Buying a piano-advice needed!!

ktb

I have played piano since I was little & I was extremely lucky that my parents inherited a Steinway baby grand for a few years from an elderly relative - which was was obviously amazing - but when we lost that and my parents replaced it with another model proper piano, which felt awful to play & I lost interest.

Not a bad idea to take someone with you who plays themselves if you are going for a proper 2nd hand upright in my opinion.

My lessons back in the day, however, were on a good quality electric piano & in 2007 I purchased a 2nd hand electric piano from Ebay (Technics Digital Piano Model sx-PX101) for £265 as I was living in a flat at the time and it's brilliant. I really enjoy playing again and really don't notice that it's not 'real' as the keys are weighted and there are pedals. I am not a keyboard fan though... keys need to be weighted to feel like you are playing a piano in my experience.

For a young learner I think a good quality electric piano is ideal personally.

Lunar_Eclipse

Have a look at the Yamaha Clavinova. It's a (touch sensitive) digital piano used in many schools. You should be able to find a second hand one in good condition for about £500 on Ebay.

I love pianos, but bear in mind that they need regular tuning (6/12 months) and certainly need tuning every time they are moved. You'll also need some help to find a good second hand one for £500. If you buy one from Ebay, remember to factor in removal costs (£50-100) and tuning (same again) and you really need to know what you're buying.

GlynD

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

Have a look at the Yamaha Clavinova. It's a (touch sensitive) digital piano used in many schools. You should be able to find a second hand one in good condition for about £500 on Ebay.

I love pianos, but bear in mind that they need regular tuning (6/12 months) and certainly need tuning every time they are moved. You'll also need some help to find a good second hand one for £500. If you buy one from Ebay, remember to factor in removal costs (£50-100) and tuning (same again) and you really need to know what you're buying.

I see I need to repeat myself. You don't need to tune a piano every 6-12 months. You tune it when you feel you can't listen to it anymore without tuning. You can be more fussy about it if you want and you can even adhere to the policy of tuning it every time you play it, which strictly speaking should be done. Pragmatically though, follow my advice. I'm very qualified to give it.

Person_one

GlynD wrote: »

I see I need to repeat myself. You don't need to tune a piano every 6-12 months. You tune it when you feel you can't listen to it anymore without tuning. You can be more fussy about it if you want and you can even adhere to the policy of tuning it every time you play it, which strictly speaking should be done. Pragmatically though, follow my advice. I'm very qualified to give it.

Do you see any need to be less condescending?

Not everybody waits until the piano sounds unbearable before tuning it and that doesn't make them 'fussy' (I'm not sure exactly how bad that would be for the piano but it ain't good). Some pianos do go out of tune much faster than others anyway. Being prepared for it to need tuning every 6-12 months is just sensible.

If you're going to declare yourself 'very qualified' I think its good form to be a bit more detailed, too.

Callie22

My OH is a pianist and has a Yamaha U3 in his studio (that's way over the £500 budget lol). However, he'd be quite happy with an electronic piano at home - makes he's tried and liked are Classenti (sp?) and the Yamaha Clavinovas. A 'real' piano is a huge investment and a big commitment - they cost a fortune to move (OHs cost nearly £200 the last time we moved it ...) and it can be quite expensive to get them regularly tuned (although I will admit that OH records with his so he's fussy about the tuning). It's also quite easy to underestimate how huge even an upright is, and how loud they are! Also it's surprisingly hard to find a good tuner.

I would agree that for the price you're willing to pay, a decent full size electronic piano might be a better option - it's more of a guarantee of quality if you're not entirely sure what you're looking for. I personally wouldn't buy a secondhand piano from ebay etc - *most* will have been pretty neglected / not kept in the right conditions and will probably cost a fair bit to get into condition. Also a lot of secondhand pianos, especially those from churches / village halls etc, will have been absolutely hammered over the years - I remember going to look at one with OH which was for sale for £600. You had to push the keys back up from underneath once you'd played them!

emsywoo123

A really huge thank you to everyone that has posted on here-I do really appreciate you all taking the time to do so, and it's steered me away from a duff purchase I am sure

(look out for the thread in 6 months entitled "Bought dodgy piano for £500-fell apart in a week) :rotfl:

dogstarheaven

my DD started on a free one that was given away by an ex-piano teacher's of a friend's friend. it was dead old fashioned and quite battered and it 3 men to bring it into the house as it was really heavy. after about a year, i decided that she needed a more reliable one that played better. after looking around in the classified section of the local paper, found one at £900 ono. went round and as the owner took a shine to my then 10yo daughter, she decided to accept £600. being a single parent at the time, i think she realised that the piano would be properly appreciated. she even said if my DD didn't want it anymore, we could sell it back to her.. well, 8yrs later, DD left home to go to uni and had passed all her grades (8) and was doing her diploma but that clashed with her A2 exams, so she didn't take it in the end. fast forward 3yrs, and it's sitting at home gathering dust.. DD says she'll reclaim it when she gets her new house at some point in the future!

imo, a proper piano is the best sound you can get. the keyboard maybe practical and cheaper, but it doesn't quite give the same quality.

Angelicdevil

dogstarheaven wrote: »

.. DD says she'll reclaim it when she gets her new house at some point in the future!

imo, a proper piano is the best sound you can get. the keyboard maybe practical and cheaper, but it doesn't quite give the same quality.

Do not get rid of it Randomly, my mother came to stay the other day and she mentioned my old piano and how I now have room for it, so I reminded her that they gave it away..........

Turns out, they didn't and I can have mine back whenever I want it :j

Sorry, bit random! Just excited to know that mine is still alive and can live with me again. It's so beautiful.

sunshinetours

Look for a local piano renovators. they do exist and are often run by enthusiasts who ultimately do it for teh love of all things piano related and not just for money.
We found one and got a 1930's Boyds of London renovated one for around £600 delivered from him which is tunable to concert and seems to hold its tuning reasonably well

As above it changes in ebnvironemnt that often affect a tuning particularly and we wer told if a piano has been long term stored in a garage or outhouse or kept in a consevatory for instance probably best to avoid

Its a lovely present to give and should give years of use even if not every day or taken to higher levels of learning

GlynD

Person_one wrote: »

Do you see any need to be less condescending?

Not everybody waits until the piano sounds unbearable before tuning it and that doesn't make them 'fussy' (I'm not sure exactly how bad that would be for the piano but it ain't good). Some pianos do go out of tune much faster than others anyway. Being prepared for it to need tuning every 6-12 months is just sensible.

If you're going to declare yourself 'very qualified' I think its good form to be a bit more detailed, too.

You didn't see the smileys then?

And yes I am qualified. To the top professional standard. :cool: