At Roberts Pianos, our goal is to help you—whether you’re an experienced pianist or an aspiring one—find the perfect piano to suit your needs. To assist you in this process, we’ve created this concise buying guide that highlights the key factors to consider when selecting a piano.
General Note
Buying a quality piano can represent a significant investment, as it’s something you’ll rely on for many years. For this reason, we strongly recommend having a skilled technician or tuner assess the piano before making a purchase, especially if you’re buying from a private seller. An experienced professional is more likely to identify potential issues that could lead to unforeseen repair costs down the line. If possible, seek out a member of the Piano Tuners Association (PTA); their fees are typically reasonable, and the peace of mind you gain could save you both money and headaches in the long run.
Essential Piano Knowledge
Unlike cars, computers, or digital pianos, quality acoustic pianos are built to last for generations and do not undergo constant technological changes. A well-crafted piano does not begin to deteriorate with use, as a car might. In fact, it will often improve in tone and playability over the first few years, as new hammers settle in and reach their optimal performance.
After 20 years of normal daily use (around an hour per day), a good piano may require light adjustments and hammer voicing by a qualified tuner. In 50 years, it might need two or three days of reconditioning, including possible replacement of hammers and bass strings. Throughout all this time, it is highly unlikely to encounter major issues, provided it is properly maintained. In fact, older pianos often came with lifetime guarantees!
Grand or upright?
If you are looking for the best instrument and are not limited by space or budget, then any professional musician would recommend buying a long grand piano. This is because grand piano actions tend to have better control than uprights, and the longer the piano, the deeper and richer the tone will be.
However, a good upright piano can also have an excellent tone and touch, and there are several factors to consider. The general rule is the taller the piano the better as tall pianos have larger actions and longer strings, but as explained further down, there are other factors that contribute to the tone and touch of a piano.
The video below explains the geometric differences between grands and uprights.
New or used?
Ultimately, this decision is yours but it is worth noting that less than 10,000 new pianos are sold in the UK annually while well over 100,000 used pianos change hands each year (2013). Only a small percentage of new pianos are made to a good standard – especially when looking at the lower price ranges. Most upright pianos from the Far East, especially those retailing for under £3000, are in our opinion of really unacceptable quality, having a brash or uneven tone, unstable tuning, and a tendency to develop substantial mechanical problems after just a few years of use.
Quality of manufacturing at the start of the 1900s
At the beginning of the 20th Century, when most households had a piano, the industry was much larger, competition was fierce, and the quality of good pianos for sale was extremely high. It follows that a good reconditioned piano from a top maker in the early 1900s is likely to be much better than a new one from the lower-priced range. Also, the ‘modern’ piano dating from about 1960 to 1980 was generally better made than an equivalent new piano made today, as more skilled technicians were in the piano manufacturing trade in those days.
The Make
Depending on why you are buying a piano, the make may be more or less important. If you are looking for a piano that will hold its value over time, then of course, the make is key. Well-known makes such as Steinway, Bechstein and Bluthner have an intrinsic market value even if they don’t produce an exceptionally good tone, and therefore will be easier to re-sell in the future. Lesser well-known makes of piano won’t hold their value as much in the long run even if they are well made instruments with a great tone.
To find out more about specific makes and models, we would encourage you to browse our Top Makes section or see our list of the most common piano makes in the UK which includes an approximate rating score for each make.
You can also visit our Youtube channel where you will find hundreds of videos on top makes of pianos and more.
The Tone
Each piano has its own, unique tone. Good older pianos generally sound more mellow and modern ones more crisp, though there are many exceptions. Classical musicians tend to prefer a mellow tone while jazz musicians opt for a ‘cleaner’ modern sound.
Most of the time, it really comes down to personal taste; our recommendation is that you try a good variety of different pianos before making a decision. If you are not confident to go about this on your own, ask a good piano teacher or tuner to go with you when you shop.
The Touch
Touch refers to the smoothness, responsiveness and weight of the action, and is therefore, to an extent, a matter of personal preference.
However, if you are serious about learning to play the piano to a high standard, you may want to consider the piano’s touch weight; a piano with too heavy a touch can be difficult to play expressively. On the other hand, too light a touch is not recommended for serious beginners as they will not develop sufficient finger strength.
As a general rule, new pianos tend to be on the heavy side while some older ones (e.g. Blüthner patent action grands) have deliberately light touch.
Leg room
This is particularly relevant for tall players. Leg room on pianos varies from 60 to 70cm. Grands and small modern uprights are usually about 62cm from the floor to the under side of the keyboard. With grands, this can be increased by about 3cm by using glass caster cups; however, the angle of the pedals may then need adapting as these are raised up too. A Yamaha U3 upright has leg room of 62cm whereas a German Steingraeber 118 has 70cm and an older Bluthner 65cm. A small modern Zender has only 58.5cm!
Bottom line
We hope you have found this guide useful, and if you have any questions, please get in touch via our contact page and we will do our best to help.
