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Hi everyone. New to the list -- I've been spending hours reading up on everything but have come to the conclusion that I just need to ask the question (apologies in advance if it's already been asked to varying degrees already).

Anyway, I am in the market for a new or used baby grand piano. At this point, it will have three primary functions (in, frankly, differing priorities depending on who you ask in our household):

1. An instrument on which my 8 yr old daughter and 4 yr old son can learn to play.

2. An instrument on which I can re-learn to play (and generally tinker). I played for about 8 years as a child, but haven't regularly played in almost 25 yrs now.

3. A piece of furniture to serve as the focal point for our living room.

Budget is under $5k (preferably) -- which, I presume, means we're looking exclusively at used instruments.

Finally, because I've already done my homework on this board, I understand that if I'm looking at used instruments I should have a professional tech look at it first. So if there are any LA-based techs on this board, please PM me.

Thanks in advance. You have already been a huge help (and have already saved me from overpaying for a sub-par piano!).

Frankly, I don't see how with that budget you will be able to get anything that won't require spending much more for additional work to get any level of decent performance. Unless you get very lucky at an estate sale. I only get that lucky every few years and I am always looking for grands at a cost to me that allows me to rebuild/restore them into fine performing pianos.

You can contact technicians in your area and see of they have any clients who are aging out of piano ownership.

Hello and welcome to Piano World!

Some here will say that <$5K for a decent pre-owned grand piano is impossible. But I am not one of them.

However, with that said, it will take a lot of work and patience on your part to find a decent instrument for that price; and, you will likely have to look mostly at private sellers. However, it is possible you might find something in this price range at a dealer.

I would start thinking about your expectations and realize that you won't likely find a brand-name, late model piano at that price, unless you come across a real bargain at just the right time. But you might find something that would meet your expectations and serve your family for several years to come.

I'd still keep an eye out for a reliable brand like Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin, Chickering, Howard, Story & Clark, and maybe some of the Korean made brands. And, there are also some pretty decent obscure and little known brand pianos out there.

I've been fortunate enough to come across a few real bargains on used pianos, but I had to look for a while and then act quickly when the opportunity presented itself.

And, one more thing, I've learned that the newer the better, as a general rule; although some older pianos still have a lot of life left in them.

Good luck!

Rick

I think the fact the OP is in LA makes the budget more challenging than yours is in the state of Georgia, Rick.

Maybe not, Ed. LA is a highly competitive market.

Welcome, and good luck.

I also started with a $5K budget, spent a little less, and ended up very happy, but with a very old instrument from a private seller.

It probably goes without saying, but try the pianos out yourself before bringing in the technician. I drove around a fair bit and tried out a number of pianos, which were uniformly horrible. Sellers are often selling after the pianist has left the home and they are unaware the instrument is unplayable. I ended up vowing never again to look at a 2nd tier piano that hadn't been tuned within the last 6 months. For the 1st tier pianos one can always make an exception as the name alone often makes the piano worth a look.

Jay, your search and reasons for buying are similar to mine. I played for about the same number of years but far longer ago.

I started looking over a year ago, found a restored Knabe from the 20s I liked a lot but they had unrealistic price expectations and weren't yet at a spot where they were ready to get realistic, plus the case was a mess. I am not certain why I like the Knabe sound above others. I wanted a piano for my young granddaughter to use for voice lessons but perhaps my piano teacher had a Knabe. To me it sounds like a piano
should" sound.

I would like to respond to the budget question. People get really hung up on budget: both buyers and sellers. If I went to a dealer and said I could spend up to $10K, they might rightly show me pianos in that range but not far below and only a little above unless they had something they wanted to unload. I looked far above and below that range to hear what I needed to buy as a start.

I thought I found "my" piano a couple of months ago but after hiring a tech to screen it first (due to distance), I went to see it and honestly - as I sat at the keyboard, I was thinking "Would I pay to move this even if it were free?". So, sometimes what you think you want changes.

Next round of shopping, I went to a small local restorer. He had an inventory of pianos- including 2 baby grands from former clients who passed away. Either was $1800, delivered with a one year guarantee and additional tuning whenever I wanted. I committed to one of those, then had a family glitch and then proceeded a few weeks ago. It is a 1947 Knabe with partial restoration 6 years ago: new pins, pin box, strings, shanks and flanges. I couldn't be happier with the piano. It is bringing out the latent piano player I didn't think I could be with no music or lessons (for now). Even my husband sneaks and plays it when no one is home - he has never played piano, only guitar.

