Buying a piano

The Mad Hatter

Can anyone give me any advice on buying a new piano?

I've been advised to buy in Belfast because of the currency exchange, but I can't find any shops there on Google. I'll be looking in Dublin as well (Pianos Plus, Thornton's, Tynan's and Waltons, who are apparently having a sale on their Kawais and Yamahas). Any suggestions on where to look and how to get there?

hallstatt

Dont know what sort of piano your looking for or if an old one will do because theres a website with free stuff and every few days under the music section theres always people looking to take there "old" pianos.Ive saw some really nice pianos on it over the years. http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php

I think this is the link

The Mad Hatter

hallstatt wrote: »

Dont know what sort of piano your looking for or if an old one will do because theres a website with free stuff and every few days under the music section theres always people looking to take there "old" pianos.Ive saw some really nice pianos on it over the years. http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php

I think this is the link

Thanks, but I'm really in the market for a good new upright, unless things go very much wrong.

Doshea3

Hi Bren. I bought a piano about two years ago and I learned since what to do and what not to do (shame I didn't know beforehand)!

Pianos Plus, Thornton's, Tynan's and Waltons—Pianos Plus are good, but on the dear side, though one of my pupils recently bought a good new Kawai for cheap there. Thornton and Tynan are both very reliable and honest dealers, better than some of the places you find up the north (I bought my piano in Monaghan but later found it had some defects that had not been fixed). People always recommend going to Northern Ireland for bargains, but I think there's very little financial benefit when you take everything into account.

Are you looking for brand new or nearly new reconditioned? I went for the latter and so got the same model piano for less than half the price in good working order. There is very little difference between a brand new piano and a 1970s/80s piano that has been well reconditioned.

I would personally avoid Waltons as in my experience the pianos they sell on are of inferior quality and no less expensive. Also, with dealers like Thornton and Tynan you can be sure you're buying a piano from someone who knows exactly what they're talking about, which you can't be sure of with big dealers like Pianos Plus. My piano tuner recommended Tynan highly and though a lot of people find him unpleasant to deal with he has a reputation for being an honest dealer. They also do really nice upright Petrofs (a make I'm otherwise not very fond of).

Hope that's some help.

AbuBakr

You could try Marcus Music at 125 Royal Avenue, Belfast, who stock Yamaha pianos, or Matchetts in Bedford Street.

But don't reject the possibility of buying a high quality second-hand piano from a reputable dealer - pianos often get better with age if they are properly maintained.

The Mad Hatter

Doshea3 wrote: »

Hi Bren. I bought a piano about two years ago and I learned since what to do and what not to do (shame I didn't know beforehand)!

Pianos Plus, Thornton's, Tynan's and Waltons—Pianos Plus are good, but on the dear side, though one of my pupils recently bought a good new Kawai for cheap there. Thornton and Tynan are both very reliable and honest dealers, better than some of the places you find up the north (I bought my piano in Monaghan but later found it had some defects that had not been fixed). People always recommend going to Northern Ireland for bargains, but I think there's very little financial benefit when you take everything into account.

Well I've been told that some places are now doing euro for pound, so I think it's definitely worth a look, and some people have told me about good dealerships there (but naturally I can't find any info on them on the web).

I would personally avoid Waltons as in my experience the pianos they sell on are of inferior quality and no less expensive. Also, with dealers like Thornton and Tynan you can be sure you're buying a piano from someone who knows exactly what they're talking about, which you can't be sure of with big dealers like Pianos Plus.

I've been in to Tynan before, but didn't buy. The owners certainly know what they're talking about, though I found all the pianos in there had very light action. That said, that was two or three years ago, so things may have changed. Do you have their address?

My piano tuner recommended Tynan highly and though a lot of people find him unpleasant to deal with he has a reputation for being an honest dealer. They also do really nice upright Petrofs (a make I'm otherwise not very fond of).

I've had nothing but bad experiences so far with Petrof (I thought pianos were supposed to play soft and loud?), but I'll try everything I can.

Hope that's some help.

