Finding That Perfect Piano for You Is a Worthy Project

One excellent source or reading material that is written in layman's terms that will give solid insight into this project is "The Piano Book" by Larry Fine. You can locate this book at your public library or purchase one from a good bookstore for under $20; it is a bargain at that price. Another excellent resource book to help you date the age and manufacturing information for your consideration would be "Pierce Piano Atlas."

A tactic to the unsuspecting "would-be buyer" from individuals or store salespeople is the line, "all it needs is a good tuning." Many times, a poor, out-of-tune piano will mask many defects and require costly repairs because you can't hear anything due to the glaring intonation. A tuning is not a "fix-all" for all the other problems with an instrument. Always insist that before you purchase the piano, you want the instrument to be finely tuned to hear what that instrument, in its current condition, will sound like. Even two identical new pianos sitting side-by-side will have differences in tone, harmonics, dynamics, and touch.

The picture in the upper right corner is of a 1941 Howard Studio, retired from a local bar and now playing praises to God in a local Methodist Bell Choir Room. Besides having to learn a few new songs, this piano had its action reconditioned, new strings, and a few keytops repaired. A Damp-Chaser Humidity Control unit has been installed, and its pitch is as "solid as a rock!" The original purchase was $200.

When examining a used piano, a lot can be learned about the previous service or the lack thereof. Think about it in the terms you would a used car.

Open the lid, search the bench, and even look for signatures on the plate for dates and information recorded about the frequency and type of work that has previously been done on this piano. If the seller seems reluctant or dismissive about recent tunings and would rather talk about the exterior appearance of this instrument, that is generally not a good sign!

Unless the instrument has been owned by a renowned famous person and has documentation as such, the thought of its antiquity is only as good as it is as a useful instrument.

Take a flashlight and a couple of screwdrivers with you to open the easily accessible parts of the cabinet to look around. Shine the light up and down the soundboard, strings, pins, and pin block, and just about anywhere in the action area you can see. You'll be surprised how really smart you are when it comes to viewing something. You're not sure what it completely does, but that "thing-a-ma-gig" looks like it's not right, broken, or missing!

Before you talk about price, call one of the "us" type people who have nothing to do with the transaction to get our point of view and slant on what a fair price is. I've seen too many "FREE" pianos that cost the new owners $200 to have hauled away after they had paid to have them hauled home. Worse than that is the "Sorry Sam," who was talked into dumping several hundreds of dollars of repairs into this box that should have been given a proper burial.