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sussexpianos

Id go for the U3, great piano and lost that initial new cost.

sussexpianos

Try the Samick NSG grand, 158,175 and 185cm from £7500 to £9k. Basicaly a good piano with some Bechstein knowledge and quality parts. The cases are bigger at the back to increase soundboard resonance.Worth a look

sussexpianos

I remember a telephone call froma lady who had bought a grand piano on ebay. She was wondering how grands get through a door way( didn't know the legs came off). I also listened to how she had got 4 friends, some rope and a horse box. I wanted to know where she was so I could film it, a quick £250 I...

sussexpianos

The piano show at Lords will be where the main players will show. Mostly costs but most piano shops are pianos only and not interested in things which you have to blow into or plug in. Frankfurt is a great place to look for retailers but very big.

sussexpianos

The Kawai is my choice as it has the better action. Go on, push the boat out and treat yourself !

sussexpianos

use masking tape to secure a good ruler underneath the lettering so you get it nice and straight

I wish I had a pound for every Knight piano with letters missing. saw a kight yesterday

sussexpianos

ive got scares where ive been moving a piano and the bottom door falls down on to my legs! The springs are the best Ive seen.

sussexpianos

there are different silent systems out there so each is different with the setoff, genio is around 10-12 depending on how the rail fits, the pianodisc is around the same.Yamaha may say 5.5 to 8mm but on a few I've had to make it 10mm to stop the hammers blocking.

sussexpianos

Piano disc has a larger cd collection but there's not a lot in it.

sussexpianos

Ive seen one of the green frame Broadwood uprights he has made recently, made it for someone working for him. I hope it goes well but I know for sure its going to be expensive but the British buyers might spend more to buy British ( they did/do for Kembles). The actions will probably be Renner but I...

sussexpianos

I always suggest 2-3 weeks for any piano but if it hasn't been tuned for a long time then it might need 2 tunings. It may sound good to you but to a tuner it might sound awful :) Tuners have different suggestions and there's no golden rule but I would leave it 2-3 weeks then have it tuned and if it ...

sussexpianos

The set off on silents is around 15mm so you don't get as much power as a normal but I think its enough to set the string when tuning. New pianos do take a while to settle down as the new strings etc are settling and the woods are also doing the same. If it was a normal U1 then I would suggest a dam...

sussexpianos

if you can get a satin wood finish then I would get that. Its easy to clean, dosn't show the scratches so easily and easy to repair. The only problem is that modern finishes use a fast stain which bleaches easy in sunlight where black is excellent at not bleaching so easy. Polyester is a pain to rep...

sussexpianos

been reading some books on fine concert tuning and they say you should tune 2 of the 3 strings before checking to see if the octave is correct due to inharmicity ( or something like that). Tune the first string slightly sharp and then the next string and see if its correct. This is why you don't use...

sussexpianos

I am now the proud owner of a consolette in walnut sitting in my showroom

Its very clean and I hope the crowds rushing to buy this piano becareful as I only have parking for 5 cars!

sussexpianos

Will be a nice holiday for some lucky technician

sussexpianos

You will need a Yamaha techie trained for silent systems, but there are not many around. Could be a case of replacing the main unit. Electronics are only 1 year. Yamaha stock many parts in the UK.

sussexpianos

I always back wedge except for overdampers ( birdcage)

sussexpianos

or a Bechstein upright. For a make who has a good reputation, they sure didn't string well. Or was it intentional?? The main thing to safe guard against false strings is to not twist the wire when stringing, tap the string down ( not with a screw driver!) on the bridge at both pins and the hitch. Yo...

sussexpianos

so you have done market research into this matter then?

sussexpianos

even cheaper is getting a local sign shop to make one up for you. Costs around £5.

sussexpianos

OK, went round to tune a piano today and the customer says that when he presses the sustain pedal and plays a single note, he hears a few harmonics which are not part of the played note's harmonic series. Now, I understand that if you play a note, if the notes in its harmonic series were undamped, t...

sussexpianos

Mr Openwood,
how do you know how much it costs??

sussexpianos

I remember laughing when I came to a piano and when I pressed the sustain pedal ( loud pedal to all), all the dampers lifted but the felts stayed on the strings :) sorry madam, but Im not tuning this one! Damper felt is very soft and can absord moisture in the air if its damp. When drying, the felts...

sussexpianos

The charge for tuning depends on area. You are paying for a quality service by a profensional who needs to tune roughy 220 strings by skill and experiance. Its not a quick job and you are also paying for traveling time. If you want a good job done, then you get someone who's good and maybe you have ...

sussexpianos

I like white, it brightens up the room! Off white is a different matter and cream is yuck. White polyester is very difficult to find and as such, there are people out there looking high and low. I once had a small modern white piano in, had loads of calls from all over the country.Stick it on ebay, ...

sussexpianos

The best thing for cracks in a soundboard/ loose ribs when you don't want to shim (bit expensive as you need to de-string etc) is to use Wurth polyurethane glue. I use it a lot for gluing panels etc but it stops buzzing noises when faced with lots of cracks. Its like a resin but starts to expand sli...

