The short answer, yes. Am I going to save money, probably not.
A very high end piano is a good investment because of the high resale value. Pianos always appreciate in value. The new grand piano you woul like to buy today will cost much much more 5 years from now. People privately selling their piano know this, so their asking price will still seem high in most cases. Therefore this is bad news for someone hoping to buy a good used piano to save a bit of money.
THE BARGAIN FIND
Beware of the FREE piano or the refurbished piano, new laquer, rebuilt, new replaced keys or whatever word people use to describe a piece of junk they want to sell you for $100 or $200. I`d also stay away from those 100 year old pianos that people call antiques, even if they are refinished or restored and they`re selling it for $800. You're better off keeping that money in your wallet. You will spend twice that amount in tuning and retuning, parts and repairs.
THE USED MARKET
If you are looking for a used piano, do the research and know what you are looking for. Go the big piano stores, if they`re accepting trade in`s they must be selling used ones too. You could also look for private sales on kijiji or usedottawa but you should bring a friend for a second opinion, someone who knows what a good piano sounds like and what to look for. If you are the piano specialist, well just consider how you like the tone. Is it mellow? Is it bright? How is the touch, is it hard or easy?
THE HIGHROLLER FIND
I had a rare opportunity last summer to purchase a used Steinway Grand L from a moving sale; like I mentioned before it was my dream and it seemed like it would be a possibility for my husband and I, notwithstanding the fact that it would be taking up the whole dining room and we would not have a dining room! I can't believe my husband actually said yes when I first asked him about it, but he only wanted me to get a good professional opinion about it. I had done a lot of research on Steinway including visiting the Lauzon Steinway Pianos in Ottawa Westboro and watching the tear-jerking DVD on "The Making of a Steinway" from the wood selection to the concert hall! I also viewed many Steinway grand pianos for private sale in Ottawa; some were refurbished models in their own basement workshops as a family business, another was a garage sale find and the new owner just had too many grand pianos in the house. The one I had my heart set on was a 6 foot Model L, immaculate condition, shiny black and it belonged to a travelling businessman who was moving his family out of town but all of his furniture and this beautiful piano was in storage at his father's big house just in the foyer entrance. A grand location nonetheless but he was hoping to sell this piano fast because he was soon to purchase his own mid-life dream car, a Dodge Viper in Florida! (I mention in my other post that this is also my dream car, how interesting).
He is the second owner of the Model L, purchased about 30 years ago in Toronto when he was a new musician grad and he bought it from an older lady piano teacher who's family was the original owner. However a search on the Steinway website with the serial number indicates that it was built in 1911 and delivered to a piano store in New York.
I have visited this house and seen the piano nearly four times because I am a very serious buyer. The first visit, I bring nothing and I just play from memory. The tone is lovely I am in heaven, though I do notice a short buzzing sound when I play. The next visit, I bring my friend who is a concert pianist in-training doing her Masters at a prestigious school in New York actually, and she has a buttery touch and feel on the keys, it's amazing to hear her play piano and this is a great instrument. The third visit it is time to bring in my Piano Tuner because I want to get a good professional opinion. He writes up a report that does not quite meet my expectations and lacks an explanation for that buzzing sound. I ask my friend who I should ask and she recommends her piano tuner who is also a very hard to reach kind of fellow because he tunes all the Steinways at the NAC (National Arts Center in Ottawa). With her reference I am fortunate to schedule an inspection of the piano for a very reasonable professionl fee of $65. I am unable to be present at the inspection (so I guess that means I only saw the piano three times) but he meets with the seller and the father; and a few days later I receive a very comprehensive report on the piano. I have attached it for reference because there are alot of technical details and useful terminology. I did decide in the end not to go with the purchase for a number of reasons.
The report is attached as text, at the end of this entry.
They were asking $32,000 which is a very good deal for any grand piano used. (This one brand new today would probably be close to $98,000) But the main break point for me was the hairline fracture in the soundboard! That was in the first line of the report. Nothing can fix that, that is like a broken heart that can never be mended, and the buzzy sound was attributed to that. I would probably have difficulty reselling this. Additionally, I did not feel there was anything Steinway or factory original about the piano, other than the casing body of the piano. The strings and parts were not Steinway and I just felt that I was after the name of being a Steinway owner but it wasn't quite what I wanted.
In my heart I felt the right thing to do was to let go and keep waiting for the ONE (sound familiar?) I communicated my intention not to buy with the seller after all. He seemed somewhat relieved because he had also mentioned his son was disappointed that the piano would be leaving the family. The piano was no longer on the market too long after that, perhaps it remains in the family's musical legacy, this 100 year old piano.
THE SENTIMENTAL FIND
I did not mention earlier that I was actually looking for a newer grand piano to replace the one that I was getting rid of.