I have a cute video of the 4 YO teaching the 2 YO to only play one key at a time but the upload feature appears to only be for photos and I don't have an account to share videos.

In my last round of shopping, I contacted a number of technicians from the Guild and found a great range of pianos with documented "history". I believe one of the reasons I like my budget piano so much is that the same tech maintained it for a piano teacher for decades.

So, my suggestion is to try contacting all the nearby techs- better if you can speak with them. What they represent will be clients' pianos they know intimately or ones they have restored (which would not be my first choice). It goes without saying that you need to play many, many pianos (even if your skills are rusty to the point of embarrassment - like mine. You can learn a lot from playing scales on each piano. Who cares if the seller knows you can't really play?

Good luck -

Yes, that would be cute!

You can post the video on YouTube and share it with us.

I have a YT video of my two grandchildren plinking away at twinkle twinkle little star, (both at the same time on two pianos) and doing a pretty decent job of it.

Congratulations on your piano!


You may be right Ed. I've hardly been out of the state of Ga. I did travel to Texas with my parents when I was about 13 years old. The best part of the trip was seeing the Mississippi river for the first time. It was as wide and muddy as I had always heard/read.

I just turned down an early 1900's Baldwin grand (that needed a new pin-block) for free, and I don't surf the online piano ads as much as I used to. So, I may be out of touch with reality on current used piano prices. Besides, I honestly don't need another piano at the moment.

But I still think a decent enough baby grand with some life left in it can be had for shy of $5k if one looks hard enough and long enough.

Rick

Am I to believe you paid $1800 for an old Knabe grand with new pin block, strings, shanks, flanges and hammers? The parts cost way more than that alone.

Our tech found our 6 year old Yamaha gc1 for $5000. He had serviced it since new and stated it was only played at parties. The hammers showed no wear at all. A tech can be an excellent source to help you find a bargain.

I can say the EU122 by Pearl River that I currently own is wonderful, beautiful sound and touch.
You might prefer Yamaha action over Steinway because Yamaha is lighter, but the Pearl River is just like the Steinway's touch weight.

If you really do not want an upright, please do look at Brodmann.


Goodluck!
Sincerely,

I'm curious Jay, when you say 'baby' grand, do you really mean a piano under about 5&1/2 feet? I ask, because a lot of people instinctively call all grand pianos 'baby grands', when they don't even know WHAT a 'baby' grand is.

Yes- but it's not from the "Golden Age" as people profess is best. The client paid for all that work in 2010. He said he paid her estate a good price, so I assume he means about $1K, maybe, and then asked $1800. When others on this board asked if I negotiated, I said "No" - I thought it was a very good price. It sounds WAY better to me than a 1917 that was rebuilt 8 years ago - that one is still for sale and price keeps getting lower - and does not have a new pin block.

Also important is that this included delivery which generally runs several hundred in my area. And he'll tune it free in 6 months or a year. Parts and labor guaranteed for one year. He documented the work done in case I decide to sell it.

So I go back to a post in another string that the maintenance is critical. The tech will stand behind his/her piano if they are ethical and I found it to be a great way to buy with my current needs.

Rickster: Always enjoy your posts. I uploaded the video to YouTube as you suggested. Thanks so much - you don't even need to create an account. I made this unlisted.
https://youtu.be/6MYqGb6IfP8

I should have copied Rickster's post - the video is of the 4 YO teaching the 2 YO to play the "new" piano. Both love it.

Yes, in a perfect world it would be a baby grand size-wise since we will be tucking it into a corner in our living room. If necessary we could probably accommodate a "standard" sized grand, but we'd prefer something a tad bit smaller.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful posts. I really appreciate them all.

I loved the video, TMC!

That little spark of curiosity and interest may help inspire them toward a lifetime of piano/music enjoyment! Plus, music is good for both the brain and the heart!

I got to see all three of my grandchildren today, including my 3 month old baby grandson, Luke.

Jay, keep looking... you will find something that suits your needs eventually.

Rick

Take your time. There are some amazing deals out there.

This was many years ago but the smallest Weber grand, NEW, designed by PW friend Del Fandrich not only sounds great and isn't (relatively?) much more than your budget max. Maybe you would decide to go that route or maybe you could find a used one?

Way better than any ol' consumer-level baby grand new or old.