Buying a used piano

Standard High Quality Upright Pianos - UK

Buying a second hand piano can turn into a very costly mistake. What can appear to be a bargain may turn out to be a liability. It's unwise to buy an old piano for a child to "get them started" as a poor piano will only discourage the child.

Pianist who play or teach often don't know anything about its action, sound board and frame. Pianos are constructed from between 8,000 and 12,000 parts including pieces of wood, glue, felt, iron, steel etc.

Here are a few of the problem areas that must be examined before you buy a second hand piano.

ITEM	LOOK FOR	RESULT
IRON FRAME	hair line cracks and bubbles	this cripples the piano musically and renders it useless
STRINGS	rusty tired strings	often devoid the piano of tone
SOUNDBOARD	cracked or worse lost its crown	tone becomes deficient and causes annoying rattles and buzzes
RIBS	may be broken or pulled away	causes problems with the sound board
BRIDGES	lost bearing, broken or cracked	tuning problems
TUNING PINS	loose or glue doped	may require over sized pins, can be a problem for old brittle strings
PIN BLOCK	split pin block	costly repair since this is concealed
ACTION	needs to be checked by an expert	may be worn out. complete renovation is very expensive and timely
HAMMERS	may be worn out or improperly filed	need replacing
PEDAL WORK	pedals not working properly	may need overhauling
CABINET	check condition and for woodworm	may need touching up or re-polishing. if woodworm is found, do not buy