SECONDHAND PIANOS

Thinking of buying a second hand Yamaha piano? Find out what Yamaha advises, and below are some questions we are frequently asked.

WHAT IS THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A PIANO?
From 15 to 80 years depending on several things.
1. How well built the piano was in the first place.
2. How much use the piano has had- if used in a very heavy work situation possibly only about 15 years.
3. Service history.
4. Climate control.

DO PIANOS IMPROVE WITH AGE?
No they are a bit like people. Some people live to 100 years but don't perform as they did at 20.

IS A 20 YEAR OLD PIANO BETTER THAN A NEW ONE?
Most piano manufacturers agree that the first 20 years of a new pianos life is the best part. After 30 years, depending on the amount of use it has had, it may need an extensive overhaul which could cost thousands of dollars

WHAT COULD A PIANO NEED TO PUT IT INTO GOOD CONDITION?
If the piano needs new strings and tuning pins you could spend around $4000 - Action reconditioning $2000 - Regulation $1000. Structural and soundboard problems could cost anything. In some cases people are spending more to put an old piano into good condition than they would spend buying a new one- and it is still an old piano.

WHAT DID A NEW YAMAHA PIANO COST 25 YEARS AGO?
Most imported second hand Yamaha pianos are being sold for more now than they were new. Most second hand dealers are asking around $4000 for a 25 year old U3. This piano would have sold new in 1980 for around $3300

WHERE HAS THE PIANO BEEN AND HOW OLD IS IT?
If you bought a second hand car you would want to know what sort of life it has had. Where it had been and what sort of work it had done. Also some proof of age. Many second hand piano dealers can not answer these questions except to say "It came from a private home".

WAS THIS PIANO BUILT FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET?
All new Yamaha pianos sold in Australia are manufactured to ultra dry standards. This enables them to be sent to areas where the humidity is extremely low, without tuning system and soundboard failure. Alternatively, second hand imported Yamaha pianos were made to Japanese "wet" standard and substantial shrinkage can occur in our much drier climate, often leaving the instruments untunable and with cracked soundboards.

WHAT DOES THE WARRANTY COVER?
If you buy a second hand piano from a shop which closes down then you don't have a warranty. A new Yamaha piano is warranted by Yamaha Music Australia (a wholly owned part of Yamaha Corporation Japan) for ten years, and actually states that if a defect is not able to be repaired by Yamaha they will replace the piano.

IS A 30 YEAR OLD YAMAHA BETTER THAN A NEW ONE?
Yamaha Corporation have never stopped researching and developing techniques to improve their pianos. They make several hundred "test" pianos per year. The pianos Yamaha build today are far superior to those built even twenty years ago.

I HAVE BEEN TOLD "THE BETTER I PLAY THE BIGGER THE PIANO I NEED"
This misinformation is spread by dealers more interested in making money than seeing you have the piano that suits your needs. For most applications within the family home a good brand 121cm upright professional piano is ideal. Larger pianos are more suited to halls and churches.

TALLER PIANOS ARE BETTER THAN SHORTER ONES.
It's more complex than that. There are many cases where smaller pianos out perform larger ones.

WHERE DO NEW YAMAHA PIANOS COME FROM?
Yamaha Corporation have factories all over the world but only send pianos to Australia from two factories. Student pianos C109 and C113 are built in Indonesia. Professional series T121, U1, U3, and YUS5 are built in Japan. All new Yamaha Grand pianos are built in Japan, except for model GB1 which comes from Indonesia. All Yamaha factories work to the same standards.

A quote from the NSW Piano Technicians Guild;
"Definition: Second hand piano being imported from Japan. Mostly Yamaha and Kawai, grands and uprights. The quality is extremely varied (despite the A+ rating given to many of them), some of them are quite high quality, but these seem to drown in a sea of ordinary and downright rubbishy instruments."

A quote from Mr Ron Overs- Piano builder and one of Sydney's most respected technicians;
"Whether they are or whether they are not made for Australian conditions is of little concern to me. The concern to me is that the majority of second hand stock which comes in from Japan is suffering moisture damage to a lesser or greater degree. While I have seen good grey market stock without any evidence of moisture damage it is absolutely in the minority."