HELP: please explain if buying dealer rebuilt yamaha is a bad idea?

[madeley]

Hi,
I am a clueless parent with two daughters (8 and 5) who are training to play classical piano. They currently play on a keyboard and desperately need a real piano.

We have limited space and a limited budget & bc of this we have decided on a used piano and so far like the 48" U1 Yamaha.

We have found a couple dealers but both carry fully rebuilt (in Japan) Yamahas. They look pristine and sound good, but I wonder if they loose quality of sound, etc., do to the fact that they have been rebuilt vs, refurbished- where a good tuning has taken place and maybe some pieces have been replaced.  The dealers are offering a 10 year warrantee and two tunings, one at shop and one after delivery.

Is my paranoid hunch correct or should i not worry and simply just take a technician to make sure the sound is as it should be, etc. Please explain. We are looking to spend over 4k and I would like this to be our piano for many years to come.

Thanks so much in advance!

[j_menz]

I'd get a technician to give it the once over, and if they say it's OK then go for it. I'd also try and haggle the timing on the tunings to once just after delivery and the next a few months after.  The in shop tuning is basically a waste of time.

[hfmadopter]

Hi,
I am a clueless parent with two daughters (8 and 5) who are training to play classical piano. They currently play on a keyboard and desperately need a real piano.

We have limited space and a limited budget & bc of this we have decided on a used piano and so far like the 48" U1 Yamaha.

We have found a couple dealers but both carry fully rebuilt (in Japan) Yamahas. They look pristine and sound good, but I wonder if they loose quality of sound, etc., do to the fact that they have been rebuilt vs, refurbished- where a good tuning has taken place and maybe some pieces have been replaced.  The dealers are offering a 10 year warrantee and two tunings, one at shop and one after delivery.

Is my paranoid hunch correct or should i not worry and simply just take a technician to make sure the sound is as it should be, etc. Please explain. We are looking to spend over 4k and I would like this to be our piano for many years to come.

Thanks so much in advance!

I agree with j_menz on both counts, take a tech with you and the in shop tuning is a waste of time. Once that piano is moved and sitting in your living room or study that in shop tuning is likely gone bonkers, will imediately need at least a touch up truning. When the piano stablizes in your invironment in a month or so it will need another.

Some things the tech may not be able to tell without tuning the piano himself is how tight the tuning pins are but he can see if they have been driven in vs remaining standing tall. He can feel the action, he can see the let off height and damper action. Look for cracks in the sound board etc. Look for moisture damage. Well worth bringing along.

Rebuilt probably has not altered tonal quality unless rebuilt means it got new hammers and or restrung. Assuming none of that and original sound boards curvature it should sound fine with proper tuning and voicing.. With new hammers and strings there will be a run in time sort to speak before you will really know it's true sound.
David

[madeley]

This is all VERY helpful, thank you!!

One question, do most techs make these trips to the shop to just give a look over and if so, do they charge the full rate for tuning a piano? Also, can i ask what a typical tuning rate is?

Thanks,
Madeley

[madeley]

Sorry, one last question.

If in fact the hammers are new, as well as the sound board... and it has been restrung. Then what are the concerns? I just wrote to the dealer and I am pretty sure they had said at front that all of their pianos have been completely rebuilt inside and even the shell is freshly painted. Is a rebuilt piano not like a buying a new piano?  OR is this where it stops being a workhorse Yamaha and starts becoming a generic factory piano that did not use authentic Yamaha "piano engine"?

Thanks again.

[hfmadopter]

This is all VERY helpful, thank you!!

One question, do most techs make these trips to the shop to just give a look over and if so, do they charge the full rate for tuning a piano? Also, can i ask what a typical tuning rate is?

Thanks,
Madeley

I'd be going out on a limb to say this piano would be perfectly fine but most likely it is since it's a factory rebuild and you have the 10 year warrantee as well.. That's what's being advertised, you want a trained and certified tech to tell you that it really happened.

Most likely the sound board has not been replaced ( again a venturing a guess, but that's more the realm of a restoration on a $30,000 and up grand piano) . It could be restrung and rehammered. But again that's by the factory. I'd almost bet that it will just need playing in and retuning.

Tuning prices are all over the place. Call some certified people and get quotes is my suggestion. I would expect to pay less for an inspection than a full tuning.
David