I’ve always wanted to play the piano. My sister is a natural and can play beautifully even if she’s not touched one for months. I tried when I was a kid and was useless.

So now we have room I want to try again so I’ve looked at ebay and they’re incredibly cheap, 50 quid collected. And loads of them. Now difficulties in transporting them about the place excepted (I’m assuming a couple of strong blokes in a van can move one about), is there something I’m missing about getting one home and getting it into a position where it can be played?

I’m guessing there may be some tuning needs carrying out but do they go off or something, i.e. need all the strings replaced or something?

I’m assuming a couple of strong blokes in a van can move one about

What could possibly go wrong ?

”Money pit”

Buy one that is over strung and under damped and you won’t go wrong. Any you buy will need tuning after removal (about £80).

Strings and hammers can wear but are usually good for a century or so.

Don’t situate it too close to a radiator or the constant change in temperature will cause it to go out of tune more quickly.

Get one. The sound of a well played piano is one of the most fantastic man-made sounds, especially in such a beautiful piece of ‘furniture’.

You will probably murder it however; but they look nice and chopsticks is attainable.

They’re bloody expensive! Still, mrsZ has no grounds to complain about me spending money any more…

Moving an upright piano with 2 people is easy enough if you know what you’re doing and if all the doors/halls/corners have plenty of clearance. More than 4 or 5 steps in one go and you’ll need at least a third man. They can be awkward buggers, odd centre of gravity, so if they start to tilt you’re in trouble. There’s no telling which are the heavy ones until you pick them up, even some of the smallest ones have cast iron frames which weigh a ton. They’ll also need tuned after they’ve been in situ for a few weeks. Source: I moved pianos for a part-time job when I was a student.

thanks bn. You’re right. I learned to play fur elise pretty much by ear. It took me about 300 years but I guessed every single note for the first minute or so. Then my sister showed me how to work out what key to press by looking at the music. Which sounded like nonsense but now I’m all grown up it sounds a bit more sensible.

When I find one I like you’ll be strong bloke number 2, yes? Your Hardy to my Laurel?

if you know what you’re doing

It’ll be reet. 😉

I’m often tempted to get one myself. They can be picked up 😉 so cheaply. I used to be able to bang out lots of ragtime stuff in my teens pretty well but like the shithead I was, gave it up to smoke cigarettes and chase skirt while my mate across the road stuck at it and went on to be a pretty good conductor. There’s a room to be done up in the house, I’m putting a nice parquet floor down and a little upright plinky plonky would go nicely in there.

Ours will be ground floor, possibly dining room. I suspect the conservatory is a no-no. It could be rolled most of the way round the back, couple of small lifts after that to get it in the dining room.

Obviously I’ll need a killer suit from the 60’s, a trilby and to start smoking to carry it all off.

If you get an upright, look for an overstrung rather than a straightstrung – the latter goes out of tune quickly (within a couple of months). You’ll find the cheaper ones are straightstrung, if you want honkey tonk type playing or upto grade 2ish then the latter is fine but if you think you’ll get into it then go for the former.

My opinion etc… !

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpEVovCq2VI&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

And just to check, you get masses of sex once you can play reasonably well? or is that the guitar?

It’s a great idea. However you want to try it first as if it hasn’t been played for a long time the mechanism can need a complete overhaul and that is expensive. If you don’t do it then you could have a key that sticks, or needs to be pressed extra hard – both of which could just put you right off.

Similarly you probably need to get it tuned every year. Not expensive but just an extra bit of cash.

If you want to move it yourself then make a wee short trolley with wheels to shove underneath for rolling it around. It makes it much much easier to move if you reposition the trolley underneath depending on what you are doing.

Hire a piano trolley, or even better use a piano moving company. Two guys will do what 4 mortals can do and then one will tune it for you.

Will he finish off by playing something incredibly complicated, incredibly well while slurping away at a mug of tea my wife insist on making all tradesmen?

