How to Buy a Piano
From LoveToKnow Buy
So you want to buy a piano. Often this journey begins with a trip to a piano store, where very quickly one can be overwhelmed by the choices between digital vs. acoustic, upright vs. grand, rebuilt vs. new and a host of other more subtle but important choices. Many of the fundamental decisions can and should be addressed prior to the time you make that first trip to the store. Not only will the trip be more productive, you will also be in a better position to guide the salesperson to your objectives rather than the salesperson guide you to their objectives.
With all this in mind, purchasing a piano can appear to be one the more daunting purchase decisions a person can make. Pianos can cost as much or more than a car, can last a lifetime, have many subjective qualities, are difficult to compare one against another and are often purchased for different reasons.
Even so, it possible to simplify finding the right piano for you and to have fun in the process. Many fine articles on how to buy a piano are available in the literature, on the internet and at piano store websites. Most are well worth reading and can be quite detailed. This article is intended only to provide basic considerations and help the less familiar get started with some fundamental concepts.
Digital vs. Acoustic Piano
Is the Piano for me or my family? What is the skill level of all the players? For example, if you have children who are just beginning to take lessons, you may be best served by starting them on an inexpensive Casio type electronic keyboard for the first year of lessons to see if they are likely to want to continue. It will be important at some point to migrate to a piano that has the appropriate key action so that the budding pianist can continue to make progress on technique, touch and tone. On the high end of digital pianos the decision vs. acoustic is much more a matter of what your ultimate objectives are, i.e. style of music, flexibility etc...
Upright vs. Grand Piano
Grand pianos 4'6" and above generally have better sound than uprights. 6' is regarding by some enthusiasts as the true starting point for a great sounding grand piano, much of this due to the length of the bass strings and the associated tone it is able to produce. Keep in mind that the amount of space you have to dedicate to the piano is key and a 5'7" parlor grand is considered a standard for most living rooms and achieves a balance of size and tone.
In the upright category, it is thought that spinets should be avoided due to their size and impact on sound and ability to repair.
All this being said many high quality uprights sound better than low quality grands.
Rebuilt vs. New
Rebuilt pianos can be a significantly better deal than new pianos. They are generally up to 40% cheaper than new and many professional argue that pre-World war II pianos are better than those made today. Here one must watch out for several hazards; the definition of rebuilt (amount of work actually done on the piano and associated quality) varies widely and some pianos that had poor tone in the first place are not improved by rebuilding. Look out for repair/replacement in action, pinblock, strings, soundboard and refinishing. If you are willing to spend the time learning about pianos and have a good ear and a trusted piano technician, you can do well.
New pianos are just that and generally have good warranties and less unknown issues.
Price and Quality Considerations
First off, many suggest avoiding the free piano or very inexpensive piano offered by friend, relative or other sources. It is common that these pianos can rapidly become very expensive to repair and/or maintain if at all fixable. If a deal seems too good to be true, have a trusted piano technician come with you to make an assessment.
Second, it can be a challenge to determine the best price on any piano, it is nearly impossible to comparison shop and dealers hold most of the knowledge in this area. One is better served attempting to set a price threshold and then begin the search within that price range. Of course action, tone and durability will be key considerations along with price, but once you have narrowed your range of choices it will be easier to get a sense of what a good value will be.
Price ranges vary widely from as low as $100 or less for an electronic keyboard to potentially more than $100,000 for a Concert Grand. Many fine uprights can be purchased for under $5000 and quality smaller grand pianos for under $20,000.
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