The value of a player piano is based almost entirely on its condition, and asking the seller the right questions can save the buyer lots of money. However, the only way to determine its actual condition is to have it professionally evaluated by a player piano technician. A thorough evaluation typically costs $85-$125 depending on where you live. All too often, people purchase a player piano for less than a few hundred dollars only to discover that it’s totally worthless or that it will cost thousands of dollars to get it properly restored. It is my hope that the following information will help you avoid making an unpleasant purchase.

Looks can be very deceiving. So don’t automatically judge the value or the condition of a player piano by outward appearances. While it’s generally true that a player piano that looks nice has been well cared for, it’s what’s inside that really counts. Furthermore, it doesn’t take a lot of time or money to make the insides of a player piano ‘look’ good. So here again, don’t automatically assume that the unit is in good shape just because it looks clean and tidy. On the other hand, if the instrument appears to have been abused or neglected, it’s generally a sure bet that such is the case. However, don’t be immediately frightened off by a shabby looking cabinet or keys. It may very well be that owner spent lots of money getting the piano action and player mechanism to work properly without regard for the piano’s cosmetic appearance. Fact is, most of the people who own a player piano don’t play the piano. That being the case, the cosmetic aspects of the instrument are often the last thing to be considered. Bottomline, don’t be influenced solely by ‘looks’.

The single most important question to ask the seller is, "How long has it been since the player mechanism worked?" If the answer is, "I don’t know", my advice would be don’t get involved. Saying ‘I don’t know’ is similar to saying ‘I don’t care’, and that’s generally not a good sign. If the answer is anything over 20 years, chances are very great that it will cost over $5000 dollars to get the instrument back into good working order. If the answer is between 10-20 years, it will probably cost less than a few thousand dollars to "get it working" again. However, this is a gray area and more questions need to be asked. Refer to the paragraph about previous work. If the player worked well within the last 5-10 years, chances are better than not that a good technician can get the unit operating in a few days. If the unit stopped functioning within the past five years, odds are fairly good there’s a relatively minor problem or two that can be repaired within a few hours or less. Lastly, if the answer is ‘it still works’, skip down to the paragraph about the foot treadles.

Assuming that the seller knows something about the history of the instrument and admits that it no longer works, the next most important question, which is, "Did the player just quit, or did it seem to die slowly?" After 32+ years as a road technician, I’ve found that about 90% of player pianos that ‘just quit’ have only one relatively minor problem. And, while the mechanism might be in need of other maintenance to improve its performance, such units can usually be playing music again in just a few minutes. On the other hand, there are the other 10% that have documented ‘minor’ problems that are costly and time consuming to repair. More about them later.... If, on the other hand, a player piano has gotten progressively worse, or harder to play over the years leading up to its ‘death’, chances are very great that it simply wore out. In such cases, it doesn’t really matter when it finally died. It could have been two weeks or two years ago. In almost every case, when a player dies slowly, it will cost thousands to bring it back to life.

If you’ve received all the right answers so far, the next question is, "Do the foot treadles (or foot pumps) work?" The answer to this question should be a simple "Yes" or "No". If the answer is ‘yes’, move down to the paragraph about pumping the treadles. If the answer is ‘no’, one might rightly wonder how the player mechanism can work if the foot pumps don’t work. Fact is, many circa 1920's player pianos have been ‘electrified’. ‘Electrifying’ a foot powered player piano means that an electric vacuum pump has been added to the player system. This is generally done because it has become too difficult to get the music to play by pumping the treadles. If that’s the case, it’s a good bet that the player system is on its last legs and it won’t be long before major restoration work is required. However, in rare cases the foot treadles are purposely removed to accommodate the electric vacuum pump. If that’s the case, you’ll need to ask question about the previous work that’s been done to the instrument.

The quality of a player mechanism is judged by how much effort is required to make the music play. Since this means pumping the treadles, the next question is, "How fast do you have to pedal to play the music?"Surprisingly enough, most people don’t know how easy it is to pump a player piano that works properly. In a nutshell, pumping a player piano should be like taking a gentle walk on Sunday. It should not be an aerobic workout. With a player piano that is working extremely well, you can stop pumping for up to ten seconds and the music will keep playing. As it does, the volume of the music will decrease gradually. In a player that’s working pretty good, the volume of the music will drop off in a few seconds. In one that’s in fair shape, the music will cease almost immediately. Mind you, in all of the above cases you are only pumping the pedals about as fast as you would if you were walking. On the other hand, if the player mechanism is in anything less than fair shape, you will have to keep pumping the treadles constantly to keep the music playing. And, the worse the mechanism is, the faster you will have to pump. Generally speaking, if you have to jog to get the music to play, they system has moderate to semi-severe leakage. If you have to run, the leakage is severe. If you have to sprint, the system is worn out.

Moving on, if the answer to the above question was anything but ‘walking’, it would be wise to ask, "What previous work has been done to the instrument?" Also, you should ask, "When was the instrument last tuned and serviced?" In fact, at some point it’s always wise to ask these questions. However, the answer/s might be less important than you would tend to think. The main reason for asking the questions is not to determine how well the player mechanism operates. You should already know that by now. What you’re trying to find out is ‘why’ the piano is in not in good condition. Unfortunately, there are so many reasons why a player piano works poorly that it’s not reasonable to attempt to address all the causes here. But, knowing what work has been done and when it was done can give you a better sense of what still needs to be done. If the seller says that ‘the bellows and tubing’ were replaced, then most likely the valves are the problem. Replacing the valves can cost a few thousand dollars. On the other hand, if the owner claims that everything was completely restored less than ten years ago, it’s safe to say that they got cheated or they aren’t telling you the truth. Here’s why. A completely restored player piano should work very well for at least 15 years. Most of them will work well for 20 years and longer if properly restored. However, they are machines, and all complex machines must be serviced on a periodic basis if they’re expected to keep working well. As a general rule, a player piano should be tuned and serviced every two years at the bare minimum. A well maintained player piano gets tuned and serviced every year. In most cases, a good player piano technician will take care of minor problems during the course of a service call. And, when it’s necessary, they will tell the owner about problems or potential problems they discover which fall outside the realm of general service or repair. The point is, a seller who knows their instrument knows its condition and what it will cost to get it working properly. And like I said at the outset, the seller who doesn’t know most likely doesn’t care, and it would be wise to avoid getting involved.

In closing, there is lots of free information about player pianos on the Internet. Just search for "player pianos" at any of the major search indexes and look for the ones that offer technical information about repairing and restoring these wonderful and enjoyable instruments.

"Keep The Music Rolling"

Musically,

John A Tuttle