Tagged As: Used Piano
Question:
We are remodeling our basement and I want to buy a used piano to put down there. My son has started piano lesson and myself being a long time guitar player might want to play one after work. Considering how the upstairs space are being used we can only put the piano in the basement. Questions : 1. Can piano be put in the basement ? Do I have to install a de-humidifier and watch the humidity to prevent the piano from being damaged ? 2. What is a good, relatively small (able to go throught the stairs), easy to maintain used piano in the $4000 range ? And is the Yamaha U1 a good choice since it can be plugged in and played without disturbing others in the house ? Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
Answer:
I did without a dinner table in order to have a piano. The only basement I ever had was routinely filled with water to a foot deep. If your basement is in Utah or Arizona, I imagine it might be a better choice than an above-ground room, since it might have a more constant temperature, and a more constant, slightly higher humidity. How do your guitar tops do in your environment? Consider how many moving parts are in your piano action, and how many different kinds of wood are are in there. Also consider that within reasonable limits, humidity isn't that much of a problem -- but changes in humidity lead to big problems over time. So unless it goes from Panama to Egypt down there, you might be ok. If it were up to me, I'd re-think every other piece of furniture with a bias toward getting rid of it, then work around the piano. But that's me. I fit my whole life around music, everything else is after that... On your first point: some time ago I 'did up' a basement room for use as a practice studio, and bought in a 'new' (second-hand) small grand piano. I was shocked to find that within a day or two all the notes were stuck together! Clearly the basement was pretty damp...... I got hold of some de-humidifying crystals, which draw moisture into a tray. This certainly picked up lots of water. Within a week or two the piano returned back to normal. I think I would be far more worried about over-dry conditions (central heating say), which probably lead to permanent damage. As far as neighbours - most problems are when you are above someone, as the percussive aspect goes through the floor. If you are really worried, a lot of more recent uprights have a practice pedal, which damps down the sound. By the way - what do you mean'plugged in'??? Perhaps the piano is modified for midi or something?
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