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Original poster

How do I tell if it's a decent piano?

13 replies

roisin · 16/03/2012 17:21

I play, but am not brilliant. Ds2 plays too. We have clavinova currently.

I've been offered a piano (free), it's a Broadwood, fairly old and has allegedly been looked after well.

What sort of things should I be looking for to check whether it's worth paying the money to get it moved?

OP posts:
stealthsquiggle · 16/03/2012 17:29

You probably need a piano tuner to look at it - age is apparently not a good thing - but if it's free, and you have room for it, how "decent" does it have to be?

Ours came from freecycle, and the tuner did say it was reasonable, but not brilliant (will never hold tune for as long as a new one would). However, it will see DS through a few grades yet and then we can consider getting a "good" piano if he is going to take it further.

Original poster
roisin · 16/03/2012 17:34

Ds2 is romping through grades: did 2 in July and doing gr 4 next week. So am keen not to get lumbered with a turkey, irrespective of the substantial costs of getting it moved.

Just wondered if there were any obvious things to look out for.

OP posts:
Missmodular · 16/03/2012 17:50

Ok I'm not an expert but i know a little... Check all the notes play and are reasonably in tune - if you play yourself you'll have a fair idea of how the notes should sound. Check the pedals and ask when it was last tuned. If it was in the last month or so and it sounds a bit out of tune, that's a bad sign. Also check where it's been sited over the last few years. Apparently pianos should not be kept near radiators as this can ruin their tuning. I've also been told that pianos more than 20 years old are past their best - although you can get many years of playing in after that. HTH

UptoapointLordCopper · 16/03/2012 18:13

Definitely do NOT be lumbered with a turkey, free or not! We had a free one that couldn't be tuned - it meant you didn't want to play it, and you had no room for a decent one ... Just don't do it...

Also make sure all the keys play evenly. And they don't stick - try them with the pedal down too. Make sure the very high notes and very low notes sound OK. Or take your tame piano tuner with you.

And check that the soundboard is not cracked. I speak from experience ...

stealthsquiggle · 16/03/2012 18:21

LordCopper - we took the approach when we got ours that if it turned out not to be worth having we would take it to the dump / chop it up for firewood. We certainly wouldn't have given it house room for long - so I guess it depends how ruthless you are prepared to be (we also picked it up ourselves with a trailer so no transport costs to consider).

Fortunately, although elderly (~100yo) it is tuneable enough and I think will see DS through to Grade 4-5.

Original poster
roisin · 16/03/2012 22:56

Thanks for all the advice.

We did dump, chop up for firewood an old and past-it piano a couple of years ago; so no worries on sentimentality if it doesn't cut the mustard.

OP posts:
CURIOUSMIND · 16/03/2012 23:07

Roisin,
Our Granny piano took my Ds1 up to G6.Now we have a brand new professional piano, cost a furtune ,but well worth it.I should do it when he was doing G4. (i regret for not getting it earlier.)

BrigitBigKnickers · 17/03/2012 18:37

Look along the keys (with your head down on the same level)- are they even? If not the piano may need the mechanism regulating.

Play the piano at different dynamics- does it play a range from pianissmo to fortissimo?

Play each note individually- is the tone even from the bottom to the top- are there any strange zing noises/ noticeable damper noises/do all the notes play?/ any notes ringing on after you have let go? Do any of the notes have a "harder" sound than the others? If the sound is not even the hammers might need some attention.

Is the pedal quiet when you depress it.

How light is the touch compared to your clavinola? (A piano I used to own had a very heavy touch)

Most importantly- do you like the way the piano feels and sounds?

The best way is to ask a piano technician (not just a piano tuner they are not always trained in both) to look at it.

Oeufman · 19/03/2012 09:20

Hi Roisin,

DH is a piano tuner (very well known, PTA and qualified blah blah blah).

What sort of level is DS at? An old Broadwood would normally be an initial step up piano. Do you know if it's overstrung or straight strung? Did the owners use a tuner whose name they could give you. Often tuners remember pianos (not so good at birthdays, where they are meant to be or people's faces/houses) and may be able to give a brief summary of the piano based on the last tuning if recent enough. My DH will go to parents evening of kids and leave each teacher telling me exactly what piano they own etc... He however cannot remember any useful facts :)

If you seriously want to consider it my advice would be to get a PTA tuner to go out and have a look at it for you. It is quite likely it may not have being tuned for a long time and therefore it would be impossible to get any idea if it will hold its tune etc, as you will be unable to listen to the tuning or really assess it's tone. Pedals not working etc is usually a very simple adjustment. The only thing you really could check are that no keys are sticking and they all play a note when pressed.

There is really no such thing as a free piano - often you are taking on someone else's disposal of a very heavy instrument - which by the time you move it home and then to the dump after the tuner has been to condemn it - you are £ down. If you have any other questions just ask.

Oeufman · 19/03/2012 09:22

Oh a piano technician is not always a tuner - but a tuner is very very rarely not a technician - and if they are a full member of the Pianoforte Tuners Association they are both :)

BrigitBigKnickers · 19/03/2012 20:02

I disagree- I know several piano tuners who are not technicians- one of them buggered up my piano royally last year so I am very wary!

Original poster
roisin · 20/03/2012 17:35

Thank you.

OP posts:
Oeufman · 20/03/2012 19:40

BrigitBigKnickers - there are very many bad tuners/technicians out there - and many excellent tuner/technicians. I would always recommend getting 3 quotes for work to be done, ensuring they carry suitable qualifications and accreditation and are very experienced! Asking local teachers and piano shops or looking on PTA website are all good starts. A tuners training is long and may take the form of either an accredited college course or apprenticeship - any decent course with a keen student will produce a tuner/technician :)
If they are full PTA members of which there are many - they are both! If you know so many tuners/technicians - surely you would know who to use for the job?

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