As your piano tuner Wilmington DE, I am often asked if it’s important to purchase a quality piano even if it’s for a beginning student. Essentially, the question is whether a cheap piano is just as good as a more expensive piano. The answer is that there is an enormous variation in the quality of pianos. The answer is complex enough that the subject will be covered in the next few blog articles.
Overall, the big picture is that it is important that a piano function well, in order to give the piano player a satisfying experience of the music that they are creating. There are numerous pianos on the market that function well, but there are also instruments on the market that simply look as if they are well made pianos. Many pianos are poorly made and quickly fail to function properly. If a parent of a piano student is unaware of the situation, they may conclude that their child is simply devoid of talent or interest, when in fact no one could play these instruments successfully. Since they are made very cynically, most often the student will give up lessons and the instrument will sit never played in the living room for years, simply as an expensive piece of useless furniture.
There are several categories that will be discussed in the next few blogs. They include quality of materials, quality of workmanship, quality of tone, sensitivity of touch, and overall design.
The quality of materials varies enormously between pianos. Cheap pianos will often advertise that they have quality German felt piano hammers, but what they do not say is they use cheap felt in the key bushings and action center bushings. This can result in very expensive repairs within only a few years. These piano repairs can cost more than the savings in purchasing the inexpensive piano. Most people don’t realize that a used quality piano should need less repairs than a new cheap piano.
There are other materials that are crucial to the function of a piano, and those will be discussed in the next blog article. If you have questions on the purchase of a piano, or if you need a piano tuning or piano repairs, please contact us, your piano tuning Wilmington, DE expert. We are always happy to help with your purchase of a piano. We also provide piano services in the Philadelphia, Eastern Shore MD and Southern New Jersey areas.
