anderson@uwvax.ARPA (05/31/84)
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I have received a couple of queries about shopping for used pianos.
Here is a brief checklist:
The soundboard is the heart of the piano. Look at the *back* of
the piano. You can see most of the soundboard, as well as some
thin wooden "ribs" which are attached to it and run at right angles
to the grain. The soundboard may have some cracks in it. If these
are tiny, it may be OK. If they are large, if the ribs have come
unglued from the soundboard, or if the soundboard appears warped,
then the sound of the piano will not be good; don't buy it.
The next thing to check is the bridges, which hold the strings away
from the soundboard (like in a guitar). To look at these, you must
remove the "footboard" (lower front panel)... this will have some sort
of latch at the top. Look carefully at the bridges. Any cracks at
all spell serious trouble. Also if there's a lot of dust and crap in
the bottom of the piano it may mean it was not serviced regularly.
Next, look at the action by removing the top front panel (usually there
are latches inside the two top corners of this). See if any parts
are blatantly broken or missing. Test the little leather straps to
see if they're crumbling. Look at the pinblock (the piece of wood at
the top which holds one end of the strings). If this is warped,
forget it. If you see resin oozing from around the pins, it means
the pins are loose and someone tried to fix it the easy way.
Check the dampers (sustain pedal): when it is up, no strings should
vibrate (try strumming them). When it is down, the dampers (they are
the felt pads behind the hammers) should come all the way off the strings.
Now put everything back together and try playing it. Some common
trouble spots are: 1) impossible to play soft in the middle register
2) harsh/tinny sound when you play bass notes loud; 3) thin, acid
sound in high notes; 4) some notes much louder/softer than
surrounding notes (play scales to discover); 5) poor repeatability
(play note 3-4 times in rapid succession).
The used piano market is completely random. You might find a decent
piano being sold for $150 by an individual. From a dealer, you will
pay for all of what you get, at least. It's worth it to shop around
a lot, and be choosy. If you buy a mediocre instrument, it will be
no fun to play it and you won't play very much. Stay away from spinets
("short" uprights). They have lousy sound (due to small soundboard)
and their actions are complicated and hard to fix. Cosmetic damage
(peeled veneer, coats of white paint, etc.) is not in itself significant
but usually is accompanied by one of the above problems.
David Anderson (wisc-rsch!anderson)