Buying a new piano can be an overwhelming experience. With so many brands, styles and features, where do you start? Well, at the beginning:

Ability and Level
Always buy a piano that is better than your ability; that way it keeps you practicing and keeps you wanting to play it.  This is very important, as you will not want to play a piano once you have 'outgrown' it and then your progess is hindered.  In general, a more expensive piano will hold its value better than a cheaper instrument.

Space
Upright pianos need about a 5 feet wide x 5 feet deep area (including space for the pianist and stool)

Grand pianos need a space about 5 feet wide. The length required will range from
4 1/2 to 9 1/2 feet, depending on the model, plus another 2 feet for the pianist and stool.

Make sure the piano can be placed away from sources of heat and cold like radiators, heating vents, air conditioners, direct sunlight and fireplaces. So long as your piano doesn't back directly onto a radiator then this will not be a problem as all modern pianos are virtually tropicalised.  When considering sunlight, always remember that all pianos will fade except black.

Price
Buy the tallest upright or the longest grand that you can afford. The longer the strings and the bigger the soundboard, the better the tone and the more you will want to play it.

Grand or Upright?
Space, money and proficiency will be the deciding factors here. Grand pianos are generally superior instruments to uprights. The action of a grand piano allows for faster repetition of notes, and for better, more subtle control of expression and tone than upright pianos. The exception to this rule is the "Baby grand". Any grand piano under 5 feet long should be avoided as a serious instrument. A full sized upright will sound better, at a cheaper cost.

Which Brands Are Best?
Today's piano market is flooded with thousands of pianos coming from countries like the U.S., Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, China and Russia. With so many models and price points offering different features for different segments of the public, it is impossible to generalise the quality of one brand over another. The best thing to do is try as many pianos as you can, and decide for yourselves, or if you feel unqualified to judge, ask a member of staff for some advice.

Buying A Used Piano

If there is only one piece of advice we can give you, it is this:
Have a qualified and experienced technician inspect a used piano before you decide to purchase it!
You wouldn't buy a used car without having a mechanic look under the bonnet, would you?

Pianos age the way houses or people do. When they are 80, 90 or 100 years old they always need a great deal of work, the cost of which will exceed the price of many new or newer entry level pianos: if a piano is going to be enjoyed inexpensively, then a newer instrument is a better candidate.  If money is still a problem, then consider trying a digital piano.

Most people buying old pianos focus primarily on the sound, forgetting all about the complex mechanical system controlled by the eighty-eight keys. This mechanism wears out and replacement components are expensive. The older the piano, the more probable it is that the machine is very worn, resulting in "touch" that is noisy and very inconsistent.

Any piano buying decision is a blend of three components: a good long-term musical instrument, a piece of furniture you like or can accept, and an amount of money you are comfortable with spending. You may give up some of one component to get more of another, but remember a piano is something you must live with for a long time; it is important to be comfortable with it musically, financially, and cosmetically.

Most people pay too much for old pianos; the as-is value of old pianos is actually quite low. Unfortunately however, a naive buyer may see new pianos for £3,000 and think an old piano for £800 is a bargain. In reality they will probably pay £600 too much, particularly if it requires thousands of pounds worth of work.

Do not think that pianos age like violins and guitars. Unlike violins and guitars, the strings in a piano create literally tons of stress which takes its toll on soundboards, bridges, and pin-blocks, aging a piano far more quickly than other strung instruments. Also, there is nothing between your fingers and the strings of a violin or guitar, but when you play a piano, you express yourself through a very complicated machine which like any machine wears out as it is used.

Many parents think any old piano will do for their children starting out. If these parents knew as much about pianos as they do bicycles they would realize that their children were about to go on a bike with flat tires, a bent frame, and twisted wheels.

If you find an older piano, which is in fact in good condition for its age, bear in mind that even if you have been very lucky and found an instrument in excellent condition, it would cost at least £400-£700 to put it in a similar condition to one you'll find at a reputable dealer or a piano technician's collection. Unfortunately most older pianos require far more expensive repair.

If a piano passes a common sense test - i.e: the price is right and it does not seem to have been abused - then you might leave a deposit subject to approval by a technician.

Many advertisements in the paper which appear to be private people selling pianos are really dealers, and they are usually selling dubious pianos with inadequate work performed. Remember they've already deceived you once with a misleading ad. Some ads are from technicians who independently rebuild or refurbish pianos at their own private workshop. Since they don't have the pressures of operating costs and overhead like a retail store does, their prices can be very competitive compared to dealers. The amount of actual "rebuilding" and replacement with new parts, however, can vary considerably from one technician to another, or one piano to another. Once again, if you like the piano's look, sound and feel, bring a technician to inspect its structural and mechanical condition before you decide to buy it.

