All this valuable information and yet, not once did he ask for anything in return. And this type of info is priceless when your new, such as myself. Thank you sir!!
In my opinion, this is the best video that I’ve seen on finding a used piano. Very clear and thorough. Also liked how you explained the types of pianos in the beginning. Thank you!!
I was taught the basics of making a piano soundboard during a 30 minute drum break by a guy who had been working at Eavestaffe's, London. The company who produced the Miniroyale. I now produce rebuilt Steinway grands. Usually 'S', 'M' and 'O's. clad in Mahogany or Rosewood veneers at Westminster Pianos.
I have been servicing pianos since 1968, so we have seen all the hiccups you mention here and I am 100% in agreement with you. The majority of people looking for pianos go on their own misguided intuition even when I offer them the service to go with them to check out the piano with them.
Thank-you for all the extremely helpful information, ideal for a lay person looking for an instrument. When I was looking for a piano last year, I came across a very nice Bechstein in a dealership, played a scale on it, and found one note that was way out of tune. The piano salesman didn't exactly get a red face, but he certainly looked unpleasantly surprised. Thanks to videos like yours, maybe it was even yours(!), I already knew what a single out of tune note might mean, and moved on.
I've been fortunate to get a few pianos at Estate auction that were good playing and good sounding for the chump change prices of 1-5$. USA console pianos are a favorite bargain, and I certainly didn't get ripped off. Thank you for this good advice... I hate to see OK Estate pianos go to scrap. My story is backwards, as an electronics technician, I repaired strobe tuners. I used the strobe tuners to set up and adjust guitars. I THEN learned to tune pianos, because I already had a strobe tuner.
I'm learning that a piano is a lot like a car: It needs regular maintenance, even if you leave it parked in your garage and never drive it. And like a car, it needs to be driven -- it will deteriorate faster if you just leave it parked than it you drive it periodically. And like a car, it has a limited life span -- eventually it will be more expensive to repair than the car is worth.
The frame/plate is another thing to look at. I have a piano with a 3/4 frame that has a small crack behind C#4. It's been stitched, well reinforced, holds a tune, but if I had known about this I would not have bought it. Thankfully everything else about it checks out. It's about a hundred years old, so someone clearly spent a lot of money on repairing it.
Thanks for this. I got one for free. This person or whoever saw stuck keys and gave up. I just put the rods back in and it’s fine now. almost to pitch but it’s an American made upright and uh. Aw. I love itt. Gonna have it tuned up to pitch soon but I’m already loving it and playing music on it
Wow, the video really opened my eyes about piano conditions. I just got a 1968 Kimball Le Petite baby grand piano. One of the key was very stuck until it stayed in our California house with less humanity for about two days. I thought that key was the most important issues but it is not. I will need to hire a professional tuner to check it first before deciding what to do.
I would say that having a piano in a room at a consistently stable temperature is crucial. If the room temperature changes the whole time then the piano is likely to go out of tune. It's best to have it in a consistently cold room in my opinion
Back Country Pastimes thanks for that. Just bought a 150 year old piano. And noticed it doesn't like being opposite a radiator. So turned it off. Never even played one before. Guitars are the same. Don't like temperature changes.
I am a pianist and have been for about 40+ years. Recently, I tested a Hyundai U880 Studio piano tuned to A-440; manufactured in 1988 by Samick Musical (Korea). I inspected the soundboard, keyboard, felts, pedals, and overall condition. How would I find out what is a fair price to pay for this piano? It needs to be tuned - that's for sure - but the piano has rarely, if ever been, played. I currently own a Steinway & Sons console, manufactured in 1938. The reason I'm asking about what fair market value would be for the Hyundai I checked out is because I don't want students using my own piano. Thanks for the wonderful presentation!
Do restorers typically replace all pins? Is that a standard thing or does that usually mean big problems holding tune? I know of one that seems to do it for almost everything. I have a Story & Clark from 68 that has two notes that are somewhat muted. Alignment of hammers?
If it's a rebuild then new pins are mandatory. But on pianos with loose pins (not a rebuild) it is very often possible to tighten them without having to replace them, by tapping them further into the pin block. To do this there must be space (approx 1/4 inch) between the coiled string/s (around the pin) and the bushing/s around the hole the pins are driven into. This tightens the pin/s. But solving this problem creates another one: as soon as you tap a pin, all tension is released from the string/s...if it's just a couple of pins then an amateur can rectify this. If there are many loose pins, it is definitely a skilled technician's job. Once the tension on the whole piano (or a large part of it) gets released, it requires several tunings and a lot of skill...and extra follow-up tunings.
