How to shop for a used piano

Congratulations! You’ve decided on purchasing a piano. Many folks like myself, have purchased used piano for my home. It is a wonderful way to get a higher quality instrument at a significantly lower price compared to a new piano, making it a great option for beginners or anyone on a budget who wants a better sound without spending a large sum of money.

Plan to inspect your potential piano by bringing along a few items, such as a flashlight, a soft brush , a screwdriver, and a tuner to check the piano’s pitch. These small tools will prove helpful for examining the strings, the tuning block, bridges, and other aspects to help you determine the condition of any used piano you are considering. Take notes about parts that appear too worn, broken, or unusual, and plan to discuss all of these with a skilled piano technician. Remember that a fully equipped professional technician should make the final evaluation since what seems acceptable to you could be a significant problem.

Also, try out the piano. See how it feels. If you are not comfortable playing, take a friend along who does play, and they can offer their opinion on how it feels and responds. If anything seems irregular, be sure to bring it up with your technician.

Also remember to take a peak inside. And don’t be afraid to ask the current owner to see the piano’s inside and to remove any decorative items before you open it. After all, seeing the internal condition is critical before making a purchase.

Key things to keep in mind:

• test the pitch and tuning

• investigate the pinblock’s condition

• inspect the strings, bridges, pedals, soundboard

Northshore Tuning is happy to assist you in your search for an excellent used piano and offers professional advice for any evaluations you may need.

What is piano regulation, tuning, and voicing?

The word "tuning" normally refers to all of the technical maintenance tasks required for a piano. These jobs are divided into the following three broad classifications.

Regulation

Regulation involves making minute adjustments to the action, keyboard, damper system, and pedals. These are called the piano’s mechanism. The mechanism is regulated by repositioning, aligning, or shimming parts, by adjusting their regulating screws or buttons, and/or by alternating the thickness of the various felts and leathers of the piano.

Tuning

Tuning is the correction of the pitch of each note by gently re-tightening metal pins called tuning pins around which the strings are wound, using a tool called a tuning hammer.

Voicing

Voicing involves balancing the volume, tone, and overall sound of the piano by adjusting the hardness of the hammer felts by pricking them with needles using a tool called a picker.

How often should I get my piano tuned?

Pianos Fall Out of Tune over Time

Piano strings are strung under tremendous tension, averaging 90 kilograms each. Therefore, even if your piano is not regularly played played, as time passes its strings will gradually stretch and your piano will eventually fall out of tune. As such, your piano needs regular tuning at least once a year to keep it up to pitch and playing the correct notes.

New Pianos

It’s a common misconception that a newer piano would hold its tune longer than an old one. It is actually quite the opposite. Piano strings stretch quite a great deal during its first year after purchase. The piano’s new strings are very stiff and are inclined to contract. Therefore, new pianos often require tuning about once every three months, if not more.

After Year One

After the first year, the frequency at which you need your piano tuned will depend on a few factors. Generally speaking, if you play your piano regularly, you will probably need to tune it about twice a year. However, it could be less frequent than that if you play more sporadically. Tuning frequency also depends on the climate of your home. If humidity is more predictable (well climate controlled home), your piano may need fewer tunings. In general though, the more you play the piano, and / or the more unpredictable the humidity, the faster it will fall out of tune.