Only if it’s PG Tips

2retro4u
Marin County, Cali

I move pianos for a living. Wish I could help you, but I’m stuck here in California.

Here we are moving a 7 foot Steinway in about seven minutes. Uprights move quicker. Sorry about making it look so easy.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBaBtmp4C6k[/video]

We have a piano (upright)and I can’t say it has been a money pit.It gets tuned twice a year and lives in the dining room well away from the rad.Both the kids learned to play on it and it still sounds(to my untrained lugs)good.As BN said ,it’s a lovely sound to fill the house.
They do need some space and end up having almost a wall to themselves,so maybe people are swapping for electric keyboards now,you do see a lot of free ones advertised.

Some half-cut ill-informed opinion – don’t know if it’s anything you xan check without knowing but whwn we bought ours some bloke said the important thing is the wood the tuney things go into is the important bit. On cheap ones it splits and then all its good for is firewood, but a decent one will last forever. But then if its free to a good home the only cost is transport.

It’s a sad fact that people are paying to get old pianos removed to th dump. Once the pegs start to slip and the felts need replacing then repair is no longer economical. We recently replaced our old one with an almost new Kawei. Not got quite the depth of sound as the old one but the action is loads better.
I wouldn’t fancy moving a piano any distance with less than four folk.

Saw a piano moving specialist moving one into my father-in-law’s second floor flat. Van turned up, and three blokes got out – two normal-sized, one who could have been a sumo wrestler, won’t a neck larger than my waist. He put a big leather strap over his head, stood in front of the piano, looped the strap under the piano, and stood up. Carried the thing, by himself, all the way up the stairs with the other two just guiding it around corners.

samuri – Member

And just to check, you get masses of sex once you can play reasonably well?

Yamaha Claviinova… Great sound, holds value and will never need tuning.

2nd’d
Although mine is a Technics (I preferred the weighting of the keys) I was bought after passing grade 5, still looks and sounds perfect and can be used as a guitar amp, party sound system or just set to play itself…!

I married a piano. Or at least the wife owns one.
Having had to move it around three houses in the last 14 years all I can say is by christ they’re heavy! Removals guys did the first move from the 4th floor flat in London – I had to go and hide, couldnt bear to watch.

Since then it’s only allowed to be in the room nearest the front door on the ground floor because I cant be arsed moving it any further.

Stoner Jr is learning on it at the moment, which is why we’re not too bothered about getting it tuned yet 🙂 It sounds awful 😀

Get an electric one.

Second the electric one.
Satan, aka Uphill #2 is learning. SWMBO Wanted an acoustic. I took the advice of the man in the shop who said electric has volume control and the ability to use headphones.

Sage advice when you have to listen to the same scales ad infinitum. Even if when he first cracked some Scott Joplin out was worthy of full volume it pays to be able to turn it down at times.

I read that pianos became cheap and very easily available for the first time around 100 years ago. These are now end of life, knackered. There is consequently a lot of cheap but worked worthless pianos around.

Electric just isn’t the same.

Best way to transport a piano.

Electric just isn’t the same.

Isn’t that precisely Stoner’s point ……. they’re a lot smaller ?

Charlie, is that you at 6m10s with the coffee?

Listen to the Cribbins! 🙂

[video]http://youtu.be/r5XX9LX2es4[/video]

For he is wise in the ways of the second hand piano.

http://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-stage-2

i have one of these and it is the assum. it sounds sensational, it never goes out of tune, i can carry it myself, it fits in the car, the action is lovely, you can download different types of pianos, it has an unbelievably good hammond, and a rhodes, and a wurly. i’d only get a ‘proper’ piano if i could get a full sized grand and afford somewhere to put it

2retro4u
Marin County, Cali

Charlie, is that you at 6m10s with the coffee?

Orange jacket is me.

I know, I was just being cheeky.

6m10s is a little old lady.

I think having a piano moved in by Charlie Kelly would be awesome.

Ta, for the advice chaps, I might peruse electric ones now.