sussexpianos

white is coming into fashion

sussexpianos

I've been smelling one all week, unfortunately I had to go up into the loft and get the dead rotting thing. It was putting my customers off from buying!

sussexpianos

Def. take a tuner with you. Ask the tuner to test the wrest pins and see what pitch its at. The bridges tend to go on these so look there. If the case has been sprayed satin then walk away. If its just a dull Frenchpolish, get a good polisher to revive it. Just remember not all Bechsteins are great,...

sussexpianos

The good thing about these pianos is the size. They fit in flats and small houses well and as such, very easy to sell. They are not great instruments due to the length of the strings but I think they are cute. Get a tuner to come out and tune it, check it over and they will give you a price for whic...

sussexpianos

The piano sold to you should have been at concert pitch. This means that the note "A" in the middle resonates at a frequency of 440hz. This is the pitch all instruments are tuned/made to unless they are purpose made for early music like 415hz etc. Unless the piano was sold to you with the ...

sussexpianos

think long and hard, I have had many people do a weeks work in my workshop to see if they want to work in the piano industry and I have to say, one out of 5 went to Newark. Its not an easy business and you will need to take on a second job for a few years until you build up a round/business. I worke...

sussexpianos

Pianos ( and other things)are only worth what other people are willing to pay. The only value I give to clients is an insurance value ie. what they will need to go to a reputable piano shop and buy one of the same quality. The secondhand market has fallen alot in the last 10 years due to quality new...

sussexpianos

piano wire is used in many applications. I sell wire to set designers, wig makers, brick makers ( used to remove clay), used to be used as cheese wire until they stoped it, and F&N sold wire to be used in the contruction of the Queen Elizabeth bridge at Dartford. Was very useful one day when I l...

sussexpianos

My wife thinks Im having an affair with pianos, but she has put a stop to me bringing the old joannas home and tinkering with them in the garage

sussexpianos

The Kawai PR-1 is an acoustic piano recording system which has the options to add microphones and have XLR output. Basicaly is rather good and I've sold a few of them. One customer teaches singing and uses the system with a microphone. She then burns them onto CD and give them to the client to pract...

sussexpianos

This job has "bodge" written all over it. I have seen many pianos where a technician(so called anyway) have done this the worse one was when 2-5 notes went down at the same time. As MDW sugests, check the bushings as well. The tops should be flush with the sides, the shoulders ( where the ...

sussexpianos

I have always been into gadgets which makes my life simpler but also makes a job either less demanding or quicker. I have bought various tools from German & USA piano supply houses which we cannot get here in the UK. Some have been great, others rather disappointing. There are many tools which I...

sussexpianos

With your budget, the U1 instead of the U3 will be what you'd be looking for. 4 mill will be after 1986 but at the end of the day, the condition of the instrument is what matters. You can have a very good 1980 (3 mill) and a worn 1989 for instance. The Yamaha is bright and not to everyones taste. If...

sussexpianos

this all sounds expensive, you would have been better buying a new one or one in better condition. The casework alone will outstrip the value of the grand. Get a local tuner in who will give you a good report on its condition. Old grands are going very cheaply or being dumped as the cost of renovati...

sussexpianos

very good.

sussexpianos

"excuse me thankyou, you have a looks good piano and I wish to offer you my greatest prize of money to purchase this great piano from you. Please cash my cheque for ££ and give me a cheque for the difference. I wish you happy day. I live not far from you but please send to Africa" one of t...

sussexpianos

dam, you'v beaten my offer before I had a chance, I was going to offer my collection of furry peanuts from the seat in my van. looks like Im going to be stuck with this Steinway instead

sussexpianos

The Samick NSG is a great piano which I sell a few off. Id try the 175 and the 186 as they are great sounding pianos. The 156 is good for its size as the body is fatter at the back. Id be interested to hear your comments on the NSG.

sussexpianos

the type and age of the piano will be helpful as it makes a diffiference. If its a modern type piano then Id recommend an auto climate system like Damp-chaser. Id like these fitted to all pianos as it will protect the woods in the long term but they are expensive in the UK( in the states they are ha...

sussexpianos

lol, how much? where are these offers coming from then? It takes a long time for a message from Pluto to arrive. I remember seeing a piano in Brighton. The man selling it looked like Arther Daily. It was in good condition on the outside but needed everything doing on the inside. I remember having a ...

sussexpianos

Take a look on the frame. "Panzer System" may well be printed on the top of it.

Is that where Hitler got the name from then?

sussexpianos

Len, I tune for a few concert halls and they all have Yamaha pianos because they are good workhorses and the punters can hear the piano well due to its bright tone but, and this is just personal pref, the tone can be a little too bright for the home (esp. with wooden lam floors) so some people pref....

sussexpianos

Im sure they will still need adjustment for wear. besides, its difficult to remove modern tops due to the hot glue they use which is very difficult to remove, so after the keytops have been removed, the old glue needs sanding off so the heights in theory will need adjusting. I find using a band saw ...

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