If You Don’t Know Pianos… Know Your Piano Man

Buying a used piano privately can often be a costly mistake. What appears to be a real bargain may prove to be a real liability.

Unless you are a piano expert, your best assurance is to rely on the judgment of the most experienced piano dealer in your area with a proven record of integrity and fair dealing.

It is unwise to pick up an old piano privately “to get started with”. A poor piano can be discouraging to a child and is a questionable investment for the parent.

Here are just a few of the many danger areas encountered when a non-expert piano buyer buys a piano form a private party:

PLATE – The plate or harp may be cracked or broken, which cripple the piano musically and renders it useless.
STRINGS – The bass strings may be “tired and tubby”, totally devoice of tone.
SOUNDBOARD – The Soundboard may be cracked or worse yet, may have lost it’s crown to become totally deficient.
RIBS – The soundboard ribs may be broken to pulled away from the soundboard.
BRIDGES – The bridges may have lost proper bearing, be broken, split or cracked, necessitating a major expense.
TUNING PINS – The tuning pins may be loose, may have been previously “doped”, may require oversized pins, and may require a new pin block. Avoid like the plague any piano with tuning pins showing any evidence of being pounded.
PIN BLOCK – The pin block may be split and is very costly to repair. Since the pin block is not always visible, experience judgement is required.
ACTIONS – The Action may be literally worn out, rending the piano useless. If action regulation or refurbishing is required, this is very costly. A complete regulation requires much time of an expert and is expensive when properly done.
HAMMERS – The hammers may be worn out or improperly filed. Hammers are also susceptible to rodent damage and insect infestation that damage them beyond usefulness.
TRAP WORK – The internal leverage controls of the expression pedals may need complete overhauling.
REFINISHING – Unfortunately, many people learn that refinishing a piano is definitely not a home do-it-yourself project. Refinishing a piano requires many hours, hard work and know-how, best left to a skilled craftsman. Good refinishing work is expensive.
MICE INFESTATION – Many pianos have mice nests inside.
INSECT INFESTATION – Beware of bugs and cockroaches living inside.

If You Don’t Know Pianos… Know Your Piano Man

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