The Truth about older pianos
The truth about used pianos
In 1918 there was a gathering of piano manufacturers
Their meeting
produced a fascinating and rare book “Piano Tone Building” volume 1
From the Acoustic Department of American Steel and Wire
Pianos then were expected by the manufacturer to have a trade in value for 10 years after that they were considered worthless
Sure after that they may be playable / plunkable for time after that
But if put side by side would not compare to a new piano and in fact most have sustained structural damage in 10 years.
Why
Imagine the piano is in MN
It would go through a humidity cycle
That is a hot and humid summer
And a cold and dry winter
what has been described is one humidity cycle.
These humidity cycles crack Soundboards, split bridges and cause loose tuning pins. And you can’t easily undo the damage. You can not just tune the damage away.
A technician from Canada once reported to me that a new piano there regardless of quality was expected to have a cracked sound board in 5-10 years.
Sure it’s easy to say that manufacturers would say that because they want to make a profit and sell more instruments.
But remember then....
The history and experience they were looking at reflected how the pianos were affected and destroyed by the heating system of the time.
Houses then were heated with wood and you’d have to stock the fire to keep the house warm at night. Heat would rise through grates cut into the floor and cold air would sink.
Eventually coal fired furnaces would relieve homeowners of that chore but
It wasn’t until 1885 that coal became more popular than wood
What this means
A piano from then is typically damaged, has multiple cracks in the soundboard, split bridges and loose tuning pins and tuners hate to work on them cause they do not tune accurately and the action is worn out and comprised. In fact some are untunable and a disgruntled client might leave a bad review because they found out their piano could not be tuned.
Fast-forward 100 years to 2018
Here’s what has changed
Most houses have forced air furnace systems newer systems may even have a whole house humidifier built in
Some have radiator heat
Homes built now are well insulated and have air conditioning, we even have insulation in the walls now.
The bottom line is if you are comfortable the piano is comfortable. But being comfortable doesn’t undo years of neglect or the prior damage caused by multiple humidity cycles or mold or a flood.
Do pianos last longer today?
Yes and no
Yes with better climate control and the creation of the humidity control system they suffer less and less from the extreme humidity cycles and from that standard they do last longer.
No because parts wear out and with global warming conditions are now more extreme
Also more and more owners are neglecting their pianos more and more or going with the cheapest tuner available
Neglect and time degrade the overall condition and the sound changes, for instance new bass strings start life vibrant like a crack of thunder and old bass strings become dull sounding and lifeless.
Hammers start life bring melodic and end life with a raspy terrible tone. Action parts wear out and break and need replacing. Bass strings start life sounding vibrant like a crack of thunder, time degrades them to a dull thud tone.
It’s a strange sales trick but many stores set a 1970s or 1980s original piano next to a brand new one and customers naturally gravitate to the new one. because of the differences of sound and playability.
If your considering a used piano buyer beware - frequently you are just paying for someone else’s neglect and whatever has not been done will eventually need to be done
And that may mean a complete restoration.
In 1918 there was a gathering of piano manufacturers
Their meeting
produced a fascinating and rare book “Piano Tone Building” volume 1
From the Acoustic Department of American Steel and Wire
Pianos then were expected by the manufacturer to have a trade in value for 10 years after that they were considered worthless
Sure after that they may be playable / plunkable for time after that
But if put side by side would not compare to a new piano and in fact most have sustained structural damage in 10 years.
Why
Imagine the piano is in MN
It would go through a humidity cycle
That is a hot and humid summer
And a cold and dry winter
what has been described is one humidity cycle.
These humidity cycles crack Soundboards, split bridges and cause loose tuning pins. And you can’t easily undo the damage. You can not just tune the damage away.
A technician from Canada once reported to me that a new piano there regardless of quality was expected to have a cracked sound board in 5-10 years.
Sure it’s easy to say that manufacturers would say that because they want to make a profit and sell more instruments.
But remember then....
The history and experience they were looking at reflected how the pianos were affected and destroyed by the heating system of the time.
Houses then were heated with wood and you’d have to stock the fire to keep the house warm at night. Heat would rise through grates cut into the floor and cold air would sink.
Eventually coal fired furnaces would relieve homeowners of that chore but
It wasn’t until 1885 that coal became more popular than wood
What this means
A piano from then is typically damaged, has multiple cracks in the soundboard, split bridges and loose tuning pins and tuners hate to work on them cause they do not tune accurately and the action is worn out and comprised. In fact some are untunable and a disgruntled client might leave a bad review because they found out their piano could not be tuned.
Fast-forward 100 years to 2018
Here’s what has changed
Most houses have forced air furnace systems newer systems may even have a whole house humidifier built in
Some have radiator heat
Homes built now are well insulated and have air conditioning, we even have insulation in the walls now.
The bottom line is if you are comfortable the piano is comfortable. But being comfortable doesn’t undo years of neglect or the prior damage caused by multiple humidity cycles or mold or a flood.
Do pianos last longer today?
Yes and no
Yes with better climate control and the creation of the humidity control system they suffer less and less from the extreme humidity cycles and from that standard they do last longer.
No because parts wear out and with global warming conditions are now more extreme
Also more and more owners are neglecting their pianos more and more or going with the cheapest tuner available
Neglect and time degrade the overall condition and the sound changes, for instance new bass strings start life vibrant like a crack of thunder and old bass strings become dull sounding and lifeless.
Hammers start life bring melodic and end life with a raspy terrible tone. Action parts wear out and break and need replacing. Bass strings start life sounding vibrant like a crack of thunder, time degrades them to a dull thud tone.
It’s a strange sales trick but many stores set a 1970s or 1980s original piano next to a brand new one and customers naturally gravitate to the new one. because of the differences of sound and playability.
If your considering a used piano buyer beware - frequently you are just paying for someone else’s neglect and whatever has not been done will eventually need to be done
And that may mean a complete restoration.