Searching, Trying, and Buying a Used Piano (or any instrument really)

Searching, Trying, and Buying a Used Piano (or any instrument really)

One of the most difficult things about picking out  an instrument is not always finding a good one, but deciding which one you can live with the longest! I have a very recent, practical example for you later on in the article. First, let's talk about where to find an instrument, what to look for when trying it out, and finally buying the instrument.

The first thing you should do when looking for a new instrument is deciding what your budget is, and how much room you have for a piano. This will help you determine what kind of piano to buy. If you have a larger budget say ($3,000 to $5,000) and a moderate amount of space, it's best to go with a medium grand piano. If you don't have a lot of space but the same budget, you want to buy the tallest upright you can find, or perhaps a baby grand. But if you have a smaller budget (say between $800 and $2,000) you'll want to buy the tallest upright you can find.

In summary, an excellent general rule to follow: always buy the biggest piano you have room for (that fits within your budget and proves to be a quality instrument).

Now, the best place to begin looking for quality used instruments is in the local newspaper ads or places like Craigslist and Ebay, with the search set locally. If you can't find any that fit your size or financial budget, consider reducing size prerequisite or increasing budget if at all possible. If you can't find a quality instrument this way, look to the local piano store that sells used and or restored instruments. They usually have something that will suit your needs.

Now that you've found an instrument (or two or three) that meet your criteria, it's time to try them out and give them a test run. If you found the piano by way of ad, be sure to ask when the best time to try it out is. Most piano stores have regular hours, but in some cases you'll have to make an appointment.

These are some basic things to look for before playing the instrument:

• Does the cabinet (also referred to as the "case" or the "body") have major scuffs, scratches, blemishes or other indicators of abuse or poor care of the instrument?
• Does the finish look like it's sun faded, indicating the piano was in direct sunlight every day over the years?
• Is it structurally sound? Give it a little push with your hands and see if it wobbles at all. A structurally sound piano should yield little to no movement when bumped or pushed upon lightly.
• Are there any stains that look like they could be from a beverage or spilled food? This can turn out to be or make serious problems down the road.

Use logic and common sense and examine the entire piano from the outside. If it seems to be in good condition, chances are it won't have any wear and tare from abuse or maltreatment on the owners part. If the piano does show signs of cosmetic blemishes, it's still a good idea to try the piano out. Looks aren't everything, and can be misleading if the blemish is purely cosmetic, and has not affected the structural or tonal integrity of the piano.

As a warning: NEVER, I repeat, NEVER crawl underneath a grand piano to look at the underside unless you are 100% sure that it is structurally sound and won't collapse underneath you. I've heard stories of people who crawl underneath old pianos to take a look, and seconds after they crawl back out the piano collapses.

If the instrument passes your external examination, see if you can get a look inside. If it's a grand, this shouldn't be a problem, just look down between the strings at the soundboard, the action, etc. If you are inspecting an upright piano, I strongly recommend you hire a technician to come out with you to help you inspect the inside of an upright piano. This is good advice anyway: have a technician with you. But it's not necessarily necessary, and so often goes neglected. A professional eye can help you avoid a down-the-road disaster that could cost you thousands of dollars to fix. Most technicians can assist you for very little to no cost at all in something like this.

As far as the tonal quality, here are things you want to listen for.

• Does the tone seem bright or warm? Is it too bright or to muddy? It should be right about in the middle, not to bright, but warm enough to produce a pleasant tone. To warm (also described as dark) and the tone becomes "muddy" sounding and unpleasant.
• Is the volume appropriate? Is the instrument far to loud or far to soft for normal playing?
• Do all the tones come out evenly? Does the tone jump wildly from warm, to bright, to somewhere in the middle as you play up and down the piano? A little shift in tone like this is normal and desirable, however, unpleasant and rapid changes are annoying, distracting, and generally indicate a problem. In most pianos, the tone in the bass is a warm and pleasant, and becomes smoothly and evenly brighter as you go up the scale, until you reach the top that has a sharp, crisp, but still pleasant tone.
• Is one note weaker than the ones around it? This could indicate a missing string or broken action part.

If the piano passes the tonal examination, your ready for the final step, which you should be looking for at the same time. Examining the action.

• Do all the keys work?
• Do all the keys work correctly?
• Are any obviously mistreated and damaged?
• Are the keytops in good condition? 

Now cosmetically, the outside of the keys (the keytops) shouldn't matter to much, as long as they are all intact. Internally, everything should be in good working order, neat, and uniform. It's normal for them to become dusty and dirty; this can be cleaned by a technician. If any of the keys don't work or don't work correctly, they will need to be fixed to help you as a pianist from being distracted or discouraged from practicing or using that key, and to prevent further damage to the instrument.

Now, assuming you find more than one instrument that passes all your examinations and that you believe are a quality instrument. How do you choose one?

The last time I went to buy a new cello, I was faced with a serious dilemma. I found two, that were of equal tonal and structural quality. The both played fairly well, and were cosmetically pleasing. But they had exactly opposite personalities! One was very dark and warm (but not muddy), and had a intimate and friendly sound to it. The other had a bright sound (but not to bright) and boasted a proud and arrogant tone that was extremely powerful and rich.

The question for me was, "which of these personalities can I live with?" Not all music is suited for one kind of instrument. There is no "one size fits all" instrument. If you know your instrument well, you can make a dark and warm instrument sound brighter, and conversely as well. I had the hardest time picking which cello I wanted to have, they were both so nice!

After much debate, and hours upon hours of playing them, I came to a few conclusions. The one that was easier to play would serve me better, and a warmer tone fits in with more music types that a brighter tone. It's easier to fit in with an ensemble, chamber orchestra, or for performing duets or even solos with warmer instrument than a brighter one.

And so, even though I liked both cellos so much, I went with the darker, warmer one because it was easier to play, and could blend in with more types of music and groups of musicians than the brighter one could.

However, this conclusion does not work well with everyone. Some people prefer the brighter of warmer tone, and thus a brighter instrument is better for you. The best route to go is to find the middle ground, as it can usually be persuaded into sounding like either when you need it to. This can be accomplished by playing regularly on your instrument and knowing it inside and out, all of its little secrets and personality quirks.