Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Help with $1000 piano budget in Cincinnati

My 6 year old son started taking piano lessons in January and loves it. He practices about 90 minutes a day all on his own; we actually have to chase him off the piano to eat dinner, do his chores, or go to bed.

Right now he is playing a tiny cheap Yamaha keyboard with 47 keys that doesn't get louder when you press the keys harder (not sure what that is called?). We don't have a piano, but our son was begging for lessons, so we borrowed this keyboard from a friend.

Our little guy desperately needs something better to play, but we have a small budget at the moment. I have been watching Craigslist and have found some possibilities:

1. 1951 Baldwin-Hamilton serial #148xxx (forgot the last 3 digits, but the first 3 were enough to find its age. I went to see it at the church that is selling it and found it surprisingly in tune. They say it was last tuned and played regularly 3 years ago. It looked pretty clean inside, but I have no idea what to look for. I liked its plain style and wonder if it has any life left in it? We don't mind if the piano looks old or beat up (and it does look quite worn) we just want it to sound decent. They're asking $600 obo.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2425741916.html

2. Nice looking, somewhat newer Baldwin-Hamilton, asking $275 obo, but it's in Indianapolis. We'd have to get a U-haul, drive 90 miles and hope it turned out OK.

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/msg/2445663897.html

3. Mystery Kawai, also in Indianapolis, asking $700. Bought in 1997 for 2900 according to the seller, but if the serial number she gave me (73302) is correct and I looked it up right, this piano is from the 1960's?

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/msg/2447411549.html

4. 10 year old Yamaha m450 serial #254241 Asking 2000 - is that high and maybe negotiable, or just the going rate? This one is too expensive, sadly.
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2434010485.html

Not sure what other pianos to consider. I see lots of 50 year old spinets and 100 year old uprights. Several older consoles in the $500-$700 neighborhood, but no idea how to figure out which ones are usable.

Ideas?

Have a tech check out these old pianos to give you an estimate of remaining life and prioritize any repairs and service needed or recommended.

Hi,

Until someone with more expertise than I have shows up, have you inquired about either of these pianos?

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2435670916.html

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2431535391.html

These are Baldwin Acrosonic consoles. The one is over your budget but all is negotiable nowadays. They look substantially newer than the Hamiltons and might require less maintenance over the next several years if you anticipate you piano care budget will continue to be tight. I kept my 1996 console Acrosonic and I think it plays rather well for what it is. I would suggest tho that you do stay away from the spinet pianos. A studio size would be more desirable of course but condition would be more important than the slightly larger size I think.

The Hamilton studios- those were pretty much standard equipment for many of us growing up and are very sturdy pianos. Those may have suffered being in a church environment all those years. Were you able to see how deeply grooved the hammers were or anything about the insides such as rust on the strings, the hammers being even?

Some will suggest you look into a beginner digital piano and they have advantages as well. They require no tuning and should be adequate for some time and have the option of using headphones. I see a Yamaha YDP 233 on the Craiglist but have no idea if that is a fair price for a used one of those. The are around $1500 new. You could probably find a more basic new digital from $500 or so.

Lots to think about. Have you read any of the Piano Buyer which is online right over in the margin, or the Piano Book which may be in your local library. The section on used pianos in that should be ok even if not the lastest edition.

Good luck with your shopping and good luck to your little guy with his music future.

There are lots of big old uprights advertized for $1000 and much less on kijiji. Some are pretty decent if you have the muscles to move them!

I know more people who were lucky than weren't, and most were actually very good pianos. Most were old Heintzmans, but I don't know if they are very common in the USA.

Good luck, and don't settle for a junker!

Hi! Welcome to Piano World, and congratulations on your son beginning piano lessons. There are a few different ways to approach your decision, so I'd like to ask you some questions to clarify:

First, may I ask, if you waited another six months for the purchase, would you be able to save more money toward the purchase? This will definitely open up many more possibilites than what you have now.

Secondly, how fast is your child advancing with the piano teacher? What curriculum is he using? I teach piano just north of you in Southeastern Indiana - I don't require my students to have a piano until they reach book 2 of the series I teach with, which is about twenty full lessons in. My older students can complete these twenty lessons in twenty weeks, but my younger students usually take forty weeks since they do one week with the lesson book and one with the activity/theory book. In book two, we begin dealing with much broader dynamics and pedaling which makes having a piano necessary.

