info from the series #s? and... <buying a piano>

[sunnycmajor]

Hi all,
I'm shopping for a grand these days. I read some posts on forums, and it seems like people could tell when the piano was made according to the serial number.
Could anyone be so kind to tell me how to do this? What other information can I find by the serial number?

Another Q, I live in an apartment and my living room is about 18'X18'. I was going to look at nothing bigger than 5'7", but... yeah...I ended up looking at ones in the 6's... would it be too loud for the size of my room?

Final Q... I was looking at one piano. I love the touch, the making of it, the price, and everything else, except one important thing--the tone. It's just too bright, bright in a sharp way, not the pleasant/round bright, but the dealer told me that's not an issue- it can be tuned more mellow to adjust to my liking, but I'm having a hard time making the decision of buying it before I know how it'd sound like after tunning, esp. the brightness doesn't sound exactly right to me now. Any comment/suggestion is MUCH MUCH appreciated!!!

[cy_shuster]

You can tell the year the piano was manufactured, and for Yamahas, you can tell if it was first sold for the US market.  Steinway can tell you the whole history of the piano from the serial number (and perhaps other top end manufacturers, as well, like Mason & Hamlin).  It's most useful with used pianos.

Any high quality piano can be played softly.  In fact, that's a good way to test pianos: see how soft you can play a scale.  This tests the evenness of the action.  A nine-foot concert grand can be played at a whisper.  Get the biggest piano you can; you'll likely keep it as you change through many houses.

The quality of sound can be adjusted a little bit, by "voicing" (not tuning).  But never count on a promise that a piano will be adjusted to your liking after you buy it.  You can never tell for sure how much a given piano can be changed.  What if a change is made, but you still don't like it?  If you're really serious, have the dealer make the change in the store.  Most used pianos get bright over time as the hammers pack down from playing; it might need new hammers.

Lastly, have a local technician check out any piano you plan to buy (even new), if you're spending over a few thousand dollars.  Like with car engines, the worst problems are the hardest to see.

--Cy--

[Axtremus]

Simple: ask the seller to make the piano mellower, then you go try it again and see if you like it.

[sunnycmajor]

the thing is he said I had to purchase it in order for them to VOICE it to my liking... yeah, i doubt it'd change that much either. I'll keep looking...

quote:"Most used pianos get bright over time as the hammers pack down from playing; it might need new hammers.
"
-What about new ones? I was also looking at a new yamaha and didn't like its bright tone either, but still acceptable, esp. considering its price. Will that get a lot brighter after a few years?



Thanks both tons! =)

[Axtremus]

If you're looking at something like a 5'8" ~ 6'1" Yamaha, it'd either be a C2 or a C3, we're talking $16k ~ $22k, and the seller refused to do a little voicing to move the piano... it looks to me that the seller isn't motivated enough to sell, I agree that you should keep looking.

But, just in case the seller calls you back (it happens!) and ask you if you're still interested, suggest to the seller that he does the voicing up front if he'd like you to reconsider his piano.

Good luck.

[cy_shuster]

Yes, it's true in general that most pianos get brighter over time, new or old.  It happens from months to years, depending on how much wear they get.  It may be adjusted somewhat to compensate, but it's hard to make a drastic change (i.e. more mellow than it was new).

Buy a piano you like the way it already is.  It's worth paying for, rather than a promise or a hope of changing tone in future.

--Cy--