Tell me about buying a second-hand piano...

[PrehistoricGarbageTruck]

Anyone got any advice? Would like my child to start piano lessons so looking for something small.

Can any piano be tuned to a decent level or are some too far gone?
Anything to avoid?
I know moving it will be the big expense.

Have you considered a digital piano?

Be very wary.
old pianos can be rubbish and piano movers are expensive.
consider / price up a “ free “ piano from freecycle / market place as regards moving …. Then see what you can get in terms of a full size digital piano ( not a “ keyboard “) as a starter instrument

Had a digital piano ages ago and it seemed pretty good, although possibly quite expensive and didn't feel quite the same? But yes, worth looking into.

So if any piano doesn't sound good I shouldn't assume I can just 'get it tuned'? PIL have a piano and it sounds terrible but presumably hasn't been abused so might need a good tune up?!

talk to whoever teaches your child and get their advice.
cheap pianos are generally only good for furniture not musical instruments - but it is still possible to get a good one cheap, you just need to know what you are doing.

Musician here! Second hand pianos can be wonderful, but can equally be tricky. Not all can be tuned back up to concert pitch (sometimes you can tune them to another pitch instead, but that can annoy some people - depends on how sensitive your ear is!). Best bet is to either go to a piano shop that sells second hand pianos, or to get a piano tuner/technician to check one out for you that you're interested in. If you find one available for free it doesn't hurt to try it out and see if it sounds reasonable, but it's worth checking it out with a technician in any case.

Digital pianos are brilliant and have a place, but a reasonable acoustic upright piano is far better than the majority of them in most circumstances. If you can find a good second hand piano it's a far better investment than a digital one. Good luck..!

We bought a second hand piano from a musician. It was aesthically lovely and sounded quite good. Paid to have it moved. Tuner came and told us it could never be properly tuned so had to pay to have ot taken away! Now use kids old piano sampled keyboard, but nothing like sitting down at real piano. Second advice to go to piano shop that sells secondhand good condition as should be safer option, good luck!

It's a minefield. I bought a cheap one. Piano tuner said it was firewood. Waste of money. And agree they cost a fortune to move if you can actually find anyone to move it.

We have a reconditioned upright, but it was still £5000. Lots of the ones advertised for free haven't been played in years and haven't been kept up to, you could always take a piano tuner with you to have a look. Ours would do that for her customers but I'm not sure how much it would cost.

My children learned on a digital with weighted keys until they were grade three. It was about £350 and was great to get started on.

If your child has just started lessons stick to a digital keyboard and a decent set of headphones.

Viviennemary · Today 15:16

It's a minefield. I bought a cheap one. Piano tuner said it was firewood.

My wife got one from a charity shop, some years ago. 2 keys were (on the actual keyboard) disconnected and some of them didn't make any noise, when pressed. It was £20 and £25 for delivery, which the shop said they'd never do again!

They recommended a tuner, who came round, mithered about for a bit and condemned it. Bugger, we thought. She told a neighbour, who plays several instruments and she gave her a guy's name.

He came and fixed it all quickly. When we told him about the first guy, he said, "Was it Steve Smith? He's useless."

Look for a Yamaha arius or similar digital piano with weighted keys. They are a revelation! Very realistic. Old pianos are a complete nightmare!

I have relatives who have inherited a grand piano-can't sell it apparently.-they are very difficult to sell. So you might find a free one if you pay removal costs. How old is the child? A child who quite likes the recorder, or a child who already plays an orchestral instrument to a very good standard and might be a musical prodigy? I wouldn't worry too much about it being able to be tuned to concert standard, although I'm no musician, but if your child does turn out to be really good and go on to advanced grades or A level and university you might have to have an expensive upgrade.

Just out of interest, why isn't it possible to tune some pianos?

I went through all this years ago when ds started learning. I thought we could pick up one of the free ones off Gumtree for him to learn on. Didn’t take long to realise that would be a huge mistake. Ended up buying a reconditioned one from a proper piano shop. It was expensive but totally worth it, as it sounds amazing and ds loves playing. Tunes easily every year. Looks attractive!

We won’t have to upgrade it in a few years because it will stay the course (unless he goes down the concert pianist route - unlikely). And, if he’d hated it, we could have sold it because it’s a bog standard Yamaha which retain their value.

Child is 8 and hasn't started lessons yet, wanted to see what my options were for getting a piano first... I have a feeling he won't be a natural musician but I do feel it's important to get the basics of learning to read music and just playing for the fun of it. (I played as a child from about 7 til teens, got to Grade 6 but was through sheer force rather than natural talent!)

So it will be played by me as well but doesn't need to sound amazing - just not out of key and not make me want to rip my ears off hearing Chopsticks 8000 times in a row

I think for practicalities' sake a digital one might be a better bet to start with.

BTW thanks for everyone's advice - it is appreciated!

Ohgodthepain · Today 15:41

Just out of interest, why isn't it possible to tune some pianos?

They tighten the strings and over time, they reach a limit. The strings need replacing and it's a very time consuming job and the strings aren't cheap. That's what the guy told me.

Pianos vary a bit like cars really. They need tuning and looking after.

I bought my upright acoustic Yamaha when ds was 2 and apart from the house is the only thing that goes up in value!

I hope you find something suitable.

I have a feeling he won't be a natural musician

You never know! No musical genes from either Dh nor I, and ds is dyspraxic. It’s helped his motor skills enormously AND he’s turned out to be amazingly good. He’s impatient, a total quitter and usually ditches anything he’s not good at straight away, yet he is drawn to that piano every day without prompting, and practices and practices till he gets it right. It’s been SO good for him. I’d never have guessed in a million years. Just wanted him to learn for the same reasons as you.

Have you got a local piano tuner? Ask on fb or someone you know who plays the piano if there's one nearby that people would recommend. Our local one is wonderful - my mum has used him for decades. He tends to know who has a piano that they're selling, and how much it's worth etc. I bought my upright off one of his clients for £500 - he says it'll see me out.