What will my choice of piano cost me?
In this, the second instalment of my two-part blog post about the perils (and joys) of purchasing a piano, I deal exclusively with the difference between various pianos sound-wise and some options for purchasing a quality piano that suits your needs and wallet.
For those flatly curious about pricing brackets for pianos, be them acoustic, digital, wooden-keyed or plastic — Thomann and Gear4music are two huge online sites which will give you options for so many digital, stage and acoustic pianos as well as audio samples of their sound. They’ll even cover delivery over a certain price and deliver brand-new straight to your door. Of course, lots of digital pianos can be bought second hand, but a quick look on one of the large retailers will help you get familiar with the brands that are best sellers and the makes that are available.
At any given time, there are many people upgrading their digital piano to a higher performance piano or an acoustic, and looking to sell the old piano. There are also plenty of acoustics being sold privately, but do be careful if you decide to go this route. Make sure that you price the moving costs first with a piano mover, as it could cost hundreds of euros if a far distance. This may influence your decision between a piano closer to home and one further away when it comes down to it.
Pro-tip for those who spot a would-be bargain
As a solid rule of thumb, I would recommend requesting, paying or begging an acoustic piano tuner to come check out the piano ahead of purchase if spending more than €500. Alternatively, you can purchase second-hand from a piano store that guarantees the piano, or look for one on sale that’s just been serviced, this will save any nightmares later, much like a car.
Selecting a piano that suits my ability
Typically, you’ll always want the best you can afford but you also want it to be suitable for its use. Buying a grand Piano for a beginner is unnecessary, but someone preparing for a college degree (BA) in performance needs regular access to a grand piano. Why? This is what they’ll deliver most of their performances on throughout university.
If you purchase the lower quality digital Piano without the wooden weighted keys provided by the pricier Yamaha and Kawai Digitals, it will likely do fine for a year or two. But as technique improves, and the music becomes more challenging, you will feel the cheaper digital piano hit its barrier for expression in performance and frustration will set in.
Acoustic pianos come in low price brackets and go to extremely high prices. And quality digital pianos may rival many very good acoustics price-wise. Personally, if I had the choice between an acoustic and digital of the same price, the only way I’d pick the digital is if noise reduction was needed for neighbours and housemates/family. That being said, considerations around moving, tuning and maintaining should factor as well as price — while choice of music, need for portability, and interfacing with technology should also affect choice if they’re important to the player.
There are also reconditioned pianos, as well as second-hand pianos, although both are technically second-hand. Reconditioned pianos have had a part(s) replaced, reset or fixed and are brought back up to standard by a professional restorer. With acoustic pianos the best option as with most things is to shop around.
I’d recommend visiting more than one piano retailer, and maybe more than once, focusing on those that do second hand, reconditioned and new pianos. This will allow you to play a variety of pianos within your price range. If none are pleasing to you in sound or touch, talk to the owner they may be able to find you a suitable piano — reconditioned, second-hand or new — with a minimal wait time. If you hang on they may even be able to find you an upright Kawai from the 1980’s, one that has the beautiful mellow sound you played once years ago and fell in love with. But I digress.
Modern piano construction
The main thing to remember is that all acoustic pianos nowadays, whether grand or upright, are mainly produced in factories with parts cut on machines. Customisation is limited, with only certain assemblies and finishes completed by hand. Aside from the touch of a piano when you play it, i.e. how it responds to your fingers, the sound is the main deciding factor for me.
I, personally, hate the very bright Pianos that came out in the late 1990’s early 2000’s from one particular brand. When I sit in front of them and play, it sounds harsh and sharp to me. Plus, I’ll have to listen to this instrument every day, as do others, so if I don’t love the tone of the piano I’m never going to be convinced to buy it.
Steinway, Yamaha and Kawai all offer hand-made or mostly hand-made options that are in the top price brackets, these can cost more than a car, this is the same for Violin, Flute, Cello etc. All the top manufacturers have their main brand like Yamaha or Steinway and a cheaper high-street brand. But both are essentially the same upright piano, the materials may be of higher quality or more attention is given to the feel of the keyboard, the tone, and adjusting it in the factory.
Final takeaways
One important thing to remember is that a good piano tuner can make suggestions to improve the playing of nearly any acoustic piano. These insights can make a high-street brand acoustic piano feel and sound wonderful to play. If this sounds daunting, then you can always stick to weighted wooden digital pianos until you’re ready to tackle the acoustic world.
I hope this helps anyone on the unenviable journey of picking out a piano, be it digital or acoustic, new or second-hand or re-conditioned. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email on my site. If you’re a student of mine, no need to be so formal, we can chat when I see you next!