After decades of waiting, I finally became able to purchase a piano a little over a year ago. I thought the decision would be fairly straightforward - I basically only knew of Steinway in the high-end market and figured I'd simply choose the biggest piano I could afford. I became quickly frustrated by the industry's absurdly opaque pricing and flabbergasted upon realizing just how expensive new instruments are. I was also initially blind to the significance and complexities of dealer preparation. The combination of poor dealer preparation and comically high prices had me questioning my sanity and made me realize that this would end up being a much more complex and difficult decision than I had originally imagined.

It's now been over a year, and I've only just settled on a rebuilt instrument (at a much higher price than I initially envisioned). I'll find out in a few months, once the rebuild is complete, if I made the right decision.

How long did it take you to find your instrument?

    I acquired an electric piano before my current acoustic. Surprisingly the acoustic is now approaching thirty years old and it is difficult to recall how long I had been looking. At the time Korean pianos were very popular and I had it in mind to select one. However when I finally visited the local dealer I changed my mind on the spot and chose a UK made upright.

    My first piano was a digital, a year later I bought a used Yamaha U1 upright. The was pre-PW, so I had very little information and I basically went to the big city, to a piano dealer, and picked one out on the spot from among the selection they had on the floor. It worked out really well because that turned out to be a fantastic piano. Until we moved internationally (from Japan back to the US). Then I was back to only having a digital for a few years until we moved again. Then for about a year I was the "caretaker" of a Baldwin upright, until that piano was returned to its owner. Then I bought a used Petrof upright. Then we bought a house and it was time for a grand. I had a limited budget, and I shopped casually for several months and then more seriously for for a few more months. This was 5 years ago, so I was getting lots of good advice from PW at that point. I settled on my current piano, a 2o y/o (at the time) Yamaha C2.

    As it happens, I bought my very first piano (the digital) in 1999. And I bought my Yamaha C2 in 2019.

    So how long did it take me to find this instrument? Well, 6 months or 20 years, depending on how you define "finding an instrument" 😅

      Thanks! I'm really happy with it! It had one owner before I bought it. That person wasn't actually a pianist, he was a singer and he used the piano to accompany himself. So although he mostly kept it tuned, he never did any other maintenance on it.

      So I had my tech do a full regulation and voicing on it after I bought it. And wow! I liked the piano when I bought it, but after that, it really came into its full potential. I love the touch/feel of it. It's super reliable and just a joy to play. 🙂

      @ShiroKuro out of curiosity, is it a C2 or C2X? I thought they transitioned from C to CX in the early 2010s. At any rate, I've loved most of the well-regulated CX pianos I've played. The first Yamaha I played though was a horribly regulated C3X at a nearby dealer, which almost turned me off to Yamaha entirely. After exploring other dealers, I then realized the issue was the prep, not the instrument. Almost bought a C7X before ultimately deciding to roll the dice on a Steinway rebuild. It had such a lovely touch and tone.

      My piano is a C2, built in 2000, I bought it in 2019. And (I think I mentioned?) I had it voiced and regulated when I bought it, and it made a huge difference. It was nice when I bought it, but really came into its full potential after the voicing and regulation work.
      I have not yet had the chance to play a C2X or other C-X piano. Perhaps some day... I'm super curious about the differences.
      One of my most favorite pianos in the whole world was a C5 I played once in church... One of those pianos you never forget. Sigh.
      🙂

      It took me 2 months.
      But consider this. I started shopping for a very specific piano (a new Kawai GL-30), and ended up with something completely different: a restored Baldwin SD-10 (concert grand) from 1978. It is now my most cherished possession. I like its tone so much it still surprises me to this day (two years after acquiring it). I don't care that my fifth neighbor down the street can hear me when I play it loudly (thank God it doesn't bother them!!). If I didn't have to go to work I'd he playing the thing 8 hours a day (thank God I can't because then I'm pretty sure it'd bother the entire neighborhood!).

        That’s wonderful Rubens!

        Wait, omg! I just realized what you wrote. Am I right about the lengths of these two pianos? Did you really start out intending to buy a 5’5” piano, and ending up with a 9 footer??

          ShiroKuro Yes that's what I did! I don't recommend it, but it sure worked out for me. The first day I played it after delivery I asked my wife to see how far she could walk away from the house and still hear me play. To my horror she said something like 4-5 houses. But as I said it doesn't seem to bother anybody when I play. Sometimes in the summer people would even stop in their walks to listen. This is definitely not a piano for the introverts!

