Piano Buying Guide| Tickle the ivories for the first time, encourage a budding Mozart, or add a fresh sound to your school or church ensemble with a piano. You'll find all types on Halfvalue, including upright pianos and grand pianos, to fill your life with the sound of music. |
Discover Types of Pianos |
| Before you choose between a small or large piano, an upright or a grand piano, consider where you'll keep it (e.g. your family room, an auditorium, a church) and how much you're willing to spend. These factors will help you set some parameters and narrow your focus. Upright pianos vs. grand pianos Upright or vertical pianos generally cost less than grand pianos and take up less space. The tallest upright pianos can reach 58 to 60 inches. Remember that it’s possible to get the same quality of tone with an upright piano as with the largest of grand pianos. In fact, a taller vertical piano will sometimes produce a better tone than certain baby grand pianos. Select an upright piano Upright pianos are differentiated based on their size. The taller the upright piano, the greater the action (i.e., the number of moving parts) the piano provides. An upright piano has around 5,000 to 6,000 moving parts, whereas a grand piano has an average of 10,000. Because of this distinction and other construction techniques, grand pianos are often found in the homes and studios of more serious piano players. Play in style with a grand piano Grand pianos come in many different shapes and they run in size anywhere from 4 feet 6 inches to more than 9 feet long. - Baby grand pianos: The term baby grand generally refers to any grand piano smaller than 6 feet.
- Concert grand pianos: A concert grand piano refers to the largest of grand pianos (9 feet and above).
The majority of grand pianos today have a conventional wing shape, with a curved side on the right and a flat side on the left. The main difference between shorter and longer grand pianos is the quality of the bass tones, the quantity of sound it can produce, and the overall quality of sound. Experiment with digital pianos Digital pianos offer a new twist on traditional acoustic pianos. Digital pianos include sound chips and speakers to recreate piano sounds and have some unique advantages, like being able to make other keyboard sounds, such as the organ or harpsichord, or background music. They also can provide the ability to record your performance. Major brands of digital pianos include: Alesis, Casio, Daewoo, Kurzweil, Roland, Suzuki, Technics, and Yamaha. Enjoy player pianos If you’d like the beautiful sounds of the piano drifting through your home whenever you desire, perhaps a player piano might be the way to go. The most commonly found older player pianos are pneumatic, meaning they are powered by vacuum (via foot pedals or electric motors), and contain a mechanism controlled by a paper music roll. Newer models use magnetic tape to record and play back the music. |
Pick a Piano Maker |
It’s a little-known fact that pianos made in different countries have entirely different sounds based on distinct variations in tone quality and touch. The reason for this is primarily due to the difference in materials, design, and construction techniques used. Following is a quick summary of U.S.-made pianos, Asian-made pianos, and European-made pianos, as well as their most notable brands. American-made pianos In general, pianos made in the U.S. are known for being of high-quality design and construction, and therefore tend to be more expensive than most imports. - Steinway pianos: Steinway pianos are considered to be the “model” piano by most pianists. Best known for their grand pianos, Steinway pianos are on the high end, in terms of both price and quality.
- Baldwin pianos: High-quality Baldwin pianos also produce other lines of pianos under the Chickering piano and Wurlitzer piano brand names.
- Mason & Hamlin pianos:—Mason & Hamlin pianos are high-quality, and extremely limited in production.
Other well-known American brands include Hobart M. Cable pianos and Winter & Co. pianos. Asian-made pianos Asian pianos are highly regarded today. The two most popular Asian brands are from Japan. - Yamaha pianos: Yamaha manufactures more than 200,000 pianos a year.
- Kawai pianos: Kawai pioneered the use of plastic parts in their pianos.
Other leading Asian brands include: Pearl River, Samick, Young Chang, Nordiska, Daewoo, and Hyundai. European-made pianos While German- and Austrian-made pianos are considered some of the world’s finest, the Czech Republic, France, and the U.K. also produce a fine range of pianos. - Germany/Austria: Bechstein pianos, Bosendorfer pianos, Grotrian pianos, Hamburg Steinway pianos, Sauter pianos, Seiler pianos, Feurich pianos, Forster pianos, Bluthner pianos, Ibach pianos, and Schimmel pianos
- Czech Republic: Petrof pianos, Scholze pianos, Bohemia pianos, and Riegler-Kloss pianos.
