Piano Tuner and Technician, Musician, Author, and Bloggist.

(Reprinted courtesy of the sender – Thank You!)

Hi James,

I am coming to music from dancing (tango) and would like to purchase a piano to learn more about music.
I do not have a lot of money to spend on a piano and in searching Kijiji I found a number of pianos for free (though one must move them).

It occurs to me an ideal way of moving forward would be to have someone knowledgeable pick a promising piano and perform the necessary tuning/repairs.

Would you do this kind of work and what would you charge?

Thanks,
Matt.

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Hi Matt.

Buying a piano that way is risky. Send me the links to the ones you’re looking at, and I’ll let you know if anyone if them is worth looking at.

- Jamie.
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Hi James,

Thank you for getting back to me.  Here are some links for free pianos in varying states:
<REDACTED>

There seems to be a fair turnover in listings.  I understand of course that it is impossible to say how much it would cost to repair some of the problems listed, but if you could give me a ballpark idea of what you would charge for repair or the necessary tuning I would be grateful.  I would also appreciate any input you have on where to find a reasonable piano if this likes a dead end to you.

As I said I am coming to this from dance and am interested in learning how to play, but I don`t know if it will catch me.  I have tried electronic keyboards, but I don`t really like them and I really love the sound  and feel of real strings.

Thanks!

Matt.

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Hi Matt.

None of these piano are actually free. They will all cost you a fair bit of money.

Keep in mind the following:

• Pianos are basically wooden machines that age like people.
• If you are buying an old piano, it WILL need repair, and repairs are expensive.
• Never move a piano yourself. Always hire a mover. It costs between $150-300
• Never buy a piano made before the first World War unless it is a great make and has been rebuilt.
• Certain makes are always terrible, for example: R.S. Williams and New Scale Williams.
• I tell approximately 25 people a year that their piano can’t be repaired and should be thrown out. It costs about $250 to junk a piano. Sometimes, instead of heeding me, they try to give them away instead. Someone else then has to pay to junk it.

The only half decent piano in this bunch is the Heintzman, but it would need about $1,000 worth of repair.

You are much better off saving your money up and buying something that could be resold if you change your mind ie: something that looks good, plays good and is not too old or too big.

I’d suggest you pop into Robert Lowrey’s Piano Experts at 957 Eglinton Ave. E. and look at their “beginner pianos”. That will give you an idea if what you should be looking for, and how much you should spend.

- Jamie.

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Jamie:

Thank you very much for your insight and suggestions.  I will certainly take them to heart.  I had no idea pianos aged so difficultly…

I will also certainly call you for a tuning if I buy a piano.

Thanks!

Matt.

PS-  The thing that sold me on your website was the line- I am not cheap.  Exactly what I want.

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Just a short post to show the steps involved in repainting a Grand Piano Plate.

The plate before:

Step 1: Cleaning. The plate is scrubbed down with a variety of cleaners and abrasives.

Step 2: Two coats of a hard-shell primer.

Step 3: Two Coats of Antique Gold Lacquer.

Step 4: Painting on the lettering.

Step 5: Clear coat of Lacquer.

Oops! Forgot to take the picture… stay tuned!

You might recognize one of these people:

That’s right! It’s Charley Musselwhite.

He handed President Obama a Seidel Harmonica, and said he’d teach him how to play. The president said, “That’s great, but I’m a little busy right now.”

Heintzman #83002 arrived at the shop showing all the signs of eighty years of use and abuse in a Toronto High School. The case, of course, was quite damaged from years of being shoved unceremoniously into walls and through double-doors.

There are no castors (wheels). they had been removed sometime previously so that the piano could be fitted with a spider dolly or tripod. The lid is off, because the hinges had been ripped off, damaging the case as well as the lid.

Some of this damage can be seen here. This might be partly moving damage. Some movers remove the lid before moving, so that when the piano is on its’ side on a skid, the lid doesn’t interfere with the skid. Others let the lid hang over the side of the skid. More than likely, it’s a combination of many moves, and 80 years of wear and tear.

The original Ivory Keytops are long gone. These are probably the third set of keytops this piano has had, judging by the large gaps between each key. These tops are made of plastic, and are discolored, chipped, and many are
missing entirely.

The action has been very damaged. Hammers are missing, shanks are broken off, and many other action parts are broken or missing. a few keys are broken, and many have been previously broken are repaired improperly.

This key for instance, has been obviously fixed on-site using school glue, with a piece of lined paper for reinforcement.

Many hammer shanks were found to be broken. some had been “repaired” at some point using glue and wrapped with masking tape. Some of the shanks and hammers have been moved into other positions, scavenging some of the higher notes to make the mid-range playable. The hammers are also very worn. Some of them are nearly worn flat. You may have noticed that one key is longer than the others in this picture (You can see the back of the keys on the right of the hammers covered in purple felt). This key has snapped in the middle and is wedged under the action.

At the fulcrum point in the center of each key, a Balance Rail Button embraces a pin with felt,  keeping the key from wobbling side to side. As you see here, one key is broken at this point, and others  have a extra piece of felt added on top of the old felt  to stabilize the key (In a proper repair, the old felt would have been removed first).

At some point in its’ long life, the cracks in the soundboard were repaired. These repairs have failed partly because of age and abuse, and partly because they were probably installed in semi-humid conditions. The soundboard eventually lost humidity, and the shims became loose. The Soundboard is also loose around it’s edge.

These are just a few of this Piano’s many problems.

Here’s a video of a chromatic scale.

Part 2 ->