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Old 12-04-2007, 06:35 PM
 
Location: Beautiful place in Virginia
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I am unsure of where this thread should be placed:

Is there any advice for buying used pianos? I was looking in the classified ads and there is so much variability in prices, as well as, ages. Is there a 'blue book' standard? How do you know if a piano is even 'tune-able'?
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Old 12-04-2007, 06:47 PM
 
Location: Happy wherever I am - Florida now
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You have to make sure that the sound board isn't cracked. Don't know the answer to your other questions. My piano is over 100 years old and I tune it myself.
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Old 12-06-2007, 11:19 AM
 
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Oh dear, there is in fact a blue book, but it's been several years since I was looking into this and I can no longer remember the name or link.

Edit: look this over, but it links you to a book to buy; but it also links you to a piano forum:

What is my piano worth? piano values
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Old 12-08-2007, 06:17 AM
 
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Here's another:

The Ages and Historical Records of Pianos sold in America

There's also someone named, I think, Pete Summers who is on the internet - he is a piano expert, repairs pianos, etc. I think I sent him the serial number of my piano and he gave me the year. He has an online store and I bought new keytops for my piano; then later when I ran into a problem, he guided me through.

[Actually I think it was someone else who gave me the year of the piano based on something I found on the internet that helped with piano serial numbers (these are found inside the piano)].
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Old 12-08-2007, 06:42 AM
 
Location: Minnesota
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First of all, what's your budget, what will you be using it for, and how proficient are you? You need to get a copy of Larry Fine's Piano Book. Since you're getting a used piano, get the book used. The latest information is of no use to you.

Caveat: despite his reputation, Larry Fine isn't the piano God, but he's a lot better than most piano salesmen.

In general, 70's and 80's pianos made in Japan will be quite durable and affordable. Likewise for early later 80's and 90's pianos made in Korea. Toward the later 90's until today, Chinese pianos are quite a good buy.

Once you find a piano, ask for receipts from a piano tuner. There should be a history of basic maintenance associated with the piano. Once a year is good. If you're really enamoured with a particular instrument, you can acquire the services of a piano tech to do a perpurchase inspection. Lastly, I recommend against buying a spinet unless you have absolutely no room for a larger piano, but in most cases, the space requirements are the same for an upright and a spinet.

Good luck!
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Old 12-09-2007, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Beautiful place in Virginia
2,679 posts, read 11,704,641 times
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I wanted to buy a digital piano but my wife wants a conventional console or upright. She played as a child through high school/college. She just wanted to spend $500.

I wanted to buy one of those $4000-5000 digitals by Roland since they don't need tuning. AND they are easier to move.
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Old 12-09-2007, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Minnesota
987 posts, read 3,806,349 times
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Two mantras:

The music is not in the instrument. (Stolen from Jake and Rocket)

A kid needs only a ball and a good stick.

A quality piano can be had for $2-3k. Once a year tuning will be $60-100. Thankfully, pianos that are well kept hardly need extensive repair. A good tech can unstick a coupla keys, install new veneers, tune, in about 3 hours. At $60/hr, that's only $180. Compare that to a set of tires for your car. It's relatively inexpensive.

Then there's something about the feel of vibrating strings on a soundboard. Even with an inexpensive piano, there's a certain element of craftsmanship involved. The joining of the soundboard for example is somewhat artistic. The final finish has to be buffed manually (with a machine) and of course the piano needs to be tuned. It's those things that make an acoustic piano much more of a personal thing as opposed to a digital. In a nutshell, playing an acoustic makes me feel warm whereas a digital leaves me cold.

Beginning students may be drawn to a digital because of the immediate accesibility of various sounds. I like to think that they're infatuated, but they'll never fall in love.

So that's my take on it.
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Old 12-09-2007, 12:45 PM
 
Location: A Valley in Oregon
610 posts, read 3,310,679 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by titaniummd View Post
I wanted to buy a digital piano but my wife wants a conventional console or upright. She played as a child through high school/college. She just wanted to spend $500.

I wanted to buy one of those $4000-5000 digitals by Roland since they don't need tuning. AND they are easier to move.
Your idea is very cool. I've played all my life (minus the first 3 1/2 yrs) and the sheer volume of a standard piano just kills my ears anymore. With a digital, I can adjust the volume, buffer and layer the sounds, choose my brilliance, etc ... not only that, I can put the headphones on while my wife is watching her movie and ... no harm, no foul!
The problem is, they want so much money for the ones that look like the real thing - and you're often stuck with the keyboard that came with it. I have a friend who paid 16K for a Kurzweill in a Baby Grand. Beautiful piano. Kweil sucks. Not worth a dime to me.
If I had the money and the space, I would find a suitable "case" - let's say, a baby-grand that'd somehow gotten it's innards thrashed - I'd toss my speakers and amp system into the playbox and put the keyboard of my choice in place. Now, I can't afford the new keyboards anymore - can't justify the cost since I no longer perform ... and it has just been neater than snot to be able to carry my keyboard under my arm these past 25+ years and if I could've done that in the 60's and 70's, I could've gone to the park and changed girlfriends often like the guitar-players got to do ... but seriously, once you find a board with the action and sounds you want, it's almost like the real thing - only better! You get to take it with you. Dang, they used to haul my piano around in a semi from gig-to-gig so, between weekends, I had nothing to play! Now, I walk out with my Yamaha, toss it in the back seat of my Suzuki, head off to Gigs-R-Us in Parts-Unknown, walk in, set-up, plug-in and play! Not only that, the two motel-stops I had to make on the way ... the keyboard went into the motel room with me and I could play all night (with headphones, of course).
Dude - talk her into the digital! She can play away all night long on poker night! You can find almost any "feel" you're looking for with some diligent searching ... you just have to get used to having only one or two pedals - er ... make sure it will handle a sustain-pedal. And you can find them used. Korg and Technics make some affordable boards. Roland and Yamaha get a bit pricey.
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Old 12-09-2007, 06:33 PM
 
Location: Beautiful place in Virginia
2,679 posts, read 11,704,641 times
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Kuan

The piano is for the wife. She is not a beginner.

Thanks all for the replies. I am going to try to convince her to get the digital. I don't want a cheap used one.
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Old 12-11-2007, 10:54 PM
 
227 posts, read 1,354,037 times
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Well said kuan. As a novice, i use a medicore keyboard. It sounds pretty good, but nothing like the acoustic ambience of a piano.

Two reasons i bought this keyboard
- practice without going out of tune
- when i do buy a piano, i will appreciate it that much more.
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