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how to buy a used piano

by: grosminet( 665Feedback score is 500 to 999) Top 10000 Reviewer
56 out of 65 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 11216 times Tags: steinway piano | yamaha piano | baby grand | piano


WHO ARE WE??

Buying  a  piano  without   touching /playing it?   it  might  seem  like  a  crazy  idea  to  a  concert  musician  or  a professional pianist  but  the  truth  is  many   pianos are  sold  on  ebay  every  day and  the  main  reason  is  of  course  the  potential  saving  you  might  end  up  with.

 

2 CATEGORIES  OF SELLER are  to  be  considered  on ebay:

A.  The  one  time  private  party  getting  rid  of the  piano  for  whatever  reason:

These  type  of seller  rarely  describe  the instrument  in  a  sufficiently  detailed  way  and  unless  you send  a  piano  technician  to inspect  the  piano  the  only  potentially  real  information  you  can  deal  with  is  moslty  from a  cosmetic  point  of  view  and a  very  subjective  unprofessionaly  trained  hear.BOTTOM LINE  YOU ARE  TAKING  A  BIG  CHANCE and  do not  forget  that  piano moving  is  expensive...PLEASE  have  the  piano  inspected  by  a  piano  technician if you are  serious  about  this  project....Do not  assume  that  age  has  anything  to  do  with  the  condition  of the   instrument as  this  is  one  of  the  most  common  misconception!

 

B. The  regular " piano  lister"...that  could  be  a  piano technician  with  only  a  few  instrument  or  a   huge  store  with   some  overstock items etc..

These  lister  will  generally  be  able  to  answer  the  following  questions  and  assuming that  they are  honest  you  can  make  up your  mind on how  much  you should  bid  on the piano!

QUESTIONS YOU  MUST  ABSOLUTELY  ASKED:

1.  Where  was  the piano  made(city and  country)  and  when?many  brands  have  lower  quality  pianos  made  around  the  world  and  this is  a sure  way  to  find  out  what  class  of  instrument  you are  dealing  with

2.Is  the pinblock  in good  enough  shape  for the piano to  hold tune a minimum of  6 month?

3.If the piano  was  rebuilt  was the  pinblock  changed?

4. Was the  instrument  ever  close  to  the  ocean/ a swiming pool/in a damp  basement?

5. Just like  a  vehicle  tire  you can find  out  how  much  the  instrument  was used  by  asking  how  deep  is  the  groove  on the  hammers(1to 3mm is  ok)  or  even  better  get  pictures  of the  hammers.

6.THE  SOUNDBOARD....AH  AH AH.,...  not  as  important  as  you  might  think! (i own a  Steinway  with  5 cracks  in the  soundboard  and  it  has  a delicious  tone) but a  good thing to  know is if craks are present  are they  making   any  distortion  or  buzz  when the piano  is  played  loud.

 

Finally  We  would  again  recommand  to have  any  piano  purchase  over  a  $2000   to  have  it  checked   by  a  certified  piano technician.

 

Good  luck  and  happy  bidding!

 

THE  TEAM  OF  A440PIANOS(ALWAYS  HERE  TO  HELP!)

 

 

 

 


Guide ID: 10000000000014580Guide created: 10/06/05 (updated 05/18/09)

 
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