Buying a used piano is hardly different from buying a used car. It could turn out in two ways – either it will bring you pleasure or cause you to spend money on several repairs.
It’s important to be well-informed before buying a piano because salesmen will always be salesmen.
In order to avoid buying the wrong used piano, it’s vital that you look for hidden problems, both internal and external.
Here are 3 internal signs of damage to a used piano:
1: Worn-out Hammers
Since each hammer is covered in felt, being worn out over time can affect the quality of timbre. Ensure that you look for deep grooves to the hammers that are caused by strings. Apart from this, check for whether any wood is exposed through the felt. Play the treble keys in particular and look for any harsh clumsy sound. No matter what, do not re-glue felt to the wood.
2: Soundboard Damage
The soundboard is a large piece of wood that is underneath a piano. It is also found behind the upright piano too. Cracks and warping tends to damage the soundboard and will alter the timbre of the piano. This causes weird buzzing and rattling sounds. Check to see whether any reinforcement ribs have come undone from the soundboard. Also, look to see if the bridge is uneven, cracked or unglued from the soundboard too.
3: Pinblock Health
The pinblock is a wooden piece near the bridge that holds the tuning pins for each string in place. If this gets damaged, then you might hear a buzzing sound or worse still, bad pitch. Listen for keys that produce two or more notes. Check for cracks or splinters or even loose tuning pins. Also, not unless the piano is a Steinway or a Baldwin, it makes no sense to replace a damaged pinblock.