Consulting with the teacher and technician: Resist the impulse to buy before doing your research. Don’t stop reading this page, either. I don’t want you to lose the impulse to buy, but I have heard too many nightmare stories - do your homework! Buy Mr. Fine’s book, talk with your teacher and your technician (both, because they have different perspectives and you need them both), and avoid the school sales, where you won’t have time even to think! - at least until you have done your homework. There is more than one dream piano out there, and that irresistible school or weekend sale might have your dream piano, but you might not find out until it’s too late if you were wrong!

Prepare to pay a service call fee when you have found a prospective piano. The technician will charge a basic fee commensurate to a service call fee, plus mileage if a distance is involved. If you do your homework first, you will probably keep the number of fees to a minimum. It is better than finding out too late you have made a mistake!

In some cases you may want further data than a minimum service call/consult will provide. This is especially true in the performance/high end arena, with older or rebuilt pianos, when you need an estimate with the service call, or if you are considering a Stanwood Precision TouchDesignTM action with the piano. Be prepared to pay a reasonable hourly rate for the consultation.

Are you considering a new piano? Chances are good that you will enter the doors of a retail business in your quest for a piano. If you are buying a new piano, you have a wide range of choices. “The Piano Book” is a much better resource than the salesperson here (remember, the salesperson is your friend, if you do your homework). You don’t always buy reliability and durable materials just because you buy new. But some manufacturers are pretty sure bets for reliablilty and performance. Once your homework is done, it is between you and the salesperson. You don’t want to pay too much, the sales person and the proprietor of the business wants to pay the bills, - and you might need the salesperson to persuade you to take the plunge - all these dynamics are at work - enjoy it!

If you are buying a more expensive piano be prepared for a wide range of standards. This is not necessarily bad - it is part of the uniqueness of the musical instruments. The most consistently built current production pianos in the world - Yamaha and Kawai - are medium-priced pianos, built with more predictability than the more expensive pianos. The higher end manufacturers often have manufacturing traditions which result in less consistent results. Their marketing departments are good at presenting this as a sales feature. This doesn’t mean that the expensive pianos are overpriced or a bad value; rather, you should be prepared to invest additional funds if you want a high-performance piano. With a certain famous expensive domestic brand this is pretty well known, although few new pianos receive the needed service after delivery. But even manufacturers which claim a history of careful design have production practices which defy those claims.

If you consider buying a used piano from a dealer, you should be extremely careful. Absolutely use a piano technician to inspect the piano, and be prepared not to purchase a piano which seemed OK. Just because a large selection of used pianos may be found at a piano dealership doesn’t mean that you are in any better position to buy a used piano. And remember that the salesperson is not an expert on pianos - only an expert on selling pianos. On the other hand, if you do your homework you may find what you are looking for there. Read all of this web page, and buy Larry Fine’s “The Piano Book” and read the chapter on buying a used piano.