Five years ago, I bought a grand piano that actually took up my entire living room: a KIMBALL baby grand about 5 and half feet. The most astonishing fact is that I kept this piano for many years but I had to let it go when my second kid came along and we just couldn't keep him from playing underneath the piano and hiding his toys there. The other reason for selling was that this piano was indeed a BARGAIN FIND and the outside of the piano was never refurbished. You can tell it's been pushed against a wall, scraped up with music stand or someone's ring, it is actually quite an eyesore thinking back, and nothing glamourous or shiny or black. I was later told that 80% of people who buy grand pianos don't even play piano, they just want one for the looks. (That's why estate sales are apparently so great because people are selling a really good piano for nearly nothing) Probably these are the reasons that when it came time to sell this piano two years ago, many buyers came to see it for the very low asking price of $2,000 and even $1,500 but no one wanted to buy it.
The story begins when my church in Chinatown Ottawa had really spent too much money tuning and repairing this 50 year old piano that had been in use in the main sactuary and later the upstairs chapel. It was the topic of a lengthy debate at a memorable AGM about how much money we should budget to fixing this piano or buying a new one. Folks wouldn't budge from the $6,000 mark. As a young person, with some piano experience, I did speak up and say let's not talk about how much it would cost to fix this old piano because no one here is an expert on piano repairs. Let's pray and ask God for a new one. Anyway I'm in no way responsible for someone actually buying and donating a piano to the church, and I did not expect at that moment to be the next owner of this old grand piano. It was very sentimental to me because my praise team did use this for years in the upstairs chapel. Anyway when I heard that they were about to post this on kijiji for $3,000 but wanted to offer it to the congregation first, I spoke up right away. For whatever reason they only wanted $1500 for it and the way I had to write the checks to the General Fund I believe I actually ended up getting a receipt for it as a part of my church offering. Whatever, I thought this was a really awesome piano and I loved it. Found an amazing repairman to do repairs on it and it sounded better than it ever did. I probably spent close to $1200 on repairs and parts. My daughter played on it like it was her first real toy. My baby son too. But of course like I said it was kind of ugly and banged up, my husband always wanted me to get rid of it.
So finally two years ago I posted it on usedottawa.com for $3,000 and there was a serious buyer for it, a teenager and her mother. (YES I priced it higher than what I paid for because I knew people would deal, plus I could include whatever I spent on repairs. There was no real profit) I must've seemed hesitant to sell because they actually offered me $4,000 for it. However at that moment, I just could not part with it and I had to decline the offer to everyone's chagrin (especially my husband).
Anywayz months later, I ended up selling it to a family friend, the lady who sells me my insurance and RRSP's actually. She didn't even see the piano but offered $1500 for it (because she knows the history of it) and I thought, fine! (This time I'd better take the money and run). Those were the exact words of the piano movers who were moving it to her house. I even offered free shipping! Unfortunately, the piano movers also asked her a wierd question like, Why are you buying this piece of junk? I don't know if this event has any correlation with the next, but I did notice that she hasn't spoken to me much since this transaction. Is she mad at me maybe.
The moral of the story is, if you buy a piece of junk you will end up with a piece of junk and no one will want to buy that piece of junk when you are done with it.
Eventually I did find the digital Suzuki Grand Piano I had described in another FAQ. It has a much smaller footprint being a three foot long very mini grand! Like I said Suzuki builds motorcycles and Kimball was apparently a furniture manufacturer that closed shop in the eighties. Not necesarily known for building excellent pianos.
INSPECTION REPORT
Steinway L 146427 (1911)
Case -excellent shape
Structure -small soundboard crack low end of tenor bridge
Piano has been restrung with oversize pins, original pinblock
Adequete but not impressive tuning pin torque
Hairline bridge cracks at the pins in lower treble
Rim great
Pedals and Trapwork -minor séricine required
Damper system -old style levers -okay
Felts okay
Some lever leads loose causing noise
Action -Keys -bushings okay medium wear
Lead weights loose causing noise
Capstans, frame and keypins need cleaning and polishing
Whippets -original -old design ( no jack alignment screws)
Whippen clothes and leathers hard -creating noise
Backchecks -heavy wear -need replaced
Hammers/shanks & flanges -not original -tephlon brushings -noisy
Clicking, hammer heads quite worn and small -not much to work with but the tone could be improved
Sostenuto system -okay -needs adjustment
Comments -This piano is a vintage Steinway from a good production period. I am impressed with the tone in the instrument, the belly is healthy except for a small crack at the lower end of the tenor bridge which is not a concern to me. The piano had an overhaul sometime in the recent past (1970’s ? ). The case was refinished, the piano restrung with larger tuning pins, the hammer assemblies were replaced, and a few damper felts replaced. The “new” hammer assemblies have tephlon brushings -a feature that was done away in the early 80’s because they were problematic and “clicked” over time.
There are damper lever leads and key leads that are loose and rattling. Along with the tephlon bushing clicks and whippen cloth noise I find the action very noisy to a point of distraction.
I like the potential I hear in the piano but the action needs extensive work if the piano is to be brought up to a high playing standard. Lesser repairs and reconditioning can improve the action but the best results would come with the replacement of major components -hammer assemblies, whippens, back checks . This is costly work -the parts alone cost around $3500.00 US dollars .
It is possible to improve the piano using the existing parts and this could be discussed.