Brilliant, thanks

AbuBakr: That's great, thanks for those addresses - I'll give them a look. Do you know of any shops that do second hand reconditioned pianos in Belfast? I know they can get better as they get older if they're well-maintained, but unfortunately that doesn't happen very often!

The (upright) piano of my dreams is a Kawai K8, but I'll be very surprised if I can afford one.

Doshea3

I dislike Petrofs in general, but they have one particular upright which Tynan sells, a sort of rosewood finish which is really nice to play (in contrast, their black uprights are awful). Tynan's shop is on (I think) Blackberry Lane, Rathmines, Dublin 6.

If you're into the Kawais, perhaps Pianos Plus is worth a look. Haven't looked in their shop since they used to have the showroom on Wood Quay (I remember it being Punt then, so that's how long ago it was), but as I said, one of my pupils got a good deal on a new Kawai there just before Christmas.

The Mad Hatter

Doshea3 wrote: »

I dislike Petrofs in general, but they have one particular upright which Tynan sells, a sort of rosewood finish which is really nice to play (in contrast, their black uprights are awful). Tynan's shop is on (I think) Blackberry Lane, Rathmines, Dublin 6.

Thanks again. I'll have a look.

pippin22

Precision Pianos are good and helpful. They have a lovely place in Dundalk in Co Louth. I bought there a while back and recently sent my friend down and she bought an upright from them too. They prob having a Jan Sale at the moment too.

Best of luck with your search.

Aard

My piano was bought in Tynans. It's a Petrof (not black - possibly the 'rosewood' one that DoShea was talking about above). I love it; no other piano I've played matches it. IIRC it was about 2,500 IR£. The staff were very helpful (unlike in Piano Plus or Waltons).

The Mad Hatter

Aard wrote: »

My piano was bought in Tynans. It's a Petrof (not black - possibly the 'rosewood' one that DoShea was talking about above). I love it; no other piano I've played matches it. IIRC it was about 2,500 IR£. The staff were very helpful (unlike in Piano Plus or Waltons).

I tried some of the pianos in Tynan's. Wasn't overly impressed by many of their new ones, but there was a very, very nice reconditioned Yamaha in their back store, as well as a gorgeous Petrof baby grand. Yes, I said it.

Doshea3

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

a gorgeous Petrof baby grand

There is no such thing! It was an illusion.

The Mad Hatter

Doshea3 wrote: »

There is no such thing! It was an illusion.

Y'see, I'd have said that too, before I played this. I'm happy to say it's as good as most Kawai grands I've played. I was thus very surprised.

dan_d

hey, I bought a Kawai K3 in Pianos Plus a few months ago. A K8 is in or around the 10 grand mark there (as far as I remember) brand new.
One thing Piano plus do have is pianos that they have rented out to music schools for a year or two. They've been played on, and looked after, and they are never more than a year or 2 old.They sell them for several thousand less than the price of a brand new one. I got mine for 5000, brand new it was about 7000 (again as far as I remember), maybe more. The other thing is that they will allow you to come back in the future and swap for a better model,if you are teaching and you can't afford a better model now. They'll "trade it in" for you.Personally I found them really helpful.I know they can be a bit on the expensive side, but they do also have quite a large range of very good condition nearly new pianos, as I said.
Good Luck!!:)

Tooshka

Hi - I'm interested in buying a piano, it's to learn on (as an adult) but I also have a son who's big into music (guitar, metal) and composing. would really welcome advice on whether to go for a standard piano or for a digital one? I want something that will look good as a piece of furniture as well
thanks!

sadie06

We bought a beautiful Yamaha U3 in this spot: http://drummondreid.com/

We were very happy with the service, and love the piano!

If you are considering spending a bit, it really is worth going up north, unpatriotic as it seems.


Edit: (Ooops....just saw that OP was back in 2009)

rheobath

[we bought a STEINHOVEN new for 3000 at the Piano Gallery, Graignamanagh. We are delighted with it has a lovely tone. they have a lot of pianos new and sh in stock and we only had to pay 40pc of the total cost straight out and the rest by direct debit over 12 months, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford it