customer. Even though the piano may play well and have a good tone, the piano could have other problems. For example, I mentioned the pinblock, but other problems may be there such as a cracked bridge or a worn out action, bushing problems, or worn out hammers. In the end more money may be required for repairs than was paid for the piano.
Piano DesignMany advances have been made in piano design in the past 25 years. Better quality glues and construction methods are now generally used to ensure that a new piano is built better for longer-lasting service. With a new instrument, you have the manufacturer’s warranty of 5 - 10 years, including parts and labour, to back it up. But buying a piano that is used can in many cases be a much better deal than a new piano.Many people are confused when buying a vertical piano because there are so many styles, sizes and price ranges. The terms — spinet, console, studio and professional upright — are used in reference to piano height with spinet being the shortest. Many claims are made for the performance qualities of vertical pianos, based primarily on size. Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. With proper design, the tone from a smaller high-quality piano will be better than that from a larger but poorly designed piano. And buying a piano that is used could cost less than a new one and be the better piano. The action must respond to the slightest variation in touch so that the player has control over the music’s dynamic range (how loud or soft it can be played). This ability to play loud and soft has separated the piano from other keyboard instruments since its inception. The Full-Blow Action repeats over 20 percent faster than a small compressed action with miniature parts. Such smaller parts have to work much harder to do the same job and, therefore, may have to be serviced and repaired more often. Overly hard hammers produce a tinny or harsh sound and eventually cause string breakage. Hammers become firm with use because they compress as they repeatedly hit the strings. A new piano should sound clear and pleasant to your ear. A used piano should not have hammers that are so old the sound is muffled, nor strings that are thumpy sounding. Many pianos have a laminated soundboard. This board will produce a slightly different quality of sound than a solid board, and sound will decay more quickly. However, a laminated soundboard is a practical alternative for a less expensive piano and most people can't tell the difference in sound between a solid board and a laminated board anyway. Solid spruce has always been the material of choice for the best quality of sound. If you examine the most expensive American and European grand pianos they always have quartersawn solid spruce soundboards. How the wood is cut distinguishes a quality soundboard. The best way to cut spruce for soundboards is to quartersaw it. Quartersawing allows the grain of the wood to run in the right direction to be more stable through the changing seasons. Laminated spruce soundboards have come a long way though. Using an almost paper thin sheet of spruce placed at a 30 degree angle to the rest of the board can keep a soundboard from splitting and have very little effect on the sound and keep the board very stable. The pinblock of the piano should be made out of the finest and most dense wood available because it must hold the tuning pin tightly for many years. The sound of a piano is the result of some 12,000 parts, all working together. The size, length, weight and quality of those parts as well as the way they are interrelated is referred to as the scale of the piano. Piano-making is an art requiring skilled craftsmanship. A piano must be a beautiful piece of furniture as well as a fine musical instrument. In fact, in the furniture trade the highest quality finish is referred to as a “piano finish.” No piano made today has a case made out of one solid piece of wood. Solid wood case parts can warp and crack under stress. Beware of salespeople who claim to have a solid wood piano. One method of case construction involves wood core stock over which a final layer of cabinet wood is glued. The outside layer is called veneer. On all pianos, the pedal to the far right sustains the sound by lifting the dampers away from the strings so that they will continue to vibrate. The pedal to the far left is the soft pedal or “una corda” on a grand piano. This pedal makes the piano softer in volume. The middle pedal is often different from piano to piano. In most grand pianos, it is called the sostenuto pedal and holds the dampers from selected strings so that these notes alone will sustain. European pianos frequently have no middle pedal, and little piano repertoire requires it. On most vertical pianos, the middle pedal sustains the bass notes alone or lowers a muting felt between strings and the hammers, to reduce the volume. This is known as a practice pedal. Humidity Change Kills Piano TuningsTuning is most affected by changes in temperature and humidity. The soundboard absorbs moisture in wet seasons and loses it in dry seasons. This will swell and shrink the wood, and the tension on the strings will change.However, when buying a piano consider several factors that contribute to a piano’s ability to stay in tune. The strength of the cast-iron plate and the piano case and back posts is important. Also critical is the stability of the pinblock, bridges, ribs and soundboard under changing climatic conditions. Today’s modern pianos, whether a 36-inch spinet or a 9-foot concert grand, have a total string tension of 18,000 to 40,000 pounds. Properly designed pianos will exhibit excellent tuning stability, even if the piano is moved from the location where tuned. A lesser piano will not possess this stability of tuning. However, it is also true that more expensive pianos may go out of tune quickly because their soundboards are more susceptible to climate changes. WarrantyThe manufacturer of your piano should be responsible for providing an instrument that you can depend on. The warranty should cover defects in workmanship and parts, labor for repairs, and transportation of the piano to and from the factory if necessary.Many companies offer warranties on parts only, not labor. However, labor is often times the most expensive aspect of a repair job. If you're buying used - dealers such as ourselves provide a warranty of anywhere between 2 - 10 years for a used piano covering both parts and labour. But get it in writing. How to Choose the Right One - The Real Basic CriteriaHaving given you all of the above the real choice comes down to you. No one can truthfully tell you which piano is best for you. No one has all the facts about your budget, decor, or preference to tone, style, and touch. However, there are things you need to consider that we can provide some information.Touch and ToneThe best piano for you is the one that you