Looking at a piano that is over 20 years old, is a lot like looking at a 20 year old used car. It might look okay on the outside and make a nice sound when you sit in the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition, but it probably doesn't tell the story about how the car has been maintained and what potential issues there are under the hood. The chances of finding a really decent 20 year old car that is going to last you for 5 or 10 years without major repairs is going to be slim. But if you did find a car you liked, you'd take it to a mechanic before you bought. A piano is no different. If you happen to find something you like, it is well worth the cost (usually around $75 in our area) to have a Piano Technician from the PTG take a look at the piano before you buy.

I'd like to offer you a different suggestion for the short to mid term for your son. Have you considered a digital piano? You should be able to find a used one well within your budget, and new ones can be had for only slightly more than your stated budget. I've seen Yamaha digital pianos - and played them - at Willis Music at Tri-County and Florence starting at around $1100. Guitar Center on the north side has them for around that price as well. For that price you'll get a full piano keyboard with weighted keys, a piano that won't need a technician for tuning, and a warranty from the manufacturer. If you buy the digital from an actual piano store, there is a possibility they will give you a trade up plan that if you buy a real piano from them with a certain number of years, they will credit the price of the digital toward that purchase (though the digitals tend to run a bit more expensive at a piano store than a music store or chain). If your son decides to stick with piano and approaches the intermediate level, you'll want to definitely look at an accoustic piano at that time. But in the meantime, this gives him much room to expand his musical abilities over his current keyboard within your current budget parameters.

On the other hand, I do have a client (non-piano) in the Indianapolis area that informed me earlier this month that she is considering selling her century old player piano. The piano came with their house, but neither her nor her husband play. I told her to contact a member of the PTG for an appraisal and a list of the work that needs to be done on it, but I don't beleive she has done this yet. If you PM or e-mail me your contact information, I can let you know when I hear back from her.

Hope this helps,

Christopher

Congratulations on trying to get a real acoustic piano for your son.
It sounds like he has real drive when it comes to piano.
If it were me I would not be swayed by others who want you to consider a digital piano.
I find that even an expensive digital piano doesn't come anywhere close to the experience of playing a real piano and I think that when you're young and just starting out a real acoustic piano will be so much more exciting and possibly lead to more motivation.

Before I was able to afford a good piano I had to settle for a real beater, a 1927 Emerson upright but that piano was a god send to me.
Sometimes we have to settle for something like that so I wouldn't be too discouraged with having to purchase an older piano. There are some great ones out there for very little money and generally Baldwins are good pianos with a very good reputation.
(That one in Indianapolis looks like a steal).

It's amazing that your son is so motivated playing on a little 47 key toy, once he gets a real piano I'm sure he will be thrilled.

Let us know what you choose and we always like to see pictures once it is delivered to your place.

I would say get moving quick on that Kawai to see if it is an A73302 which would be 1996 and have them look for the model number and if it is in good shape would be a geat deal.

Sparky,

If you follow some of my older posts from a couple of years ago, you'll read the saga of my assisting one of my student's families find a piano in this area. Perhaps its the Cincinnati area, but finding a decent used piano for under a $1000 was impossible for us. We used craigslist, ebay, and called and stopped in multiple piano stores not only in Cincinnati, but also in Indianapolis and Dayton.

This family had a "real beater" that was purchased for the daughter - a Jesse French console. Truthfully, the daughter had reached a point that if she had to keep playing on that piano she would have probably stopped playing piano - her practice was becoming increasingly difficult and painful. The PTG tech who serviced it felt that sinking any more money into it wasn't wise as the key action had literally begun to fall apart.

In their case, they managed to increase their budget, and purchased a new Hailun upright, a beautiful instrument. But let's assume for a minute that they weren't able to do that. What would have happened?

While I'd love to see every student of mine have a quality acoustic piano which will no doubt encourage them in their talent, I also know that a poor acoustic piano that won't keep tune or has key action issues will do just the opposite for the majority of students and may encourage improper technique. If the OP is fortunate enough to find a decent acoustic piano that checks out within her family's budget, kudos! But if not, I stand by my original suggestion - not as a permanant measure, but as a short to mid-term solution.

Christopher

I found myself a very decent 1988 Yamaha P22 in pretty good shape for $600 from a Church in Chillicothe (Ohio). If you look long enough, you will find a good enough piano within your budget. There is no such thing as "impossible to find a good piano under $1000". It just depends on how resourceful you are.