4 times a year? I haven't turned my piano ever and it still sounds okay. It's been probably 20 years since it was last maintained and its played every day
OK OK I've been curious about this question: on my guitar, we change the strings, at least every six months. Right away, the guitar sounds BETTER: brighter; clearer; more articulate; better resonance; and so forth. There is no question, even the tuning and pitch seems better.So why buy a piano with 50 or 100 year old strings? I have been told by tuners that it makes no difference. Why? Its a string instrument with...well...strings?
Hi Eric, I play guitar and there's no doubt they sound a lot better with new strings. Noticeably after 2 weeks of average use. I also tune and rebuild pianos New strings on a piano take about 1 year to stabilize. Manufacturers recommend at least 5 tunings the first year, and twice a year thereafter. It has already been chipped and tuned dozens of times at the factory and showroom. If money is no object, the time it takes to replace the strings more often than every 5 years or so for a stage instrument is alone prohibitive. All that said, there is also no doubt that new strings on a piano sound great , just like a guitar. It is easier to replace the wrapped bass and tenor strings than to do the whole thing. Also once piano wire has been pulled past 85% of its break point tension, the wire begins to flatten and deform, ruining that note. So keep an ear on your tuner
piano hammers are made of compressed wool, which contains lanolin, a naturally occurring oil in the wool. You are correct about it affecting sound faster on guitars because of the constant sliding, It is the wrapped strings that collect the oily grime, not so much the plain wire. Same thing on a piano. Bass strings become tubby with very little sustain, fast 5 yrs or so.
Why do you not talk about Baby grand's or Grand's for that matter. Yes I know they are much more money BUT sound so much better with far faster actions as they are working with gravity and not against it? Just wondering.......
MY OPINION: I rather buy a good quality Digital Piano (not a synth or a keyboard). I have never seen an acoustic piano, regardless of location, someone’s home, hotel, anywhere, I have never come across a piano which was completely in tune. Unless you spend a lot of money (£10k and over) do you think you will get a good acoustic piano which will maintain its tune. A cheap one will lose its tune quickly, depending on the location; too humid, too hot, too cold. If you spend over £1k you can get a very good sounding fully weighted keys digital piano which will never need tuning or any maintenance. If you are a beginner, amateur or semi-professional, buy a digital piano and save yourself money and aggravation. Ps. I play the piano and keyboard for 37 years.
Depends on your level of ability. Digital pianos are essentially just a recording of a piano played back . They don't really have soul. OK for someone learning up to the middle grades as they are relatively cheap, and you never know whether the learner will continue.
a spinet refers to a drop action, which coincides with its height. All soundboards are much thicker than 1/4 inch. Most are 5/8ths tapered toward the ends. Upright pianos never have 2 1/2 inch long tuning pins, 2 1/4 or 2 3/8ths is more like it. Otherwise good, usefull information.
yes justaviewer they are.. look up Bolduc soundboards. they are the leading provider of raw material for rebuilders ( like myself ). the boards are rough cut and aged in a hot box for months, or years. the moisture content is lowered to 5 1/2 %. they are then fit and tapered where necessary. today they are crowned in several different methods but crowned nonetheless. today ribs are attached to the board and it is tightly inserted into the case of the instrument. 5/8ths of an inch is minimal in the center of a decent sized piano.You may be confused with guitars, violins, and the like. Before you make ignorant comments, do some actual research.
Hey, you don't have to be a touchy, snotty, jackass. Oh and you forgot how they are planed down to 3/8 inch OR LESS so no, they are nowhere near 5/8 thick. You're talking about when they're building a soundboard OUTSIDE of the piano which has nothing to do with your original statement of them being that thick. If you want to be technical then say they start at the diameter of the spruce tree. I guess that makes them a foot or three thick? There was nothing ignorant about my comments. I don't need to do the research, I rebuild pianos.
If you watch a few more videos on RUclips by dealers (e.g. Roberts in the UK) then you'll see they're prepared to completely rebuild a Steinway - pinblock, soundboard, pins, strings, hammers, bodywork - especially it it's a grand piano. So you're effectively getting a new Steinway in the orginal wooden frame, for about £30,000 instead of paying £90,000 for a new one. Sure, Steinways are build from good quality materials but wood is wood and it all depends on how the piano was looked after. You can rebuild a Steinway and still make a profit (maybe £10,000). But that's because everyone wants a Steinway. Could you do that for a Weber piano? Probably not. Not many people crave for a restored Weber enough to pay tens of thousands of pounds - especially when you can buy a new Weber grand for £9000. Let's say you bought a new Steinway grand for £100,000 and after fifty years you sold it for £20,000 then you've lost £80,000 (80% of the original price). But if you bought a fully restored Steinway for £30,000 and sold it for £15,000 after fifty years then you've only lost £15,000 (50% of what you paid originally) and you've also saved £70,000 on buying a new one. A fully restored piano looks like it did when it was new.