- France: Pleyel pianos, Gaveau pianos, Rameau pianos, Erard pianos.
- UK: Kemble pianos, Chappell pianos, Collard & Collard pianos, Knight pianos, Bentley pianos, Welmar pianos, Whelpdale pianos, Marshal & Rose pianos, Broadwood pianos, and Woodchester pianos.
|
Evaluate Pianos |
| Like snowflakes, no two pianos are exactly alike. Before embarking on your piano-buying adventure, be sure to study up on these musical aspects of pianos and you’ll be well on your way to finding the piano of your dreams. Piano tone How the piano sounds is a function of the overall quality of the piano’s construction and how well the piano components work together. However, the pleasantness of the piano tone can be a very subjective decision—meaning every person has a different ear for what sounds good or right. To some people, a deep, loud tone sounds best. Others prefer a clean, light tone and others look for a warm, round sound. Consider where you’ll be playing the piano and that might help you decide the tone that’s right for you. In the end, just remember that if it’s pleasing to your ears, offering good mid-tones and a strong balance of tones in the higher and lower registers, then it’s a good piano for you. The tone should be well-balanced throughout the piano’s entire range, so try to avoid a piano that has a metallic or sharp-edged sound to it. Also remember that every brand of piano has its own unique sound. A Steinway piano sounds different from a Baldwin piano, a Yamaha piano sounds different from a Kawai piano, and so on. Piano tuning stability and durability The average life expectancy of a piano is around 30 years. Keep in mind, however, that no matter what brand of piano you purchase—from Steinway pianos to Yamaha pianos—and no matter how much you pay for it, no piano will stay in tune forever. Most good-quality pianos have greater tuning stability—the length of time the piano can go between tunings. But the more the piano is played, the more often it will need to be tuned. If your child or your students are practicing more than two to three hours a day on the piano, expect that more tuning will be required. Be sure to ask the seller about the piano’s tuning history. Reputable piano tuners often leave records inside the piano or in the piano bench. Piano touch How responsive are the piano keys? When you touch down on them, do they deliver an even and comfortable response? Be sure to avoid sticky or loose piano keys. Remember that the touch of a piano can affect the tonal output. Piano finish Often times, it’s the “look” of the piano that really attracts buyers to a certain model or brand. The overall look is based on the piano’s unique finish and styling. Piano cases are made or finished in either wood or wood-grained finishes (also known as clear) or opaque finishes. - Clear piano finishes: Clear finishes, in which you can see the type of wood and wood grain through the finish, include mahogany and walnut (the most common), as well as oak, fruitwood, rosewood, pecan, or pine.
- Opaque piano finishes: Opaque piano finishes seen most often are ebony, white, and ivory. You can also find opaque finishes in just about any color, however—think Liberace.
Finishing techniques include open pore and closed pore. Closed-pore finishes leave a smooth, flat finish, and are considered a nicer-quality finish overall. |
Find a Piano on Halfvalue |
Once you know what type of piano you want, go to the Musical Instruments portal, click keyboard, piano and start searching for item listings on Halfvalue.- Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Acoustic, Digital, Parts, Accessories, Other Pianos, and more. As you dig deeper into the site, you'll also be able to narrow down your choice by brand.
- Keyword search: Search Halfvalue listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a Steinway-brand piano, type "Steinway" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit Halfvalue's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.
If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping Halfvalue Stores. |
Buy a Piano With Confidence |
| Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how Halfvalue and PayPal protect you. Know your purchase Carefully read the details in item listings. - Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.
- Always make sure to complete your transaction on Halfvalue (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of Halfvalue are not covered by Halfvalue protection programs.
- Never pay for your Halfvalue item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.
Know your seller Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction. - What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?
- What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?
- Most top Halfvalue sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?
|
|
| Where Next? Take a look at our Piano recommendations Sponsored Links:
|
|
|
lowest price in Textbooks, 
Books, Music, DVDs & more
shopping cart
my account 
log in 
Guide & Info 
