Who can you trust?

Released: 11/10/2009 12:26:27 PM    Source: Singapore Piano Shop

Certainly everyone you ask for advice will have his or her own personal biases. Someone who deals exclusively in new instruments will often encourage you to buy new, whereas those who deal in used or vintage instruments will probably have lots of tales to tell about problems with new pianos. Having sold both new and used myself, I can tell you from experience that there are advantages and disadvantages to each that have to be carefully weighed. Some piano teachers, for example, will not even consider pianos that are used, unaware that new pianos can and frequently do have as many problems as used ones. Also, teachers or pianists who have had a good experience with a piano they purchased many years ago may continue to recommend that same brand, unaware that the quality may have gone downhill in recent years.

To further compound your problems, piano dealers, tuners, technicians, teachers, and pianists frequently disagree with each other about which instruments are worthwhile and which are not. "Lemons" exist among pianos as well as automobiles, whether new or used; your best security is to know what you're getting, either by having it appraised by a competent professional, or by asking the help of someone knowledgeable about pianos whom you feel you can trust. But don't ask a whole bunch of people to help you make your piano buying decision, unless you want to spend time sorting it all out: you will ultimately find that everyone has their own idea about what is best.