OT: Calling all piano owners!

[4forMe]

We are thinking about getting a piano. Two of my children would like to start lessons. I plan to take lessons as well. I have musical training background but not in playing the piano.

New pianos are very pricey! I see a lot of pianos on craigslist; however, I would be afraid to buy a used piano since I would have no way of identifying what type of condition it was in. It appears that some stores also sell "reconditioned" pianos, but again, I don't know if I'm better off buying new.

For those of you that have pianos, did you buy new or used? What brands are the best? Or did you inherit one and not have a problem getting it fixed or tuned?

I'm trying to do this is in a budget friendly way if possible.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I would find a used one you like and have a piano repair guy come and have him look over the instrument before you buy it. Even if he charges $100 to come look, you are WAAAY ahead of buying a new one. A decent piano should be fairly durable, so it shouldn't wear out easily.

 

[sk!mom]

Bought used 7 years ago. I wanted one that was a beautiful piece of furniture since my DH plays and I new he would continue even if DD eventually did not. When I finally found one that was in excellent "looking" condition and the right finish for my house, I paid a tuner to go take a look at it.

It's never needed anything but tuning.

Don't give up on used. Many people have beautiful pianos that no one plays that they finally get rid of. If it's been in the house, pianos last a loooooong time.

 

[Nicolepa]

I would by a digital piano/keyboard. Don't have to worry if it is in good condition etc. I bought a really nice Yamaha 2 years ago. It was $1000 but my kids use it daily. My son's instructor said that the Yamaha I have is the one she uses at home to practice on. If they continue at some point I will buy them a "real" piano, maybe.

 

[wdwmickey]

My MIL teaches piano and my DD has been playing for 9 years and we have had 2 pianos (both used) the first was a hand me down from grandma that she had used for years & years (it was the piano that DH learned on) and the one we have now has a nicer tone quality to it. We have only ever had to have them tuned. Of course you'll want to have someone knowledgeable check it out and ALWAYS have it tuned if you move it.

PS: DD said to tell you she always prefers a real piano to an electric keyboard

 

[mom2girlsx3]

I am a piano teacher.... you don't mention the ages of your kids, but I think before I invested a lot of money into a piano I would look at trying a nice electric keyboard first. That's a lot of money (and space!) if it ends up not being their "thing." I see it ALL the time. If you go the keyboard route, be sure to buy one with weighted keys!

 

[Boo Mc]

You might want to check Craigslist or Freecycle. Or put your own ad on there for a free or cheap one. Lots of people place ads for free ones because they are so expensive to move and they don't want to pay for it. Our local paper has listings for free ones all the time (near the garage sale ads). Even if you have to have it tuned/reconditioned it's worth it. Plus, if your kids decide to stop after a year, you won't have invested too much money.

 

[ZanyToes]

check with the local trusted piano repair companies or tuners. One of ours sold used pianos.. I got a great deal and I knew it was a usable piano that way. Also, our piano teacher said she would be happy to come with us when we looked at piano's so you might try that.

 

[McDuck]

My first piano was a used piano. As long as all the keys are in working order, not stuck, etc. and the body is in good shape, soundboard not cracked or warped, all it should really need is a tuning. Then if your kids love it, you can always "upgrade" the piano later to a new one.

I don't remember what the brand of the used piano I had was when I was a kid...maybe Baldwin? The piano we have now is a Kimball.

 

[catrax]

We got one for the kids for Christmas for free. We had to pay $285 to move it!!! - doesn't seem so "free" after writing that check!

I know that some colleges turn over pianos pretty quickly. You may want to give a call to some local colleges/universities and ask them if they sell their used pianos at a discount. At least you'll know that they are likely tuned and in good condition.

Another idea is to check in with some real estate companies. They might have people who are selling their houses and need to have the piano moved out before closing...

 

[JUJU814]

I recommend a digital piano. We have a beautiful Kawaii digital and love it. Our piano teacher is in love with it! They don't need tuning, don't need to be on an inside wall, have a beautiful sound, and has lots of other features.

Julie

 

[Nicolepa]

I want to add the reason we went w/a digital piano was a friend of ours is a professional pianist and he said a digital piano will keep children interested longer because they can mess around w/the different sounds AND you can put headphones on so if the baby is sleeping or whatever they can still practice. This guy has written music for Starbucks, teaches piano and music composition at an artsy high school etc.

 

[SylviaL]

A great book about buying used pianos is "The Piano Book" by Larry Fine. There is a also a supplement book to that called, "Acoustic and Digital Piano Buyer." I would also highly recommend having a Registered Piano Technician (pfg.org) look at the piano before purchasing.

 

[tttessa]

We have an electronic piano - Yamaha with weighted keys - the volume is controllable!!!! And they love to wear headphones to listen. Also, if they love a piece they can record themselves playing it easily and see if they got it right. It does not need tuning - can be kept in our UPSTAIRS spare room as it weighs less and it can easily be moved. They also take up a lot less room as their depth from the wall is significantly less. Our piano teacher said they would be fine learning on it until at least grade 4 piano exams - quite some time away.....

Listeneing to an hour of piano a day when they are learning (2 girls 30 min each) can be excruciating !! Proper pianos can seem so loud in a small room if you are not used to them. Think also of any neighbours....

 

[amez]

we got ours off freecyle. It is beautiful and hold a tune really well. We rented a piano mover for around $25 grabbed our neighbor and got it into the back of our truck. I see them pop up fairly regularly on freecyle.

hth
Amy

 

[minnierocks]

Check for local school auctions...my DH purchased ours for $5...YES $5 at an auction where a school district was auctioning off equipment. A group of them from work went to the auction and one of the guys had a friend that knew a little bit about pianos and he showed my DH which ones were good. The outside is definitely used, but it was in pretty good shape. It cost me $178 to have someone come to the house and clean and tune it...but we were very happy with the purchase!

 

[pooh4evr]

We have a Kawai electric piano- like tttessa- the keys are weighted, it has pedals so it feels and plays like a big regular piano- it has a volume control, record feature, tampo, and HEADPHONES!! we got it at a music store- it was on that had been leased for the prior yr, and it had a scratch on the back of it (it sits against the wall so who cares!) anyway I think it was $1000 including delivery. We like it becauser it doesn't take up as much room!

 

[anabelle]

We bought a reconditioned piano online. We absolutely love it. It is a Kawai upright. We heard a recording of it online. I loved the mellowness of the sound, which is weird for a Japanese piano. They are usually more tinny sounding. The seller specializes in resale of reconditioned pianos. He will play and record specific songs if you like. I think we paid $2400 for it, delivered. It looked brand new. I can PM his site if you like. My husband did lot of research prior to purchasing.

 

[alexb]

We found ours through Craigslist for $120 and it's a great older piano made by Baldwin which I believe was purchased by Baldwin a long time ago. We've had it tuned a few times and it plays great. We did have our tuner reset the keys (I think that's the term) which was removing them and replacing the moving parts that wear out as well as the leather pieces that move the hammers. What a huge difference that made in terms of key action, it made the playability a lot better for our kids. Apparently to buy a new piano of similar quality would be around $8,000-$10,000 according to our tuner. A friend of ours is a jazz pianist and has a Steinway baby grand and she's played ours a few times and absolutely loves the sound of ours. I say all this because there are some gems out there for next to nothing and free, the challenge is finding them.

 

[teacup princess]

I agree with checking in the paper for a free one. My MIL got a beautiful baby grand for free because the people were moving and didn't want to take it.