Should you buy a piano in 2023?
If you’re on this page already, chances are you already own a piano, but for those of you curious as to whether or not purchasing a piano is right for you, I want to go over a couple of things you should think about when looking to make what could end up being a significant purchase.
Digital or Acoustic?
The first choice is to decide whether you buy a digital or acoustic piano. For those of you just beginning to learn the piano I would recommend just getting a digital piano, but I suggest choosing a well made digital piano instead of the cheapest you can find. Ultimately you still want to feel inspired to play the piano, and having something well made that gives you a good experience will help with that! The best digital piano makes are arguably Yamaha, Kawai and Casio, with the lowest end being the Casio at around £300 - £400.
However, if you have the space and you’re getting more serious about playing the piano, I would highly recommend choosing an acoustic piano. There is something about the feel and the tone and the way the strings vibrate the air that just can’t be touched by a digital piano!
Grand or Upright?
Next, you might think about buying a grand piano or buying an upright - for most of us in the UK the choice is made for us as we try to squeeze an upright into our victorian terrace house - but for those of you blessed with the space and the inclination a grand may be a great option! The thing to note with grand pianos is the length, which is what makes them louder, gives the bass a boost and creates a more rounded tone. With many baby grand pianos, the length is often shorter than a decent sized upright, and sometimes the tone suffers because of it. Often it is thought that as grands are usually better than uprights, then baby grands are too, but its not always the case.
Prices
If you have decided between the grand or the upright the next thing to start thinking about is the budget. There are different places to source pianos that cost different amounts, which I’ll go through here.
Piano Retailer - This is a shop that purchases pianos either directly from manufacturers, or second hand refurbished. They will often have warranties for their pianos so you can rest easy knowing you aren’t being sold a dud! For this security the price will be the highest, usually starting for around £1,000 and going anywhere up in the tens of thousands for the higher end pianos. If you’re based in the UK then a retailer I can recommend highly is Roberts Pianos - their pianos are well sourced and refurbished and maintained by their expert team of tuners and technicians.
Piano Auction - If you want to buy a piano for a lower price but with less security, the piano auction is the place to go. Here you can find all kinds of pianos, but there is no guarantee about the quality or the state of repair it’s in. There are often attendants that can help you decide, or you could hire a piano tuner to come with you and check them out for you. (No pressure.) These pianos don’t come with any warranty but they are significantly cheaper than buying from a piano dealer. Again in the UK I would recommend Piano Auctions Ltd, they are very reliable and extremely friendly, they can help point you in the right direction!
Facebook / Gumtree - The wild west of buying pianos, absolutely no guarantee of quality or repair but most of the time can be bought for the price of moving the piano. You will find people trying to shift pianos out of their leaking garages or flogging ex wifes deceased grandmothers 1800’s overstrung nightmare, with not a single key in tune and the panelling peeling off all sides. You will also find people moving in to smaller spaces and needing to move their £3000 piano ASAP and all you have to do is pay a couple hundred for the moving costs. It is almost impossible to tell from photos alone and absolutely needs to be checked with a professional for peace of mind. (Again, no pressure.)
Moving
Once you have bought the piano, the next step is moving it. If buying from a dealer, sometimes the delivery is included, but oftentimes it’s not, as the distance travelled is a major factor. You can expect to pay anywhere between £90 to £250 for a local upright move, or £250 to £500 for a long distance. For a grand piano it’s a bit more, at about £200 to £350 for a local move or £350 to £650 for a long distance. It’s best to pay that little bit extra for a dedicated piano removals service, as they will have the experience, the tools, (and the insurance) to make sure everything goes smoothly. I can recommend Piano Removal Services if you are based in the UK.
Tuning
After the piano is moved it will then need to settle for a while in the new location. As the piano acclimates to its new surroundings, the wood expands or contracts depending on the temperature and humidity. This may cause the piano to go a little out of tune so once it’s settled, after about a month or so, its time to get the tuner in! This can vary in cost from £70 to £150 depending on where you are in the country, the length of the job, or how in demand the tuner is.
Refurbishment
If you have bought from a reputable dealer you can probably skip this part, but perhaps you have bought a discount Steinway or Bechstein in hopes of bringing it up to scratch post sale. Not a bad idea, depending on the extent of work needing to be done, certain jobs can be simple fixes, but others can be long jobs that take thousands to repair.
Hopefully this clears up what goes in to buying a piano and whether its the right decision for you! If you choose to purchase a piano you are choosing to bring music into your home life, and the benefits of this are ultimately priceless!
Happy shopping,
Jon
