I’d like some input as to how to buy a decent baby grand piano for a cheap price. My wife used to play a lot as a kid and is now wanting to pick it up again.
We bought an upright from a friend, but its not working out too well - won’t stay in tune, keys stick, etc. We’ve had 3 different repairmen out, all who indicated that the only way to fix it might be to re-string, which would cost more than the piano is worth (they all tried applying some solution to the keys, dehumidifying, etc).
Now, I know nothing about musical instruments. Her birthday is approaching in a few month, and she mentioned that she always wanted a nice baby grand piano. I know this is expensive, but given the gusto with which she plays the upright despite its faults, I think she would definitely like it. Plus, I think it would look nice in a room that is currently devoid of furniture.
So, I need advice. I certainly don’t want to buy a new one, but don’t know where to find a decent used one with some sort of warranty (or that can at least be checked out to ensure it didn’t have similar problems as the upright). Where could I go, and who could I contact to test out a piano if I found one? How much can I expect to spend, and how would I get it moved into the house?
I can’t help with your technical questions, except to say that any good music store should be able to answer your preliminaries before you shop. But I must say this:
Please, pretty please, take her along to try pianos out – don’t make it a surprise. There is so very much variation in tone, touch, and so on. This will be an incredibly personal item for her – let her help choose it.
If you want to have a little “surprise” ceremony, gift-wrap a toy or knick-knack version of a piano and give her that. Then explain that the rest of the gift is a shopping trip for the real thing.
First, here is a rather colorful but exceedingly informative piano info site.
In my opinion, a cheap baby grand is the most compromised piano design, the worst of all worlds. This is not to say that you can’t get a good baby grand–you can, but they don’t come cheap.
Unless you are dead set on having a piano-shaped object, you would be better off spending the same amount of money on a good new upright. It will sound better, need less maintenance, hold its tuning longer and have a more consistent action.
Also, good pianos tend to hold their resale value, so I don’t think you’ll be able to find an inexpensive used baby grand that is of a decent quality .
I’ve just spoken to to my boss, who knows about such things, and he’s in agreement with Hoops:
Baby grands are an attractive pieces of furniture, but if she’s serious about playing again, go for a good upright.
A good upright should be metal framed and over strung (the quality of the sound is dependant on the length of the strings, and over stringing considerably increases the length compared with a cheapo upright).
If you are buying second hand, you are more likely to be able to pick up a good upright than a good baby grand (he’s not convinced they exist - it’s that string length thing).
He also thinks you (or rather your wife) should try before you buy. It’s a big investment.
I recommend looking into one of the digital baby grands. The technology these days is amazing, and it’s still a beautiful piece of furniture. Here are some for comparison:
I’d have to disagree with Libertarian on this one… True, digital technology is amazing, and can sound almost like the real thing, but therein is the problem. That digital piano is little more than a computer stuck in a piece of wood, and we all know how fast computer technology is becoming obsolete. The digital may be the same price as an acoustic, but should it become necessary to sell it, it will have essentially no resale value. Also, there’s a great divide in technology between “sounds like the real thing” and “feels like the real thing”, in that there are very few models that offer both for the casual consumer. Finally, unless your wife is planning to connect it to a computer, I can’t see any other reason to recommend a digital.
Like others have said, for half the money you’d spend on a baby grand you can get a good quality upright. It will retain most of its value if maintained well, and if you buy from a reputable dealer, they may offer lifetime deals on service, tuning, or adjustments. I agree with Scarlett67 on the surprise thing; you want to let her try different models and evaluate them on sound and feel, not pick out something that looks nice in your sitting room but won’t get played for whatever reason.