All this valuable information and yet, not once did he ask for anything in return. And this type of info is priceless when your new, such as myself. Thank you sir!!
In my opinion, this is the best video that I’ve seen on finding a used piano. Very clear and thorough. Also liked how you explained the types of pianos in the beginning. Thank you!!
I was taught the basics of making a piano soundboard during a 30 minute
drum break by a guy who had been working at Eavestaffe's, London. The
company who produced the Miniroyale. I now produce rebuilt Steinway
grands. Usually 'S', 'M' and 'O's. clad in Mahogany or Rosewood veneers
at Westminster Pianos.
RONALD WARE i was looking at a mini royal, are they good pianos?
Excellent guide on what to look for when buying a used piano.
Thankyou,
I have been servicing pianos since 1968, so we have seen all the hiccups you mention here and I am 100% in agreement with you. The majority of people looking for pianos go on their own misguided intuition even when I offer them the service to go with them to check out the piano with them.
Thank-you for all the extremely helpful information, ideal for a lay person looking for an instrument. When I was looking for a piano last year, I came across a very nice Bechstein in a dealership, played a scale on it, and found one note that was way out of tune. The piano salesman didn't exactly get a red face, but he certainly looked unpleasantly surprised. Thanks to videos like yours, maybe it was even yours(!), I already knew what a single out of tune note might mean, and moved on.
I've been fortunate to get a few pianos at Estate auction that were good playing and good sounding for the chump change prices of 1-5$. USA console pianos are a favorite bargain, and I certainly didn't get ripped off. Thank you for this good advice... I hate to see OK Estate pianos go to scrap. My story is backwards, as an electronics technician, I repaired strobe tuners. I used the strobe tuners to set up and adjust guitars. I THEN learned to tune pianos, because I already had a strobe tuner.
That was an excellent presentation. I learned some important stuff. Thank you
Russell Gibson I
I'm learning that a piano is a lot like a car:
It needs regular maintenance, even if you leave it parked in your garage and never drive it.
And like a car, it needs to be driven -- it will deteriorate faster if you just leave it parked than it you drive it periodically.
And like a car, it has a limited life span -- eventually it will be more expensive to repair than the car is worth.
I remember my classical guitar teacher saying a guitar got old like a car... not like violins.
The frame/plate is another thing to look at. I have a piano with a 3/4 frame that has a small crack behind C#4. It's been stitched, well reinforced, holds a tune, but if I had known about this I would not have bought it. Thankfully everything else about it checks out. It's about a hundred years old, so someone clearly spent a lot of money on repairing it.
This is a very good presentation . I have watched many acoustic piano buying advice videos but this one stands out!
Thank you
Valuable info for people like me not knowing any piano but have to buy one for my kid. Thank you.
Thanks for this. I got one for free. This person or whoever saw stuck keys and gave up. I just put the rods back in and it’s fine now. almost to pitch but it’s an American made upright and uh. Aw. I love itt. Gonna have it tuned up to pitch soon but I’m already loving it and playing music on it
Wow, the video really opened my eyes about piano conditions. I just got a 1968 Kimball Le Petite baby grand piano. One of the key was very stuck until it stayed in our California house with less humanity for about two days. I thought that key was the most important issues but it is not. I will need to hire a professional tuner to check it first before deciding what to do.
Wise words willingly shared. Just a good guy who wants you to end up with a nice piano to enjoy having in ones home . Thank you Sir, big time 👍
This video is amazing! Learned so much
Your video was very informative and very thorough! Thank you!
This is incredibly helpful. Thank you.
I would say that having a piano in a room at a consistently stable temperature is crucial. If the room temperature changes the whole time then the piano is likely to go out of tune. It's best to have it in a consistently cold room in my opinion
Back Country Pastimes thanks for that. Just bought a 150 year old piano. And noticed it doesn't like being opposite a radiator. So turned it off. Never even played one before. Guitars are the same. Don't like temperature changes.
Awesome tutorial. Congrats.