To the OP: Baldwin Hamiltons usually stand up to rough use and you find some 50-60 year old Baldwin Hamiltons in pretty good shape very often. I have a friend who has a 5 year old son. I recommended they buy a Baldwim Hamilton and they got one that was made in the 1950's. The kid has progressed quite a bit and he enjoys practicing on that piano. So these are excellent starter pianos. Acrosonics are good starter pianos too depending on the condition they are in (whatever piano you buy, make sure you get an RPT to take a look at it). Absolutely avoid century old huge uprights. Very rarely do you find one that's in good playable condition. Both 1 (church) and 2 (Indianapolis) on your list are worth taking a look at. 90 miles isn't too bad a drive..you don't have to take a U-Haul if you have somebody willing to drive you there and drive your car back while you hire a U-Haul in Indianapolis. It might work out to be cheaper. I myself went 50 miles to get my piano. To get great deals, you will sometimes have to travel a bit.. its totally worth it in the end if it works out to be a good deal. Good luck!

Personally, I would disagree to an extent. You rarely Find century old uprights that are playable, But when you do, they are really very nice pianos. Don't totally look over them, you sometimes get pleasant surprises (in my experiences, at least).

I'm also in Cincinnati. I recommend taking your son to Sam Ash and trying out some of the digitals there. I tried a Yamaha P155 there that sounded pretty good and felt pretty close to an acoustic. The P155 was priced at $999 there, but could be ordered online through eBay at $875 with free shipping and no tax. I am still debating between that and a Clavinova for my second home. It feels like a piano and has a pretty good sound - well not as good as my C3, but it is probably better than a lot of the pianos out there. And bonus, it never needs tuning and the volume and touch can be adjusted. Sam Ash also had quite a few others you could try. They are located in the northern part of the city in the same complex with Dave & Buster's and Ashley Furniture. Good luck!

I would take a Yamaha P155 any day over most older used uprights.
It's always in tune. Many older pianos have tuning stability issues.
The touch is CONSISTENT. Many older pianos need a lot of work on the action, which can be pricey.
Also, digitals like the P155 have a variety of sounds and a built in sequencer which can be a real catalyst in encouraging composition and improvisation in young students (or any student for that matter)
Good luck on your search. Your kid is lucky to have a mom who cares about him enough to make this much effort on his behalf.

I bought my piano at BHA pianocenter in Dayton. I have no regrets. You can search their inventory on the web, acoustic and digital. Google pianocenter. Good Luck

I disagree somewhat with the P155. While a digital piano has its place, and I own one myself, I think there is no substitue for a decent acoustic piano. Good pianos can be had on ebay and CL for $1000 or less. I found a very nice 50" Kawai upright for my brother for $500. I'm in Nashville, but there are good pianos to be had in that price range everywhere as far as I can tell.

Something like this is a great deal: http://columbus.craigslist.org/msg/2452508800.html

I have a 1988 P22 myself and it does its job very well. The piano in this ad is much newer and if what they claim about it being tuned twice a year is true, it should also be in great shape. I'm sure you can negotiate the price down a bit because I think I've seen this same ad 2-3 months ago..and so they've been unable to sell this piano. I know this is somewhat far from Cincinatti but a drive to Columbus/Hilliard is well worth it if they agree to negotiate down to your budget range.

While that may be true, the question is, would you advise the mom of a beginning child who's looking to get a piano asap to go hunting for that elusive century old upright that's in great shape or would you advise her to focus on newer studio uprights? So speaking strictly in terms of probability, when you see an ad on craigslist that says "The first 50 bucks gets this antique and heavy piano", it is probably not one that's in great shape. Most of the century old uprights that are advertised on craigslist fall into this category and its not advisable to go look at them all in the hopes of finding that rare piano..

Btw, where is momofpianokid anyway? We've been distributing all this advice with no ears to listen to any of it. I hope she's reading all this.

That is indeed a great deal!

What about these pianos - would any of them be ok?

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2451945644.html
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2441615171.html
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/msg/2408978445.html

That P22 is indeed a good deal *IF* it has always been a home instrument (i.e., not purchased second hand from an institution like a music school). I would think better than the Yahama M-Series piano linked to in the original post.

The tone of the ad somehow implied that it was indeed a home instrument but good point, its a good idea to check. The ad says that its a 10 year old piano that has been tuned twice a year thus far. I myself bought my P22 from a Church and so its seen some heavy playing. Its held up great however and serves me just fine. So if this is indeed a 10 year old piano, even if it came from a music school at some point (which is highly unlikely because music schools don't sell pianos that early or do they?), it might still be worth looking at.