            Wow! I cannot imagine having a 9 foot piano in my home! I think I've only ever played such a large instrument once actually.

            What a delight it must be for you!

              ShiroKuro
              Yes. And yet there are days I still wonder if I should've gone with my 2nd choice instead: a restored Mason & Hamlin A from 1925. I find that the M&H has a more distinct sound overall, however I went with the Baldwin because of its bass register which is irresistible. Can't have it all!

                Does "looking" include time doing research on the Internet? I spent months off and on researching pianos before I actually went to dealers to play in person. Then, probably partly due to all my research, things went fast.

                The dealer closest to me in Albuquerque didn't have any pianos I was interested in, so Denver was the next closest location. I went to a large dealer and played everything from a Steinway D to some not so great Yahamas. They had a M&H AA I liked, the great Steinway D, a decent big Baldwin, etc. But nothing really rang my bell.

                On to the Steinway dealer, where they had a beautiful new B and then bunches of old Bs in varying degrees of disrepair, all of them "refurbished," which appeared to me "hardly worked on." A well-rebuilt B can be great, but these were lackluster at best and in need of much more work. I've always been put off by the pricing of used Steinways. Not one of these Bs was worth $40K, but that was the cheapest of these instruments that all needed at least $20K of work, so not for me.

                Then I went to a small shop on the outskirts of Denver where the dealer specialized in new and used Blüthners, Faziolis, Steinways (used only), and one 16-year-old August Förster 215. I played through the lot of them, and many were very nice, but when I sat down with the AF, my fate was sealed! It cost less (not by much) than the crappy Steinways I played, and the touch and sound were, to me, phenomenal. I was in heaven! Total time actually looking? Two-and-one-half days.

                  AaronSF I think you need to include the rasearch time, too!

                    AaronSF

                    Two and a half days! That's incredible. Your period of research was clearly very helpful, and validates the importance of recordings & forums for supporting well-informed consumers. Out of curiosity, after your period of research but before you started looking in-person, what were your expectations of what you thought you'd like? Did that change?

                        I think it took me a little over a year to find my current piano (a Yamaha C5X) once I decided I needed something bigger than the C2X I had. I’ve actually been thinking of starting a new thread about finding this piano because I ended up ordering it from the factory and crossing my fingers that it would work out (spoiler alert: it did). Piano shopping is so stressful.

                        Yamaha C5X

                          Cassia I’ve actually been thinking of starting a new thread about finding this piano

                          You should! 🙂

                            I don't remember exactly how long my piano search back in 1995/1996 took, but it was several months.

                            My search started after I played in a recital at my teacher's house. My teacher had a 7 foot Kawai in her apartment. On the way home, my wife said "If she can get a grand piano into her apartment, we could get one into our house".

                            The next day I was on it!

                            I started at the Kawai dealership. They had an RX-1 that I really liked, but I wanted to try some other pianos before buying.

                            I tried pianos at many piano dealerships. I read Larry Fine's Piano book. I kept going back to the Kawai dealership and liking that RX-1. The salesperson kept telling my how much like a Steinway the RX-1 was. I was in the process of learning about piano brands and I really didn't know much about Steinway and I wasn't considering them at all, but the comparisons with Steinway made me curious.

                            (Note to piano salespeople: DO NOT compare pianos you sell to pianos you don't sell, especially if the customer doesn't ask you to. That Kawai salesperson ended up selling me a Steinway from another dealer!)

                            I went to the Steinway dealership and the salesperson there was incredibly rude so I left. I played an old used Steinway at another dealership and had an ephiphany: this is what all the recordings I listen to sound like! I decided I had to have that sound! I realize now that this was Steinway's artist program strategy working on me.

                            It took at least another two months from deciding I wanted a Steinway to finding a used one that I was willing to buy. I ended up with a 1951 M in very nice playing condition. It has been a great piano for me! By 2021 it was showing its age so I had a bunch of work done on it and it's now better ever!

                            shawarma_bees

                            After all my research (many months worth), I had narrowed it down to Mason and Hamlin and then the Tier 1 German/Austrian pianos. I ruled out Steinway because of the hefty cost of paying for the name ($10K-$15K more just for the name). I left open the possibility of a rebuilt Baldwin, also. Fazioli was out because of the price. I was also very intrigued by what I read and listened to regarding August Förster and was delighted when I found a dealer in Denver selling one. AFs are so hard to come by in the USA. I honestly wasn't expecting to be blown away by the AF, but I was. It's so much more piano than I thought I'd ever own.