I am a pianist and have been for about 40+ years. Recently, I tested a Hyundai U880 Studio piano tuned to A-440; manufactured in 1988 by Samick Musical (Korea). I inspected the soundboard, keyboard, felts, pedals, and overall condition. How would I find out what is a fair price to pay for this piano? It needs to be tuned - that's for sure - but the piano has rarely, if ever been, played. I currently own a Steinway & Sons console, manufactured in 1938. The reason I'm asking about what fair market value would be for the Hyundai I checked out is because I don't want students using my own piano. Thanks for the wonderful presentation!
Thank you. Great information and presented clearly. Very useful.
Very useful and well articulated. Clearly lays out the main considerations regarding how to evaluate a second-hand piano. Thanks.
I wanted to buy a used piano before I saw this video.... now Im not too sure...
Great presentation! I have learned a lot from you and just very short span of time. Thank you so very much!
This guy is kind of low key hilarious.
Guys I found the best website that will help you to learn piano
that is PianoLessons99.blogspot.com Hope this will help…
Great reference for my students. Thank You!
A wealth of fascinating information! Thank you, sir!!!
Wonderfully helpful. Thank you.
very informative. manu thanks
This video is incredibly helpful. Thanks!
Fantastic video! Very informative! Thank you. (I really wonder what the 14 people that gave this video thumbs down were looking for).
Really great information, thanks
Thank you for this very good explanation of things.
Good in-sight!!
nice buyers guide, well done !
Thanks for your fine science sir. Very much appreciated.
Great video, great advice!
Thank You!
Thank you, this was very informative
Thank you - excellent explanations!
Do restorers typically replace all pins? Is that a standard thing or does that usually mean big problems holding tune? I know of one that seems to do it for almost everything. I have a Story & Clark from 68 that has two notes that are somewhat muted. Alignment of hammers?
If it's a rebuild then new pins are mandatory. But on pianos with loose pins (not a rebuild) it is very often possible to tighten them without having to replace them, by tapping them further into the pin block. To do this there must be space (approx 1/4 inch) between the coiled string/s (around the pin) and the bushing/s around the hole the pins are driven into. This tightens the pin/s. But solving this problem creates another one: as soon as you tap a pin, all tension is released from the string/s...if it's just a couple of pins then an amateur can rectify this. If there are many loose pins, it is definitely a skilled technician's job. Once the tension on the whole piano (or a large part of it) gets released, it requires several tunings and a lot of skill...and extra follow-up tunings.
Thanks!! This was so helpful :)
4 times a year? I haven't turned my piano ever and it still sounds okay. It's been probably 20 years since it was last maintained and its played every day
i hope thats the case for my piano because it hasnt been tuned for about 6 or 7 years
My piano tuner recommends ever two years. It's played regularly and never moved. Some instruments hold the tuning.
Great video. Thank you.
You didn't mention the bridge at all.
For a baby grand piano, is the temperature of the room important?
Very helpful
OK OK I've been curious about this question: on my guitar, we change the strings, at least every six months. Right away, the guitar sounds BETTER: brighter; clearer; more articulate; better resonance; and so forth. There is no question, even the tuning
and pitch seems better.So why buy a piano with 50 or 100 year old strings? I have been told by tuners that it makes no difference. Why? Its a string instrument with...well...strings?
Maybe it has to do with the hand oils/dirt, picking, slapping and bending on guitar strings.
Hi Eric, I play guitar and there's no doubt they sound a lot better with new strings. Noticeably after 2 weeks of average use. I also tune and rebuild pianos New strings on a piano take about 1 year to stabilize. Manufacturers recommend at least 5 tunings the first year, and twice a year thereafter. It has already been chipped and tuned dozens of times at the factory and showroom. If money is no object, the time it takes to replace the strings more often than every 5 years or so for a stage instrument is alone prohibitive. All that said, there is also no doubt that new strings on a piano sound great , just like a guitar. It is easier to replace the wrapped bass and tenor strings than to do the whole thing. Also once piano wire has been pulled past 85% of its break point tension, the wire begins to flatten and deform, ruining that note. So keep an ear on your tuner
piano hammers are made of compressed wool, which contains lanolin, a naturally occurring oil in the wool. You are correct about it affecting sound faster on guitars because of the constant sliding, It is the wrapped strings that collect the oily grime, not so much the plain wire. Same thing on a piano. Bass strings become tubby with very little sustain, fast 5 yrs or so.
Hi, I got a an upright Wilh Bohm Dresnner, do you know in what year this piano built and other info etc?thanks
Why do you not talk about Baby grand's or Grand's for that matter. Yes I know they are much more money BUT sound so much better with far faster actions as they are working with gravity and not against it? Just wondering.......
