I didn't mention I'm looking to replace my acoustic piano at the same time as buy a digital. But it seems to be easier to make rice pudding out of sand than find an attractive piano.

Another losing situation today. The person is advertising on Craigslist a Kawai piano, excellent condition, only used by children for Classical piano lessons. Went to see it...it's not in the house, it's been in the garage collecting dust for three years under a pile of garden tools, the mechanism on the left side where the hammers split is defective, the upper two octaves are completely out of tune, and....it's full of scratches.

That's basically been my experience so far. Owners of used pianos for sale are living in Dreamland when it comes to advertising their piano. They see their piano as they WANT to see it....not as it actually is...they definitely don't follow the "truth in advertising" statute.

Brand new, good-sounding Yamaha's and Kawai's start at about $7-$8k...too rich for my blood.

Anyone have any suggestions, or comments, about the best way to go about finding/buying a used console acoustic piano?

Mark there are some rules to follow if you are buying a used piano privately.

1-You go see the piano to see if it’s what you want.
2-Have a piano technician check the piano before buying. One customer refinished the piano he bought. I told him the piano needed $575 to bring the piano in acceptable playing condition. Another piano would not hold its tuning; major repair.

If you a looking for a bargain you must have knowledge. In the past I never bought a used car without taking it to a trusted mechanic first.

John C.

Mark,
Through the years I have owned grand pianos and uprights. I got tired of constantly spending money on them and sold them - all at a great loss. In today's world I would not buy another acoustic piano. My reasons - good ones are expensive and require constant tuning which today is not cheap. Comes time to sell them and the market for them is very slim and the value of the piano drops drastically. My last acoustic piano was donated to a church after three years of it not being sold - even though it was in very good condition.

I would look at a really good 88 key electric piano. Roland makes some really nice sounding ones. Just my 2 Cents worth.

Deane

John is absolutely right on point - If you really must have a piano, have it checked out by someone with a great deal of technical experience along those lines. Same holds true with boats - I had mine checked out by an accredited marina surveyor - saved me $12,000 on the purchase price.

Gary

Hi Mark, I see you are in the USA, like me, but I have learned a lot about pianos from this UK you tube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGm8Vj99T_E&t=474s.

They have an openly published price list, so you can get some idea (£1=$1.30); more importantly you can get a better appreciation of what's involved in maintaining and restoring pianos. Definitely have the piano checked over by a technician you can trust.

I wish I could find a US equivalent of this guy, Marcus, from Roberts Pianos.

One of our deceased forum members, Joe Ayala, had a beautiful, Yamaha Baby Grand when he passed. I will contact his widow to see what became of the piano. Joe told me that he had it serviced every year, tuned, cleaned, etc and had this done by a local service technician. He said it was a necessity with all pianos and was somewhat expensive for this service.

When I hear something, I will let you know,

Gary

Rest in Peace Joe Ayala miss you buddy!
here's a video of Joe playing when we were in Louisiana at the KB jam
with Don Mason..clik & download to your PC

https://app.box.com/s/urbm3zkicnopipwqe0vdwyki1wtaf9e4

My experience is that acoustic pianos hold their Value, especially Yamahas, Kawi, Baldwins and Bosendorfer, and Steinway. Most who bought quality pianos ten or more years ago are able to get more than they sold them for.

A fine pianist rarely plays an electric piano. His choice is an acoustic piano -- the touch and sound are not the same. The same can be said with electric and acoustic guitars. My Dad was a Concert piano player – my late wife studied piano at the School of performing arts (FAME) neither would play my keyboard.

My opinion, John C.

There are so many different materials that go into a piano - different types of wood for the 'body', different metals for the soundboard, strings,etc., wool felt for the hammers, etc. Etc., so it obviously makes sense that maintenance should be a major consideration ... also, depending upon the climate in which you live, you may need a dedicated humidifier/dehumidifier just for the piano ...
Sometimes the purchase price of an item is just a down payment ...

Somewhere I read that Yamaha has special, piano tuning rooms that are climate controlled to match the environment where the piano will be shipped to.

Gary

Stay away from cheaper solutions, in general in the inder €5000 pricerange you are better off with a high end dp then an acoustic

And ni, this is not my idea, since i dont own an acoustic nor never have, but it comes from many piano teachers at a piano forum...

The Kawai dp have a near oerfect touch and come with a near perfect grand and uprifht sound... and they are allway in tume

I have to say I agree with most of what Deane said. If you were a youngster preparing for to be a classical concert master then an acoustic piano is nesesary. But a good digital is perfectly fine for practice purposes.

Check out what Richard Clyderman has to say about digital pianos:

https://youtu.be/Kg9vdlwXzRM

Good advice already given. If your going Acoustic you have to go fairly expensive to retain any value. And don't forget at least two tunings (maybe 4 the first year ) a year.

I had a 54" Kawai Studio I bought ne from Altenberg in Elizabeth but had to sell whne we moved. Loved it and the price was goo for a MOTR piano. Luckily sold it to Union College for their stage. Didn't lose too much
Right now I prefectly happy with my digital Roland. Lots of tweaks you can do to it and no tunings.
good Luck

My experience I worked for the Steinway dealer in Providence, RI for a few years right after college. We sold a number of brands, every piano that was delivered to the store had a different sound and feel. I remained friends with the owners of the store and the piano technician. Many years after I left the company and could afford to buy a grand piano, I told my friends at the store keep your ears opened for a new 5 foot 10 inch Samick grand call me when one comes in that you feel is one of the better ones you’ve played and heard. One day I got the call and bought the Samick based on the opinion of the piano tech at the store. He was right on I knew soon after playing it. I played it for 6 years and got tired of having the tech to my home 2 to 3 times per year for tuning, regulating of the action and hammer adjustment. I sold it for what I paid for the piano after owning a Clavinova for a couple of years I found the Samick had to be sold.

Fast forward to 2017, Bill Lewis talked highly about the FP90, I bought one and found it to be a great piano. There’s an app called Piano Designer that can be installed on the iPhone and iPad controls many things on the FP90. There’s simulations of what a piano would sound like if a well known piano technician worked on the FP90 with not only A=440 tuning but A=442, tunings for home, for concert stage, for jazz, European piano, the list goes on. It’s pretty nifty software the FP90 is a joy to play.

montunoman, that Richard Clayderman video is one of the reasons I checked out the Korg G1 Air. It is an awesome piano, well worth looking at, if you want a digital at home (it's not portable).

One day you can play a Steinway, one day a Bosendorfer, the next a Yamaha.

I wanted to go back to playing classical music at home, and that's what I am working on (with video lessons from Piano Career Academy).

If you put 10 acoustic pianos together – the same make and model, made the same year at the same factory, they do not same the same, nor could can they be tuned with the same settings. Pianos have their own personality. Pianos are affected by weather, humidity. They need to be regulated, and tuned.

Price? There are many people who bought a piano 20 years ago and have no intention of trading up. If they were to sell the piano they would get more than they paid for it. My wife had her Steinway grand piano for 35 years, when she passed away it was given to her daughter. How much has it cost me to trade to the next fantastic keyboard over the last 20 years? Let’s not go there

A second-generation piano tuner, John C.

Gary, I owned a music store/school, the second biggest in Long Island, N.Y. for 17 years. Yamaha made the best of everything when it came to detail. So I would not doubt what you said in your post.