I am looking to buy a piano for the first time. I'm not an inexperienced player, but I'm a complete newbie when it comes to buying! When I began the piano I trained on my parents antique piano. I returned to playing as an adult when my husband bought me a digital piano for our new house.

The digital piano is extremely convenient, because it's compact, and comes with headphones! But I'm totally craving a proper upright. You just don't get the same response from a digital, no matter how good it is.

Here are what we need to consider:
Space is an issue... Grands totally out of the question. We live in a small house, but can definitely make room for an upright.
We live in a semi-detatched house. But I'm not sure it will be a problem. i frequently play my digital on full volume, or near it and my husband plays the sax. No complaints so far.
Price range.... We certainly don't have unlimited funds. In fact, they are rather limited! I'm not sure we'd stretch past €5000 although I'd consider a loan for more if I thought it was definitely going to be worth it.

I'm just not sure what brands are good right now... I think i'd like a brand new one but would consider reconditioned. I'd also appreciate and recommended retailers in ireland.
thanks!!

Suggest you go and try plenty of different makes and find one that you like the sound of, then shop around for the best price. 5000 euros should get you a pretty decent new upright. Don't dismiss second-hand - often a better buy - more piano for your money and a nice mellow tone from a well-played instrument. Get a reuptable tuner to look at any used piano before you consider buying.

Yes it is down to personal taste, but I doubt you would go far wrong with a Kemble or Yamaha.

About 13 years ago I bought a refitted piano for £3,000. I wanted an older piano for the look of the instrument, but also wanted it to take my children to Grade 8 possibly! After a lot of research, I found a wonderful piano shop, which primarily deals in Bechsteins, although the one I bought isn't a Beckstein. All the pianos have been refitted, so are totally new, but in their lovely old bodies! Mine is still going strong and every time the piano tuner comes, he says it is better than many baby grands. If you are interested in the name of the shop (not sure I am allowed to give it here), you could PM me and I will be happy to pass it on to you.

Violinma

If you are buying new then a Yamaha P-series is a very much better buy than a Yamaha-B and comes in under-budget. Unfortunately the much better still Yamaha U1 is unlikely to be found at 5,000 Euros, though you might find an ex-demo model.

Buying second hand gets you much more for your money. A Yamaha U1 or U3 is a wonderful piano and easily available within budget from a dealer.

Buying privately is more dangerous. It is easy to buy a nice looking and good sounding piano that turns out to be a maintenance nightmare, with many small components on the verge of failure. Pianos wear out. Renovation is expensive. Better to get something many years of life left in it.

As you are not experienced you nee the help of a technician/tuner to figure out if it has been well looked after, and not about to fall part, or in need of expensive refurbishment. This is different skill from being able to judge how nice a piano is to play, and not many people have both (though a technician is more likely to be a competent pianist then vice versa)

Get The Piano Book (see www.pianobook.com). It tells you about pianos, how to buy new ones, how to buy used ones, and has notes about each make including quality etc. It's a fascinating read and will make you a better-informed buyer. As Mad Tom says, you will get more for your money buying used, but there's a lot of clapped-out junk around so it may take you some time and searching to find a nearly-new piano in good condition. Also take a look at www.pianoauctions.co.uk -- they have auctions in London several times a year and post the prices achieved. I bought a beautiful Schimmel upright there for less than your budget -- but you'll probably have to watch and wait a while before a good quality nearly-new upright appears -- I had to wait several years for mine! Enjoy your search.

Hi,

I just recently bought a new piano after looking for quite a while for a good second-hand one. My experience was that the quality of used pianos varies vastly, and unless you have alot of experience you could easily make a bad decision.

I went to a second hand dealer that had 5 pianos of the exact same model I was after. I played the first one, and it sounded great to me - so much better than the one at home. But then after playing some of the others, which were unfortunately already sold, I realised that it was in quite poor condition with a weak tone and slightly loose keys.

Then I realised that I would have to try out alot of pianos until I found one in good condition for the right price, and unless you have another one to compare it with I wouldn't be sure about the condition. Maybe someone with more experience could tell a good one straight off ...

I ended up scraping the cash together for a new one. No point in having savings at the moment anyway! Might as well spend it

Dave.

Hi Navanwoman,

Go to Thornton's, Tynan's or Pianos Plus in Dublin if you can! Thorntons is the one I am most familiar with...they do reconditioned pianos and I have seen really nice Kawais and Yamahas there for approx the price you want. They also do HP schemes if you decided you didn't want to buy it outright. They are very good about technical support afterwards.

Pupils of mine bought a beautiful second hand Kawai (I think of similar money) in Pianos Plus. It has a very bright sound and beautiful action...it's a pleasure to play. (I find it hard not to kick them off the piano and offer to demonstrate EVERYTHING in their house!)

Mr Tynan will try to sell you a Petrof. I like these and sometimes they are great for homes as they aren't as big as the older Yamaha and Kawais. If you have a small room I would recommend one of these as the Yamaha can sometimes be too loud and overpowering in a small space.

Enjoy it...I am very envious! (Goes and kicks much maligned digital thing in corner)