Advice on buying a used piano

[ajsaddacs]

Hi, My wife can play the piano a little although we do not own one. We have two young children 4 and 6 and I would like to have a piano at home for them to hear and hopefully be encouraged to use.
We have about Ł1000 max to spend on a used piano, but there are so many makes that we do not know which one we should look out for. I'm pretty sure we want an acoustic piano.

Can you please recommend piano makes that would be good for us to look out for on the used piano market?

thanking you
Alastair S

[Barrie Heaton]

At that level and in the secondhand market names are meaningless with the exception of Lindner which should be avoided

You need a piano that is at concert pitch and is a lightish touch for young children. Always get a tuner to look at the piano before you buy. Try contacting some of the local tuners they may have some of their clients who are selling or can recommend a local shop to go to or stay away from.

Barrie,

[PianoGuy]

You need a piano that is at concert pitch and is a lightish touch for young children. Always get a tuner to look at the piano before you buy. Try contacting some of the local tuners they may have some of their clients who are selling

That's the best advice. Find a reputable local tuner and see if he knows of any client who is upgrading or selling. If you buy from a dealer remember that you've got hidden costs to pay that'll eat up your budget, typically:

His collection from former owner
His cost of repair
His profit
His delivery costs
VAT on the above.

Thus a 1000 pound piano could have a real value of 300 quid or less!

You will of course have to pay for delivery with what would essentially be a private sale.

[Jeanny Pham]

Hi everyone!!! My name iz Jeanny Pham, I'm 14, I'm from Vietnam, a small country in Asia
Although my country doesn't play piano as popular as the others in Europe but I really like playing piano.
I always wish i had one but my family has not enough money. I often practise playing piano in my aunt's house. . For me, Piano is everything.
After studying in secondary school, I'll try to find a schoolarship . Maybe my parents will buy a new piano for me.
Nice to meet you in this forum . Let's share our knowledge about music of course is Piano, okey???

[ajsaddacs]

Thank you for replying to my original message asking for advise on buying a used piano.

I have a couple of further questions which I hope you can answer.

I think it is called a celeste pedal, a pedal for quiet practice. Is this worth having and if so I suppose there are only certain piano models that have them?

Also, I forgot to mention earlier, I would like the piano to be good enough for the higher grades (grade 8?) of piano exams. Would this change what I should look for ?

Should Ł1000 be enough to buy a suitable piano ?

I know you said to ignore makes, but there must be some pianos that generally have a better reputation than others. Names I often see on internet or newspaper : Knight, Kemble, Bentley, Barratt and Robinson, Yamaha, Honer Would you be willing to rate these.

Also I notice the ratings on another website rate some piano brands better if they are built in the last 30 years (Modern) above the same brand built over 30 years. though I do realise that some very old pianos can be very good, but I would imagine (?) that these pianos would be outside my budget (?)

Sorry for all the questions. I hope I have not made it difficult for you to reply.

I would be very grateful for your comments


yours sincerely
Alastair S

[Barrie Heaton]

I think it is called a celeste pedal, a pedal for quiet practice. Is this worth having and if so I suppose there are only certain piano models that have them?

Useful is you live in a semi with nagging neighbours

Also, I forgot to mention earlier, I would like the piano to be good enough for the higher grades (grade 8?) of piano exams. Would this change what I should look for ?

Yes forget the Bentley, Barratt and Robinson,

Should ÂŁ1000 be enough to buy a suitable piano ?

ÂŁ2500 is more like it

Knight, Good piano if you get the K10 70's 80s know problems tubby bass in the first few by cords

Kemble,
Came into there own in the 80's the Quantum is very nice tend to need a bit more prepping than a Yamaha

Honer only have a few older ones on may round and they are all grand's so can't rely comment on their uprights.

Yamaha secondhand U3s are a good buy, but don't go below serial number staring with 4 that there are know problems spring cords base string loos pins ect unless the piano has been restored and I don't mean a 5 star blow out and new tapes like some do

All secndhand pianos are a potential money pit so get a tuner to look at them before you buy

Barrie,

[PianoGuy]

Hohner uprights were built by Hellas in Finland from the 70s to early 90s, then later by Young Chang in Korea.

[ajsaddacs]

... I would like the piano to be good enough for the higher grades (grade 8?) of piano exams. Would this change what I should look for ?

Yes forget the Bentley, Barratt and Robinson,

Should ÂŁ1000 be enough to buy a suitable piano ?

