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All pianos need adjustments and servicing - even new ones. Adjustments are common and necessary during the life of every piano. When we look to buy an older piano (1900-1950), we look for major problems. If we find some, we avoid buying the piano unless it has a major name on it like: Steinway, Baldwin, Mason and Hamlin, Yamaha, Kawai, etc. If the piano is newer the same applies, however many American names are being used on pianos that are manufactured overseas and these pianos will not have the same resell value - buyer beware.
Here are a few important things to verify when purchasing a used piano:
- Look at the hammers and tuning pins.
- Look at the bridge
- Listen to each note.
Most used pianos need work. How much work depends largely on the condition of the hammers. To the extent the hammers show wear, the pianos action will need service work.
These hammers indicate that the action is ready for servicing.
These hammers are not worn as badly, but are misaligned.
Look at the tuning pins and check the distance between the wire raps and the plate (or exposed wooden pin block in some cases). If some pins are driven in as in this picture, this indicates that the pin block is cracked or otherwise not holding the pins.
Driving the pins into the block like this is a last resort type of fix. This piano will be in need of restringing and a new pin block once the pin no longer holds the tension.
Look at the bridges and inspect the bridge pins. The treble part of the bride can be seen by looking down from above the hammers in a vertical. The bass bridge can only be seen by taking off the lower kick plate (easily taken off by pushing a spring clip or moving a stop piece).If they are cracked and the tone is fuzzy, the piano is probably not worth buying.
The correct way to fix this problem involves removing the strings (which are probably old and should be replaced) and replacing the wood bridge and pins. This cost could be significant and would require the buyer to commit themselves to the piano long term.
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