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1)
Why would anyone give their piano away?
I’m really not sure, but I
suppose one might give away a piano that is no longer needed if it has
minimal monetary value, or as a philanthropic act. If the piano is not
worth much because it needs a lot of work, and the owner doesn’t want to
spend the money to have the work done, the owner might feel that the
only way to get rid of the piano is to give it away – and let the new
owner pay for the moving and the repair.
Larry Fine
2)
If a piano technician says a piano is not tunable, does that mean the
piano should be disposed of?
Not necessarily. It depends
on why the piano is not tunable, how much it would cost to fix it, and
how much the piano is worth. Sometimes the tuning pins can be tightened
at minimal expense. In other cases, the piano needs to be restrung with
larger tuning pins, or the pinblock needs to be replaced, possibly
costing thousands of dollars.
Larry Fine
3)
If the soundboard is cracked, does that mean the piano is junk?
No. Soundboards have a
tendency to dry out, shrink, and crack as they age, especially in
environments that have pronounced seasonal variations in humidity. The
shrinkage results in a loss of crown, or curvature, from the soundboard,
which can be detrimental to the tone. But the cracks themselves are
usually harmless unless they are accompanied by buzzing sounds or other
problems.
Larry Fine
4)
What is the soundboard?
The soundboard is a large,
thin sheet of wood, usually quarter-sawn spruce, that turns the
vibrations of the strings into sound that we can hear by amplifying the
vibrations and broadcasting them through the air.
Larry Fine
5)
Can all pianos be saved from the landfill?
No. Some are too far gone to
be worth saving.
Larry Fine
6)
Am I better off to buy a cheap piano instead of getting one for free?
It depends on your needs and
on the relative merits of the new and old pianos you are considering.
There aren’t any generalizations that can be made.
Larry Fine
7)
Would it be out of line to ask that a piano technician go check out
the piano even though the piano is free?
Not only is it not out
of line, it is imperative that you do so. “Free” pianos are not really
free. You have to pay to move them, to tune and repair them, and if
they don’t work out, possibly to have them taken to the dump. They can
be a great deal . . . or they can turn out to be very expensive. You
can avoid much trouble and unpleasant surprises by having the piano
professionally inspected before agreeing to take it.
Larry Fine
8)
Would it be out of line to ask to contact the technician who has been
servicing the piano and ask questions about the piano’s condition &
service history?
That’s a great idea. Just be
aware that it’s possible the technician may feel some kind of loyalty to
the current owner and may not want to tell you the complete truth.
Nevertheless, the technician is not likely to out-and-out lie to you,
especially if you let him or her know you will be calling them to
service the piano in the future!
Larry Fine
9)
If I do not have the time or money to have a piano checked out by a
piano technician. Are there any quick and simple things I could check
on the piano to minimize the risk of getting a piano that is junk?
You probably shouldn’t take
the piano until you have the time and money to do it right, and there
aren’t many quick and simple things to look for. However, here are a
few: A water line inside the bottom of a vertical piano (the piano was
in a flood); sawdust under a piano (termites); numerous rusty or broken
strings, or many new, replaced strings amid broken and missing ones (a
string-breakage problem); heavy rust in general; many notes that don’t
play (action worn out, parts breaking, glue joints coming apart); piano
is so far out of tune that individual notes each sound like several
notes are playing at once (piano may be untunable).
Larry Fine
10)
What does it cost to tune a piano?
It varies a lot by locale and
by the experience and reputation of the technician, but seems to be
somewhere between $100 and $200 in most cases. Note that this is just
for basic tuning, not including any repairs or adjustments that may also
be needed.
Larry Fine
11)
When do I need to tune my piano & how often should it be tuned?
It depends on the sensitivity
of your instrument to humidity changes, the use it gets, the variability
of your climate, on your own sensitivity to out-of-tuneness, and on your
budget. Most people find that one to three times per year is about
right. Those who play several hours a day or use the piano for
professional purposes may want to have it tuned more often. Concert
pianos are usually tuned, or the tuning touched up, before every
performance. It’s best not to have the piano tuned until climate
changes (such as turning the heat on or off in the house) have occurred
plus another couple of weeks for the piano to acclimate. Otherwise, the
careful tuning you paid for may be quickly undone. However, throughout
much of the central and northern United States, this situation is
difficult or impossible to avoid entirely, as the indoor humidity
changes are extreme and nearly constant. Controlling the humidity in
the house or near the piano can help a lot in this regard. That can be
done with whole-house humidification, a room humidifier, or a climate
control system installed in the piano by a technician.
Larry Fine
12)
What does RPT stand for?
Registered Piano Technician, a
membership category of the Piano Technicians Guild. A person with RPT
after his or her name has passed a series of examinations that test for
basic (not necessarily advanced) competency in piano tuning and
technical work, and in a general understanding of piano technology.
Larry Fine
13)
If the piano I am getting ‘needs work’ & I invest the money into the
piano, shouldn’t I be able to recoup the money if I sell the piano?
Unfortunately, it is not
always so. It depends on the nature and cost of the work and on the
value of the piano. The question to ask is whether the work to be done
increases the value of the piano, and if so, by how much. Basic
maintenance work like tuning and action regulation will not usually
increase the value of the piano, whereas major work like restringing or
replacing the soundboard will. (Of course, you should have the basic
maintenance work done anyway or else the piano may be unpleasant to play
and may deteriorate.) You should also ask about the value of a new
piano of the same brand or of a brand similar in quality, stature, or
reputation. That’s because the value of a used piano will generally be
tied to, and limited by, the cost of a comparable new one. You will
usually recoup the cost of any good work you do on a piano like a
Steinway because of its high value (both new and used), but for many
other brands, your ability to recoup your expenses will be limited.
That’s one reason why, except for sentimental or historical reasons,
most older pianos are not completely restored.
Larry Fine
14)
If the piano looks good, but a couple of keys don’t work, is that a big
deal?
If the problem just involves
fixing or replacing a few action parts or strings, that’s usually not a
big deal. However, if many keys don’t work, there could be wholesale
destruction or deterioration of parts and more could break after you
start using the piano. Better to have a technician advise you about
this before taking the piano.
Larry Fine
15)
If I can play the piano & it sounds ok, just out of tune, is
that enough to say it is a decent piano for free?
No. Pianos can have serious problems
that are not obvious just from playing.Larry Fine
16)
I am just looking for a piano for my kids to play with, should I be
concerned about the condition & tuning and everything?
If you would like your kids to
develop a good musical ear and not get frustrated by notes that don’t
work or sound right, then you should be concerned with the condition of
the piano. It’s possible to be concerned without being overly fussy.
Larry Fine
17)
I want to give away my piano on Piano Adoption but I want to insure I am
not giving away a piano that is junk, what should I do?
Then you should have the piano
inspected by a piano technician before offering it to others. The
technician can advise you as to the condition of the piano and for whom
it might be appropriate. You can pass that information along to
prospective takers.
Larry Fine
18)
If my piano is ‘junk’, what should I do with it?
First determine if it might be
appropriate for a piano restorer or a beginning technician who needs a
piano on which to practice repairs. If not, and it really needs to be
discarded, then call piano movers or contractors who clean out
basements, attics, and the like, and get estimates of how much it would
cost to remove the piano and take it to the dump or landfill. Note that
in addition to the cost of hauling the piano away, the landfill may also
charge a fee based on weight or volume.
Larry Fine
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