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		If you decide to purchase a used piano from a private party, enlist the aid of a tuner-technician. Be careful that you find a “real deal” and not a “piece of junk". There may be a hairline crack in a vital part of the piano or some other technical flaw.   Inspect the Piano Try every key on the piano with the right pedal depressed to check the tone. Make sure the keyboard, pedals and hammers don’t stick or squeak. Open the top and make sure the hammers aren’t moth-eaten or string-cut and check for rust and dirt. The safest buys tend to be no more than 20 years old. Ask how long it has been since someone has tuned the piano? If the piano has not been tuned for a long time, it will take quite a few tunings to bring it back to proper adjustment. If the piano has been moved from a humid climate to a dry climate, it may be reason for not purchasing. The moisture or lack of moisture may mean wood will swell or dry out and crack. The Back Look at the back; there will be 5 or 6 vertical posts that serve as stays against the frame, giving added strength to rest the tremendous pull of the strings inside. The posts should be heavy and strong enough to provide adequate support in proportion to the rest of the piano   The Soundboard Ask about the soundboard, the wood board at the back that translates vibrations of the strings into the “tone” of the piano.  The soundboard is one of the vital parts of the piano, and it is made of spruce in many top-quality instruments. The fine, straight grain in spruce is ideal for conducting sound. The ribs on the back of the soundboard should run from one edge of the soundboard to the other for support. Plate & Bridges The plate is an irregularly shaped piece of cast iron bolted to the back of the frame. It holds one end of the piano strings and anchors most of the 20 tons of pull exerted by the taut stings. The treble and bass bridges are another of the pianos vital organs. These long pieces of hard maple are attached to the soundboard, transferring the vibrations of the string to it. Strung Back When piano dealers refer to the strung back they mean the parts just discussed plus the strings which are made of high-grade steel drawn to exact sizes. The bass strings are wound with wire to add weight and reduce the frequency at which the string vibrates.  This allows the use of relatively shorter string to produce deeper notes. At the top of the plate, the strings are wound through and around tuning pins. These are set into the pin block, constructed ob layers of carefully seasoned hard wood which grips the pins in place for tuning stability. Action The working section of the p8iano is called the action. There are about 75000 parts here, all playing a role in sending the hammers against the strings when keys are struck. Grand pianos all have horizontal action and upright pianos have vertical action.  There are two kinds of vertical actions: “direct-blow” which pushes the mechanism that controls the hammer, found in taller pianos; and “indirect-blow” or “drop” action which pulls the mechanism in lower silhouette instruments. Hammers Piano Hammers are formed of one or two layers of felt forged on the wooden hammer molding under tremendous pressure. If a dealer talks to you about the 9 pound hammer as opposed to a 12 pound hammer, he means the weight of the sheets of felt that were used to make the hammers Tuning & Regulation By the time you see the piano in the showroom, it has been tuned at the factory several times, starting with the “chip” or rough tuning before the mechanism is even locked into the cabinet. The last fine adjustment, called “voicing” includes the regulation of the hammer felts for individual notes. Keys Now you can take your head out of the inside of the piano and consider the externals again. The piano keys rest in the key bed, a perfectly flat well in the front of the cabinet that keeps the keys level. Each key is balanced by the center pin and bushed with fine wool for silence and proper clearance. The ivories are not ivory anymore, but a fine molded plastic that won’t crack or turn yellow. The black keys are made of a similar material. Pedals Most pianos have 3 pedals most pianists need only 2. The sustaining or damper pedal on the right lifts the dampers (which in a resting position prevent the strings from vibrating) away from the strings so that the tone is sustained after the keys are released. The pedal on the left called “una corda” mutes the tone by shortening the distance the hammers travel or by shifting the action slightly so fewer strings are hit. Many pianos have a 3rd pedal for sustaining bass tones only. On most grand pianos and some uprights, the third pedal is a sostenuto, which sustains selected tones at the pianist’s discretion. Cabinet Finally there is the cabinet, that handsome piece of furniture that will take a prominent place in your décor. Modern cabinets are made of core stock overlaid with thin veneers of fine furniture wood. Many grains and finishes are available and modern finishing techniques assure excellent appearance and easy care for years.
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