Your Needs

What are you looking for in a piano?  Is it ACOUSTIC (a real piano) or is it Digital?

What are the Pros and Cons of each?  Firstly we will look at ACOUSTIC:

PROS -

A good quality ACOUSTIC piano is seldom if ever a poor investment.  You are investing in a quality sound, touch and long-term performance as well as the instrument holding its' financial value.

An ACOUSTIC piano will take up the same floor space as a Digital piano so if the salesman tells you a digital takes up less room, then he is mistaken. 

The "touch" on an ACOUSTIC piano cannot be replicated to the same extent on a Digital piano as the touch on a digital piano is preset, regardless how hard or soft you hit the keys.  Most true pianists will tell you that they prefer the touch of an ACOUSTIC piano as they can put some extension of their persona into the music that they play.  In other words, the ACOUSTIC piano has a "soul".

A quality ACOUSTIC piano will give 30 to 50 years of quality use and still have a residual value.  A recent example of this is with a clients' Steinway Model C (7' 6") purchased in 1967 for £2,400.  It is still a top quality piano and if he chose to sell it tomorrow he could expect around £40,000!  On a lower level, I purchased a 1975 Knight K10 upright in 1985 for £1,000.  The seller who had bought it from new paid £500.  That same piano now would make around £1,700.

CONS -

An ACOUSTIC piano needs to be tuned at least twice a year to keep the pitch in good order.  if it is left for longer periods of time, the tuning fee can be alot more and although one might think that he or she is saving money by having it tuned say once a year, you are having to listen to a piano which is not sounding its' best and also will be less stable after eventually having it tuned as the tuning pins may have to be turned alot further.  the secret of piano tuning stability is the less distance the tuning pins have to be turned, the better.

An ACOUSTIC piano will go out of tune quicker where is is subjected to temperature and humidity changes at a greater rate than normal.  For instance, if it is situated next to a radiator or fire, or subjected to a very dry atmosphere in a small closed room.

An ACOUSTIC piano is heavier than a digital

An ACOUSTIC piano (STANDARD) can not interact with your PC

An ACOUSTIC piano is more expensive to buy second hand than a digital piano

An ACOUSTIC piano does not have all the "bells and lights" of the Digital instruments

DIGITAL:

PROS:

A Digital piano can be linked to your PC so you can compose tunes using the latest technology.

A Digital piano does not need tuning which will save you around £100 per year, asuming that you have an ACOUSTIC piano serviced twice per year.

A Digital piano not only plays a sampled piano sound but also can make the sounds of a whole host of instruments ranging from an Alto sax to a Zither!! ... and of course you have the rhythm section to boot.

A Digital piano will come to pieces and can be stored in an attic space or garage when not in use.  Some will fit into the back of a large estate car if going out on a gig.

CONS:

A Digital piano makes a car look like a good investment!  The depreciation is frightening at best!  Technology moves on so fast that when a company exhibits its' latest model at a trade show, it is almost at the completion stage of the next series due to come out a few months later.  To keep up with the Jones's is a very expensive pass time indeed.  Within a year, the Digital piano really has no value as such apart from a "token" trade-in value, if you are buying another. 

In general, a Digital piano is going to be trouble free in the first few years.  This is just as well, because when it does eventually go wrong and is out of warranty, the costs will be enormous.  Engineers are very expensive especially if they work for one of the manufacturing companies and parts for your old instrument may not be available after 5 years as these manufacturing giants do not make money out of maintaining or repairing you old Digital piano... no! .... they make their money out of selling you the next new model out there in the market place.

A salesman will tell you that a Digital piano takes up less room in your house than an ACOUSTIC instrument.  This is not so, as they take up the same floor space.  A Digital piano cannot just be bundled into a cupboard for easy storage.  They have to be diss-assembled and stored away in an attic or garage as they do take up more space than you would think in a cupboard.  They are not as heavy as an ACOUSTIC piano but they are alot heavier than you would think.

A Digital piano has an inferior "touch" compared to an ACOUSTIC, no matter what you are told by a salesman.  The touch on a Digital piano is pre-set where on an ACOUSTIC instrument, it is not and is up to the pianist rather than a lab technician.

The sound quality of a Digital piano is not as good as the sound from a quality ACOUSTIC piano.

A Digital piano cannot be played if there is a power cut!!

