How to Buy a Piano

Five Things to Look for in a

New or Used Piano

1. A Three-dimensional plate with "I" beam design.

The plate is a cast iron frame over which strings or wires are stretched. You can see the plate by lifting the top of a grand or upright and looking inside. The plate is required to support up to 39,000 pounds of tension. The thinner and flatter it is, the less strength it has. It is the same principal as the steel beams that support bridges. The same amount of steel, if not fashioned into the correct angles, would not support the weight of the bridge.

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2. High-quality, close-grained spruce soundboard.

The soundboard is a thin panel of wood slightly arched that amplifies the vibrations of the string. Look at the back of uprights or under the bottom of grands where you can see the whole soundboard. The sound waves generated by the vibrating string travel along the close straight grains of the spruce. The broader the grain, the less sound that will be carried and the more susceptible the board is to changes in humidity. You will be able to recognize spruce by its distinctive grain. The spruce grain runs in straight parallel lines at a 45-degree angle. If it's not spruce, it's a budget piano. If it is broad-grained spruce (less than 8 grains per inch) it will be unstable in climates where the humidity changes and will not properly amplify the high notes. The tighter the grain, the better the piano.

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3. Ribs mitered into the case.

The ribs are the strips of wood running diagonally across the back of an upright or bottom of a grand at a right angle to the grain of the spruce in the soundboard. The soundboard has a slight "crown" similar to the top of a violin or cello. This crown gives the board its amplification characteristics. The ribs support the crown. If the ribs are mitered into the case they will support the crown better than if they stop an inch short. Most pianos have 10 to 12 ribs and 20 to 24 rib ends. It takes a tremendous amount of labor to miter 24 rib ends into the case. Therefore, it is one of the first corners a manufacturer will cut in an attempt to save manufacturing costs.

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4. Weighted and balanced keys

The 88 keys are actually levers the player depresses to engage the action assembly which moves the hammer forward. The hammer then strikes the string, which vibrates, causing the soundboard to resonate. To see the entire key, you will have to remove the music desk and fallboard (key cover) of an upright or the fallboard of a grand. (Don't attempt to do this yourself - ask a piano salesperson or technician for help.) The black and white keys are different lengths and all 88 hammers are a different size and weight. Therefore, different pressure is required on each key to produce the same volume. By strategically placing lead weights in each key, the difference in response from one key to another can be eliminated. This is an expensive process, but results in a much finer instrument.

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5. Reinforced Hammers.

A hammer consists of a hard wood mallet surrounded by felt shaped like a tear drop. To see the hammers in an upright piano, lift the top and look in. It will be necessary to pull the action out of the grand piano to see the hammer. This is a simple procedure, but don't try this yourself - please ask a piano salesperson or technician for help. The size of the hammer is different for each key, with the largest hammer on the far left (when you are seated at the piano). The hammers get gradually smaller with the smallest hammer being the farthest to the right. The hammers are sized in relation to the string they strike. When the hammer strikes the string, its top, or striking point, is compressed slightly and its sides expand. Hammer fasteners are small steel cotter pins that are driven through the hammer and spread apart, thus reducing this expansion and causing more energy to get to the string. All of the finest pianos have reinforced hammers. You can easily see hammer fasteners in any piano. Their absence indicates the manufacturer cut corners in an attempt to reduce costs.

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