Buying our first piano but don't know where to start

[Romer5]

One of my regrets in life is that I stopped learning to play an instrument when I was young. I love music and I would absolutely love for my children to have the opportunity to be able to play an instrument. I have contacted two well respected teachers who have both advised that 6 is a perfect age to start lessons. As my children aren't 6 for another year, I wondered if a piano at home would be a good way to start familiarising them. I would also love to have a go at learning how to play it using an online course. What kind of thing would I want? I don't want to spend too much but would like something that has the right amount of keys and the right sound. Are electric pianos any good or do they sound like they keyboards from school? I often see beautiful pianos advertised for free on marketplace but imagine retuning them would be very expensive. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Err, I never said that @HappySM1 I said I thought electric pianos have their place and that there are some pretty good ones available now, but I definitely didn't say, or even imply, that there was no difference.

Its feel is indistinguishable from any low-mid range grand piano your children are likely to take exams on.

That's the bit I am on about.

@HappySM1

Its feel is indistinguishable from any low-mid range grand piano your children are likely to take exams on.

That's the bit I am on about.

Not my post though. 🙄

I'm an adult returner having passed my grade 8 at 18. Recently bought a yamaha hybrid (nu1x) which is a digital sound but with real weighted keys and actual hammers. It's wonderful and by far the nicest piano I've ever played, except for the ones in the rooms I took my graded exams in. There's absolutely a place for digitals and as a beginner or instrument they can be perfect. If you or your child end up at an advanced level you may need to increase the budget for either a high end digital/hybrid or a mid range acoustic. Worth noting that the amount I spent on my hybrid (4.5k) would have probably bought a much nicer second hand acoustic, but I live in a flat and want to be able to play after my young children have gone to bed, and without disturbing the neighbours. So if you're thinking purely in terms of value for money, a second hand acoustic probably offers better, in the longer term.

I'd love an acoustic and one day I hope to live somewhere where it's more practical. But for just starting out, buy an instrument that works for your own circumstances and don't let anyone shame you if that's a digital!

Fwiw I started lessons at 7. My current teacher also doesn't teach kids until they're 7, although some teachers will take kids younger than that.

We got a free piano off Freecycle, dd went through to grade 8 on it! You do need to rent a tail lift truck and co-opt some strong friends to move it and get it tuned once in situ. Look for overstrung, they are better I was told. My "free" piano is apparently a very good one according to my tuner who comes whenever I move it (otherwise it stays in tune)

Tuning is about £50, never had to do it more than once every 2-3 years

By the way dd started at 4 ... you do need an adjustable piano seat though

@gogohm

Tuning is about £50, never had to do it more than once every 2-3 years

Wouldn’t get much change out of £100 where I am.

I got myself a Yamaha clp 725 at Christmas and I'm happy with it. No, it's not the same as a real piano but is perfect for learners/those short of space etc

Huge apologies @MrsAvocet!!!!!!!!

We have been through a similar process a few years ago. You will probably start with an electric £500 instrument like we did, but they will outgrow it within a year or two, as key action matters already for grade 1 and will need pedals for grade 3.

We were very budget conscious but soon realised that you'll need to invest around 3k if you want good sound and key action for grade 2 and above. Then you'll have to consider the acoustic trade-off as they are loud instruments. We also found that most used pianos at a lower price point are almost always problematic.

We settled on a new Kawai CA-79 which has real key action (closest to a grand Steinway under 10k) and great sound, headphones, etc. Hybrid Yamahas are excellent too, but key action is very different (NOT grand piano like at all, as Yammy keys have resistance near the top). The Yamaha sound was also bit too bright for us.

P.s. but if you can find a hybrid nu1x for 4.5k go for it as that also has proper key action (cheaper yamaha hybrids don't in my view) else kawai hybrid

We have a yahama digital which serves our purposes well. It does not take up too much space, is always in tune and can be used with headphones. However, none of the kids are first study piano. 2 of the 3 have had lessons, and for ds who was the youngest to have piano lessons the ability to change the sound made practice much more fun (and i'm a big fan of that 😁).

Don’t know much about digital pianos but for acoustic ones (as a general rule)

• English pianos have a mellower tone
• Japanese pianos have a brighter, crisper tone
• German and Korean ones are in between
• Make sure you can put it in a warm, dry, non-draughty spot or you may need to buy an internal piano heater
• As others have said, a good, well-maintained second-hand piano usually costs most of the price of a new one

You can retrofit an acoustic piano with a digital component. It detaches the keyboard from the hammer mechanism so you can use headphones or an amplifier, use special voices, record and hook up to a computer.

We did this when we bought DC1 a second hand piano for University digs. The whole thing (KAWAI piano, retrofit, delivery and 2 tunings) cost €1300. But the seller was a highly qualified impoverished expert on piano conservation.

If you are buying a second hand one take a piano tuner with you, I speak from experience. When the blind tuner arrived he knew right away it was no use. It was very old but sounded okay to our ears, not honkytonk. He suggested that we take him to a piano shop. He listened to every one there and told us which brand new piano in the shop sounded the best. Then he told us to write down the number inside the piano and ask for that one to be delivered as they differ even when new.