Which upright for beginner?

Elsje · Post by **Elsje** » 17 Feb 2005, 21:49

Hi
I'm looking to buy a secondhand upright piano for my daughter. She is only seven and has been doing lessons for a year and is progressing very well. We have just moved from abroad and I didn't want to bring our piano so far. I am clueless as to what would be a good buy and really need some advice. We are looking to spend a maximum of £2000. The piano needs to look good as well as sound good off course. I may also take up piano again - I have played in the past, but very long ago. Anyway the ones I have seen and considering: Hermann Mayr modern (S/N 666528), Reiger-Kloss, Zimmerman 1110 and Zimmerman 111V. Apart from the fact that the Zimmermans are German, I don't know much about the pianos and would like to know if anyone knows where they originate? What would be the difference in quality between the pianos? I didn't like the look of the Zimmermans so much, but if they are far superior in quality I'll reconsider. Those are all ranging in price from £1695 - 1795. All with 2 year guarantee.
Then I have seen advertised a Wagner(around 1925) for £495 which sounds a bargain, but I don't know whether it would be any good and is some distance away, so I need to know it's worth driving out to see it. Any comments?
Lastly I've seen a Boyd advertised for £1995 - around 1925; fully restored overstrung underdamper with a 5 year guarantee.
I'm sorry for the long message, but really need some advice and direction. Any help greatfully appreciated.

Post by **Gill the Piano** » 17 Feb 2005, 22:01

The Boyd seems expensive when you can get a good second-hand Yamaha or Kawai for only a little more than that. Also an older piano can be unhappy in a modern centrally-heated house, whereas with a newer one you don't have to think about it as long as you don't actually park it on top of a radiator or vent.
Barrie will know most about the other makes; I only know about the ones I come across in the course of my tuning, I don't often venture into piano shops!
You don't say where in the country you are, but as a general rule of thumb, the further from London (or other big cities) you are, the cheaper the pianos get.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 17 Feb 2005, 23:52

The Hermann pianos are not bad for the price However, the do need a few tunings to settle them in I would look at the Hermann 122 which is being sold by some retailers for £1800 inc Del tuning and stool

as to the reconditioned Boyd some reconditioned pianos can be a better buy looks wise and can have better tone than some of the cheaper end of the new pianos and a 5 year Guarantee is longer then most new ones

Zimmermans are a little more upmarket but if you have to sit a look at it for X amount of years it has to look the part. so if you don’t like it don’t buy there are many makes around that price there is a second-hand Zimmerman for sale on the UK piano page
http://www.uk-piano.org/used-pianos-for ... siteid=957

You also have Yamaha C110A witch is in your price range if you look at the Ad at the top of this page which would be a better buy that the Hermann 110 but the Hermann 122 has a better base

Barrie,

Elsje · Post by **Elsje** » 18 Feb 2005, 00:57

Thanks for the information. I don't really like the look of the Yamaha pianos. The Zimmerman advertised on the site looks good though - better than the ones I've seen. It's a bit far though and I'm not sure whether it's wise to buy a piano if I haven't seen it? Maybe I should try and find one in my area if it's a better quality piano than the others I'm looking at. I'm in Surrey by the way. From the photo I liked the look of the Boyd and it's not too far for me to go and see it.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 18 Feb 2005, 09:10

It’s not wise to buy a piano blind unless you are buying new and you are a beginner The other way round is to pay the local tuner in that area to look at the piano for you but in you case as appearance is a big part of your chose I would not advise you to go down that road

I would pay a visit to the retailer with the Boyd if it is the one I am looking at it has a nice case they so not post all their stock on the site so they may have something else you like.

With all retailers it is a good idea to ask what has been replaced when the piano is advertise as fully reconditioned some just polish the case and change the tapes and say it is fully reconditioned other restring the piano and change a lot of parts in the action

Barrie,

Elsje · Post by **Elsje** » 18 Feb 2005, 18:29

Once again thank you for the information. I'm rapidly learning a lot about pianos. Where are Boyd pianos made?
Which are the most popular brand of pianos for sale in this country?
I have about 2 months in which to find a piano; so I'm educating myself so that we can make the best possible purchase which would suit our needs. I will certainly visit the dealer shortly to inspect the Boyd.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 18 Feb 2005, 20:32

Boyd pianos were made in the UK but are no longer made they were manly a stencil piano Bill in the History section may have a bit more info on who, when and were.

They were middle of the road make nothing special inside However, some of the case work was very nice indeed

Barrie,

Elsje · Post by **Elsje** » 18 Feb 2005, 22:09

Thank you - the history section had some very interesting information; including a whole section on aliases.
I just remembered the point about central heating and pianos which were made earlier and wonder whether any pianos would be more or less suited to central heating - we'll have underfloor heating - as i understand the worse kind for pianos?! Would that make the Boyd less suitable?
I have heard that German pianos are better in general and I should try and buy one - does that also apply for a beginner? (and what I gather with all the aliases one has to make very sure it really is german and doesn't just have a german sounding name)

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 18 Feb 2005, 23:31

Under floor heating is a big problem for all pianos even new ones you will need a piano that has been restrung Or a piano that has come form a very dry environment if you are going for an older one pre 1970

You will need to place water in the bottom of the piano tinfoil pasted on the underside of the piano also helps – your tuner will have to visit a little more often when the floor heating is on to keep an eye on the piano for it first year.

The Germans made some rubbish just as much as the rest of the world, but on the hole their mid range pianos were and still are very good but at a price

Taken form your post in History
Please can you tell me what is the differnece between Zimmerman 1110 and 111V? Is there a difference in quality?

The bigger the paino the better the tone

Taken form your post in History
Lastly where are the Hermann Mayr pianos manufactured?

They are made in China

Barrie,

Elsje · Post by **Elsje** » 20 Feb 2005, 00:57

Visited a piano dealer and looked at the Boyd - not quite as nice looking as in the photo and sound ok; but not discarding it yet.They replaced the felts and reshaped the hamers, but apparently the tuning pins were still good. Is this good or bad?
My daughter played a variety and I stood with my back to her at the end of the room and every time I picked the Blechstein as the one with the best sound (well, which I preferred) - bit over budget though; so some thinking to do there.
Just to throw a spanner in the works - my husband loves the look of the Yamahas - again some thinking required. Sound varied between models, but one was a close second to the Blechstein.
Would a new Yamaha be a better buy than secondhand Boyd or Blechstein or for that matter a secondhand Yamaha?