sound reliable advice secondhand piano

[para]

I am thinking about buying a Piano for my daughter and i, can someone give me sound reliable advice as to what upright Piano is the best and most reliable to buy (second hand)

[Colin Nicholson]

This pretty much depends on your budget?

If possible, aim for a minimum of about £800 - £1000, no less.

There are so many different makes of piano & model, its impossible to list them all.
To start with, make sure you actually see & hear & play the piano, unless you know what you are buying. Visit a few piano shops first for ideas, but dont buy on impulse just yet.

Always buy an acoustic piano that is over-strung and under-damped, and one with a full cast iron frame, having 85 or 88 weighted keys (not digital).

The 4 deadly sins are:- (to be avoided)

1. Straight-strung (or oblique) [sometimes in walnut/ candle sticks/ ornate]
2. Over-damped [looks like a bird cage inside]
3. 3/4 wooden or cast frame with exposed wrest plank [rarely tune well]
4. Spring & loop actions [difficult to get parts & mostly condemned]

Also avoid Lindner and Mini Eavestaff uprights for now.

Always check the serial number inside a 2nd hand piano (age of piano) - this will be around 4-7 digits, each number about 2cm in height, black stencil/punched into wood/ decal etc. Get back to us with a piano name and its serial number, or ask the shop to date it. The serial number is quite unique, and there are other numbers in there aswell such as stock/ part numbers. The age is important, so dont buy something thats about 80 years old, unless you only have about £100 to spare.

Good names are: Yamaha, Kawai, Kemble, Knight, Welmar, Rogers, Challen, Chappell.... but their condition is important and stability of tuning is vital.

(Email me for more)

VERY Good names: Steinway, Bechstein, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Grotian Steinweg.....
but it depends also on their external & internal condition. Always check the strings for rust/ corrosion, any insect damage or signs of damp (eg mould/ sticking keys).

If you find a piano you like, best to get an independant tuner out to check it over, unless the shop has an in-house tuner/technician you can trust.

Sending a photo of the piano & its name would be helpful - even some Yamaha uprights are well past their sell buy date - so the name is not that important.... unless you are paying say around the £2K mark (good 2nd hand). To check the overall condition of the piano will require an on-the-spot assessment, and the piano may be partly tested to make sure the tuning pins are tight, and all the mechanism parts are regulated and working correctly.

Hope that helps

Colin

[para]

Thank you very much Colin this is great and wise advice, you certainly know your pianos! Thinking of spending around £3000 and was looking at a Yamaha second hand upright. I am going to the Piano shop in Sunningdale called Handel Pianos so we will take your wise advice.

Thanks again.

Neil

[vernon]

iF you have £3000 look at the Kawai K15 or even better the K2

[para]

Thank you Vernon!!

[apvkt]

Hi,
Is it good to purchase the second hand piano?? Whether it will be a problem to use it??

[para]

Does anyone rate the Acoustic upright Winchester 126 Piano???