Some manufacturers claim that they have a wooden keyboard (featured on the more up-market models) rather than the plastic keys one so often finds.  Some Yamaha models are NOT all wood..... just the Natural keys are wood and the sharps and flats (Black keys) are plastic.

You can only interface with your PC as long as the PC, the Digital piano and the software are compaterble.  As we all know, the computer world does not stand still.  You "may" be able to upgrade one or the other for a short period of time, but eventually you will need to upgrade the Digital piano if you want to keep working along with your PC.  Although you might be saving money on tuning fees, you will be spending alot more on keeping your Digital piano in vogue.

Above are some basic pros and cons but before you decide on Acustic or Digital I would like to put down what I have experienced over the past 5 to 10 years with attitudes towards buying Digital.....

Churches, schools and village halls have historically never had funds in the coffers for  an acustic piano purchase or replacement and usually rely on a donation of an old instrument from a church member, parent or villager moving house.  This is understandable due to the number of people attending church dropping, the gradual demise of the village community spirit and lack of government funding for the arts in schools.

For the domestic purchaser, spending an average of £2,000 on a piano, whether it be acoustic or digital is a major consideration.  There has been a few cases over the years where clients have discussed the prospect of getting rid of their 1920s upright piano and replacing it with a new Acustic piano.  What usually happens is that by the time a decision is made, another more important house hold item such as the car needs to be replaced, which is fair enough.  The thing that has really perplexed me of late is when I explain the fact that if a digital piano is purchased, and within a year or so it is going to be worthless in money terms, and after 5 years or so, if it should go wrong, then thats it...... throw it away and buy a new one......  the client then says... "oh well.... I will just have to buy a new one" ..... I then say... "OK"...... "what would you say if I tried to sell you an acustic piano for £2,000, and then told you that after 5 years you will have to bin it and buy another one from me?" ...... they then look puzzled and I suggest to them that if I had said that for real, then they would not buy it in the first place.

it seems to be acceptable regardless of the price, to throw away anything with Digital in the title but something made of wood and metal for the same price is expected to go on for ever.

it is interested the way we think these days but if the sales of acustic pianos falls by the wayside to digital, then we will see the acoustic piano die out as thoses of us in the trade will cease to tune and service the existing stock and in turn that stock will decline in quaility and performance.  There is only one piano manufacturer left now in the UK, and as far as I know, they are relocating abroad, so that will be that.

The piano, as we know it will be 300 years old next year (2009) ...... the home organ of the 1960s, 70s and 80s is hardly known now by the present generation and in another 20 years, it will be totally forgotton and it will be unlikely that there will be examples of them in the modern home in Britain.... however, the acustic piano is known by all and has been over the last 3 centuries.  Think twice when buying a piano and dont be tempted by all things that glisten.

Many thanks for reading this blog and I hope it has helped you in your decision making.

Today I received my first negative feedback!  It had to happen at some time or other, especially now that Ebay have changed the rules, or moved the goal posts, so that now, the SELLER is unable to leave negative feedback.  The BLOG is the only way now that the SELLER can get his words across.  I have been selling new piano stools on Ebay for some time, and as I buy in bulk, I have more buying power than the smaller outlets and shops within the UK.  This has upset one or two retailers because I am the least expensive retailer of leather adjustable/box stools in the country.  it has also upset a few wholesalers as well, as in some cases they are paying more for a similar stool at a wholesale price than I am retailing them at on Ebay.

We call this the "open market place" but the problem starts when trade people buy or get friends to buy from genuine Ebay Sellers in order to leave negative feedback to cause disruption to their business and to sew the seeds of doubt to the potential Buyer, to the honesty and integraty of the Seller.  There is nothing we can do about it (on Ebay) apart from setting up a blog explaining the current situation.  This kind of "stunt" pulled off by dlberesford  (who has a 5 after his name) is just the sort of thing we need in the current economic climate.  Music businesses are going under every month (the latest being Sound Control: Nationwide), and we lost Technics as a digital piano manufacturer some 9 years ago (Globally).  People like dlberesford(5) need to think very carefully before writing liablist narrative but by looking at his feedback and the feedback he has left others I can see why he did!  Apart from that, he has a vested interest in the trade and wants to get rid of the opposition, and of course leaving negative feedback is a fantastic way to proceed!!

You, the reader, might find it helpful to check through my feedback prior to the 27th June :-)

Many thanks for your time.