If you fall in love with the cabinet charm and craftsmanship of an older piano, then it is something like falling in love with a beautiful turn-of-the-century home. The cost of restoration is certainly worthwhile, but it will make the home (piano) far more expensive than most new or newer homes (pianos). It is true that many old pianos were wonderfully made, and happily their technology has not evolved in a hundred years, so components are still readily available, and in the hands of a rebuilder an old piano can be made new again.

The Difference
Digital pianos are electronic instruments that reproduce piano sounds. Unlike acoustic pianos, they have no hammers, no strings and no soundboard to produce the sound you hear. Instead, they have electronic sound chips and speakers and 'replay' the sound of a recorded piano.

Digital Advantages
Digital pianos usually have an array of features that make them an attractive alternative to an acoustic piano, such as:

• Different types of piano sounds 
• Easier to transport
• Other keyboard sounds like harpsichord, organ, etc.
• Other instrument sounds like strings, flute, percussion etc.
• Built-in rhythm capabilities to accompany your playing
• The ability to record your performance
• The ability to interact with other electronic music devices (MIDI)
• Digital Pianos Vs Acoustic PianosNever a need for tuning
• Headphones to practice in private

Digital Disadvantages
The problem with digital pianos is that they can't really duplicate the tone and touch of a real piano. Even with today's sampling technology individual notes may be quite accurately reproduced, but the tone of notes sounding together, as in an acoustic piano - with complex harmonics mixing and resonating against a flexible wooden soundboard - cannot be matched. As a result, most music sounds rather sterile played on a digital piano.

Digital pianos don't feel like real pianos. "Touch Sensitivity" and "Weighted Action" is not the same thing as the sophisticated inner mechanism, or "action", of an acoustic piano. Digital pianos merely simulate the touch of pianos. They don't provide the same feedback or responsiveness to your playing, so your performance range is limited.

If you are considering buying a piano for your child, consider this: many piano teachers will not teach students who have reached a certain level on anything other than an acoustic piano. Digital pianos are counter-productive when it comes to technique and dynamic performance. These skills cannot be practised on a digital keyboard and then applied to a real piano action. It's not the same thing. A piano also represents a stronger commitment to a student, as opposed to a digital keyboard that may represent the same thing to a child as a computer, an electronic game-station or a CD player.

Something else to consider is that an acoustic piano will hold its value far better than a digital. An acoustic piano can last 100 years, while a digital may be obsolete in 5 years and might be hard to even give away by then.

Hybrid Digital/Acoustic Pianos
There are hybrid digital/acoustic pianos on the market, like the Kawai Anytime and Yamaha Disklavier that combine the features of both. These are regular acoustic pianos with real piano actions that can be disconnected with the digital sound on demand. Further, they are MIDI capable. These pianos are quite expensive and out of the price range of most people. If, however, you can afford one, these pianos are the ultimate in a total piano experience. They are the new generation of pianos: they can record and play back your perfomance with deadly accuracy; can play a wide selection of pre-recorded music of all styles; can be used in conjunction with piano instruction software; and can be used as a MIDI controller to trigger other electronic tone generating devices like samplers, synthesizers, drum machines or anything with a MIDI interface.

Bottom Line
If you are looking for a keyboard that can be easily transported, or connected to a sound system, or one that can be used to record music using computer software, or has the ability to use headphones for privacy, then a digital piano is the way to go. Otherwise, think very carefully before you decide to buy a digital in place of an acoustic instrument

Selling Your Piano

Thinking of upgrading your piano? Is it time to donwsize or change to a digital piano? Or have your children stopped playing and you just want to sell you piano?

We are interested in purchasing good quality upright and grand pianos and welcome part exchanges.  We are particularly interested in pianos manufactured in the last 40 years.  We may also consider older instruments made by Steinway, Bechstein, Bluthner, and Bosendorfer.

If you are looking to sell your piano, we will ask you for the make and model, the serial number/age, the finish of the casework, and the condition of the piano and casework. It is also helpful to know whether it has been regularly tuned and maintained, and if there is any fading or damage to the casework, as this may affect the value quite considerably.

If we are interested in purchasing or part exchanging your piano, we will arrange to view it to confirm all the details mentioned on the phone, and then offer a price. If you would like to speak to someone regarding selling your piano, or part exchanging for a new one, please call us on 01932 866577.

If your piano is older than 40 years old, we are less likely to be interested in purchasing it. However, we do offer a disposal service alongside our piano removals.  Please call us on the number above for more information.

www.sheargoldpianos.co.uk