like the sound and the touch the best. Don’t let any teacher, technician, or salesman tell you otherwise. Even if you know absolutely nothing about pianos you can tell which sound you like compared to others.This is the most important aspect of buying a piano from the point of view of a musical instrument. Unless you are thinking of purchasing a digital (electric) piano, every piano – even the same model made by the same company – is different. The reason is that every piano has its’ own characteristics. Pianos are primarily built from many kinds of wood. No two trees ever grow exactly alike. Grain and densities differ between different species and between individual trees of the same species. Hammer and damper felts are made from wool which varies in texture and length of fiber. These variations are present in all materials from which pianos are made and they affect the touch and tone. The action of a piano consists of a series of levers from the keys to the hammer which deliver a speed about five times the speed of key depression – and it must do it with the widest possible control for the touch. The mechanism must become disconnected from the hammer just before it reaches the string, so that it travels the final distance under its’ own momentum, otherwise the hammer will be blocked against the string. The hammer must rebound from the string in a fraction of a second, leaving the string free to vibrate while the key is depressed. The hammer meanwhile is being held in position by another part of the action for a quick repeat blow. Full release of the key must allow instant damping of the string to stop the sound. All pianos work like this, whether upright or grand, and must be performed with the minimum of noise. The choice you make concerning touch and tone is very subjective. If you ask piano teachers or performers which piano they like, you will probably not get the same answer from any of them. We find that if your piano teacher has a particular brand of piano – that is the one they will recommend. Not because that piano is better than any other piano, but simply because that is the one they prefer. After all, that’s the one they purchased based on sound and touch. PriceYou need to buy the best piano you can afford for your purpose. Literally, the more you spend the better the sound and touch of a piano is. I think we could compare this to cars to help your decision. Do you think a typical 75 year old grandma needs a sports car or just a good dependable car to get around town? Is $100,000 too much for a Chevrolet or Toyota? What about a Rolls Royce or Lamborghini? Where does your budget fit?Pianos are the same. While you can buy a piano comparable in price to a Rolls Royce, the pianos we sell would compare to the Rolls Royce as do the quality and prices of Chevrolet or Toyota. So while our pianos aren't the most expensive we think they are excellent value for the money. SizeYou should buy the largest piano you have space for. If you really want the best piano for its’ sound and touch, the bigger the better. Grand pianos take up a lot of room, but the difference in sound and touch from an upright is huge – unless you decide to buy a baby grand for the looks. The smallest baby grands may not be as good as a tall upright because of the string length, soundboard size, or even the price.To decide how big a piano you can have, you need to determine where the piano will go in your home and that will also determine how large the piano can be. The largest upright will fit in a space of usually 5’ x 4’, but if you’re trying to fit it under a bookshelf you will need to know the height from the floor you can use as well as consider that the piano lid must be opened for it to be serviced by your technician. The smallest grand piano will need a width of 5’ and at least 7’ in length to include the bench as well as enable a technician to be able to slide the action out of the piano at the front. Whatever the length of the grand you will need to add 2.5 to 3’ minimum for the bench and for service. Furniture StyleYou also want your piano to be beautiful, and no one can select the look of the piano that pleases you anymore than they can select the painting on the wall of your home. The furniture aspect of a piano plays a large part in its’ cost. A fancy grand piano with beautiful inlaid wood costs many thousands of dollars more than the typical polished black apartment size piano.While you can put an ugly looking piano in your back room so no one will see it, it also may never get played there. Research has shown that the best place for the piano is wherever you would feel most comfortable in your home. And for students we have even learned that to leave the cover open will invite them to practice more often. Digital or Electric PianosDigital pianos are generally of interest when people either want to cut the price or want bells and whistles. You can get a decent digital piano for under $1,000.00 – but be sure it has a weighted action. Otherwise it does not give you the feel of playing a piano which can make a huge difference in learning to play the real thing. Since digitals are really just a big computer, the sound of each model may vary, but all pianos of the same model will sound and feel exactly the same.The other concern with buying a digital piano is warranty and longevity. Warranties with digital pianos are usually between 1 – 3 years with labour not generally being included after the first year. As well, after 7 years you probably will not be able to get parts. The companies simply don’t make them anymore because, well, there’s a new model out this year just like any electronic gadget. Parts for regular pianos are easily obtained and even a 100 year old piano we can get parts for them. New Verses UsedYou can buy a brand new apartment size piano for around $3,000 or you can buy a used but larger studio size piano for $4,000. Which is the best? There is a lot to consider. New pianos come with a warranty anywhere from 5 – 12 years. Used pianos from a reputable dealer will come with a warranty of 2 – 5 years.Some used pianos that have been cared for properly or reconditioned properly are worth more than a new piano. For instance, a piano dealer in Toronto recently sold an 1897 Seven Foot Steinway for $110,000 – and it was worth it. You can also buy an old piano from an auctioneer for as little as $50. The criteria for buying used or new is the same: Touch and tone, Price, Size, and Furniture Style. If you have questions that are not answered here or elsewhere on the website, pick up your phone and call us at 1-519-858-2805 between noon and 6:00 pm Eastern Time or send us a question in the form below. I am really here to help you in buying a piano that is best for you. While I would love to have you buy one of mine - if you don't perhaps you'll invite me to service the one you buy.
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