Thank you so much , Genius!
very informative
Fantastic info.
Thank you
great
Thanks man!!!!!!!
excellent.
Bong! 0:48
this guy looks the part of a trusty salesman
Sir, your wrong about cracks, sound travels with the grain , not across the grain.
Briefly, not correct. You can get cracks across the grain.
So many sharks in the piano industry.
MY OPINION: I rather buy a good quality Digital Piano (not a synth or a keyboard). I have never seen an acoustic piano, regardless of location, someone’s home, hotel, anywhere, I have never come across a piano which was completely in tune. Unless you spend a lot of money (£10k and over) do you think you will get a good acoustic piano which will maintain its tune. A cheap one will lose its tune quickly, depending on the location; too humid, too hot, too cold. If you spend over £1k you can get a very good sounding fully weighted keys digital piano which will never need tuning or any maintenance. If you are a beginner, amateur or semi-professional, buy a digital piano and save yourself money and aggravation. Ps. I play the piano and keyboard for 37 years.
Depends on your level of ability. Digital pianos are essentially just a recording of a piano played back . They don't really have soul. OK for someone learning up to the middle grades as they are relatively cheap, and you never know whether the learner will continue.
a spinet refers to a drop action, which coincides with its height. All soundboards are much thicker than 1/4 inch. Most are 5/8ths tapered toward the ends. Upright pianos never have 2 1/2 inch long tuning pins, 2 1/4 or 2 3/8ths is more like it. Otherwise good, usefull information.
Soundboards are 5/8 thick? You really believe soundboards are over a half of an inch thick? I seriously doubt that.
yes justaviewer they are.. look up Bolduc soundboards. they are the leading provider of raw material for rebuilders ( like myself ). the boards are rough cut and aged in a hot box for months, or years. the moisture content is lowered to 5 1/2 %. they are then fit and tapered where necessary. today they are crowned in several different methods but crowned nonetheless. today ribs are attached to the board and it is tightly inserted into the case of the instrument. 5/8ths of an inch is minimal in the center of a decent sized piano.You may be confused with guitars, violins, and the like. Before you make ignorant comments, do some actual research.
Hey, you don't have to be a touchy, snotty, jackass. Oh and you forgot how they are planed down to 3/8 inch OR LESS so no, they are nowhere near 5/8 thick. You're talking about when they're building a soundboard OUTSIDE of the piano which has nothing to do with your original statement of them being that thick. If you want to be technical then say they start at the diameter of the spruce tree. I guess that makes them a foot or three thick? There was nothing ignorant about my comments. I don't need to do the research, I rebuild pianos.
you surely don't replace soundboards or we wouldn't be having this conversation. I've done dozens and none were less than a 1/2 " in the piano
If pianos only last 50 or 60 years, why are 100 year old Steinways so expensive and popular and still sound fantastic?
justaviewer111 ...I suppose because they are worth any necessary restoration due to their initial quality and high value. And he said “most pianos”...
Because they are Steinways. However, they have to be taken care of as well. They are usually reworked after so long.
If you watch a few more videos on RUclips by dealers (e.g. Roberts in the UK) then you'll see they're prepared to completely rebuild a Steinway - pinblock, soundboard, pins, strings, hammers, bodywork - especially it it's a grand piano. So you're effectively getting a new Steinway in the orginal wooden frame, for about £30,000 instead of paying £90,000 for a new one. Sure, Steinways are build from good quality materials but wood is wood and it all depends on how the piano was looked after. You can rebuild a Steinway and still make a profit (maybe £10,000). But that's because everyone wants a Steinway. Could you do that for a Weber piano? Probably not. Not many people crave for a restored Weber enough to pay tens of thousands of pounds - especially when you can buy a new Weber grand for £9000. Let's say you bought a new Steinway grand for £100,000 and after fifty years you sold it for £20,000 then you've lost £80,000 (80% of the original price). But if you bought a fully restored Steinway for £30,000 and sold it for £15,000 after fifty years then you've only lost £15,000 (50% of what you paid originally) and you've also saved £70,000 on buying a new one. A fully restored piano looks like it did when it was new.
Modern ones are generally from China - They are mass made to a price by piano assemblers.
i always say piaNO
Great, I came to this video with 0% of what you shared.
murica
takes a bloody long time to get nowhere.........
Just buy a keyboard and be done with it. They're much cheaper, easy to move around, and never need tuning! Pianos suck!
Those American flags are so cringe...
I'm not sure I can bring myself to take advice from a guy wearing a tie chain, that says 'height-th'.
Very informative, thank you.
Great info, thanks