Ł2500 is more like it

Really? We can't afford to spend this much. Is it possible to get a good K10, Kemble or Yamaha for say Ł1500 ?

Knight, Good piano if you get the K10 70's 80s know problems tubby bass in the first few by cords

Should I therefore try to avoid a 70s or 80s K10 ?
I may not be able to afford one in the 90s.
Perhaps a piano tuner would advise ?

Kemble,Came into there own in the 80's the Quantum is very nice tend to need a bit more prepping than a Yamaha

Sorry, please explain 'prepping'?

I notice that pianos are different sizes with some having fewer notes. Is it true generally speaking that if you have two pianos same brand and are the same except for size (assuming that this is possible) then the bigger piano should have a better sound ?

Finally, should we avoid shorter length pianos with notes missing if say we wanted a piano for higher grade exams?

Sorry yet again for all my questions.
I hope you are able to reply

Yours sincerely
Alastair S

[Barrie Heaton]

Really? We can't afford to spend this much. Is it possible to get a good K10, Kemble or Yamaha for say �1500 ?

Depending on what part of the UK I have seen good ones go for �1200.00 up north

Knight, Good piano if you get the K10 70's 80s know problems tubby bass in the first few by-cords

Should I therefore try to avoid a 70s or 80s K10 ?
I may not be able to afford one in the 90s.
Perhaps a piano tuner would advise ?

No 70 � 80 were good 90�s not so good as they were made by Bentleys not Knights

Kemble,Came into there own in the 80's the Quantum is very nice tend to need a bit more prepping than a Yamaha

Sorry, please explain 'prepping'?

Sorry it is term used when preparing new pianos in shops for display on the shop floor

I notice that pianos are different sizes with some having fewer notes. Is it true generally speaking that if you have two pianos same brand and are the same except for size (assuming that this is possible) then the bigger piano should have a better sound ?

Finally, should we avoid shorter length pianos with notes missing if say we wanted a piano for higher grade exams?
S

An 88 note piano would be better than an 85 and the rule of thumb is the taller the piano the better the bass.

It is true that no two pianos are alike in tone as there are too many variables when you compare note for note. However; some makes are more consistent in their quality control.

Barrie,

[ajsaddacs]

Thank you very much for replying
[quote="Barrie Heaton
Depending on what part of the UK I have seen good ones go for �1200.00 up north
[/quote]

Where is the best place to look?
Local tuners , newspapers internet(?) .


sincerely
A Soutar

[Barrie Heaton]

Thank you very much for replying

Where is the best place to look?
Local tuners , newspapers internet(?) .


sincerely
A Soutar

All of the above

If you do a search on our site there are 4 for sale in the GP section and 5 in the trade section
http://www.uk-piano.org/pianos-for-sale-trade/index.php
http://www.uk-piano.org/used-pianos-for-sale/index.php

you also have www.pianos.co.uk You have piano street as well but that is manly one retailer

Barrie,

[ajsaddacs]

If you do a search on our site there are 4 for sale in the GP section and 5 in the trade section
http://www.uk-piano.org/pianos-for-sale-trade/index.php
http://www.uk-piano.org/used-pianos-for-sale/index.php

Barrie,

Hi Barrie,
Sorry to be a nuisance, but what did you search for ?Also, when you said that you have seen some go for from Ł1200 where you referring to Knight K10 only ?
Perhaps it is unrealistic for me to expect to buy Quantum or Yamaha U3 for around Ł1500 ?

[Barrie Heaton]

Go to each of the selling page they have a search at the bottom of each page which just searches the database and not all of the site. I typed in Knight on the GP one and I did a search for 100 to 1500 then narrowed it down on the search page just to Knight on the trade one click on thie link for the trade one

http://www.uk-piano.org/pianos-for-sale ... rch=Search

Yes it was Knight and privately you may get a U1 for about 1800 privately but at that price they don�t hang about.



Barrie,

[Ben Wimpenny]

Knight, Good piano if you get the K10 70's 80s know problems tubby bass in the first few by cords

Slightly off topic I know - but is there any way of remedying tubby bass in the first few bichords - such as string replacement etc?

[Barrie Heaton]

Knight, Good piano if you get the K10 70's 80s know problems tubby bass in the first few by cords

Slightly off topic I know - but is there any way of remedying tubby bass in the first few bichords - such as string replacement etc?

In most cases replacement is normally the only way. Many years ago they use to remove them boil in baking soda fit them back on with a few twists

Barrie,

[Ben Wimpenny]

Thanks Barrie