The Piano Book: Buying & Owning a New or Used Piano

There's not much to add to the superlatives written about this book except to note that simply having it in your possession can influence salespeople!I took this book with me in Sept. 2003 to buy a "nearly new" piano at the annual sale of the prestigious Peabody Institute in Baltimore. The salewoman noticed it and said, "I see you have Larry Fine's book. I bet you'll leave here with a good piano at a great price."Throughout our tour of the many pianos on sale, I felt as though she was being more factual because I had the book! And, because I had read parts of it, I was able to ask more questions about the types of materials used in construction of the various parts.I bought a 2 month old Kawai GM-10 for about 2/3 list price! Not only did the book give me independent in-depth information on the Kawai, but several paragraphs (p.118) to read comparing it to other brands in terms of sound, feel, durability, warranty, etc.Now, every time I sit at my piano, I feel an added confidence that I'm playing the finest instrument I could afford.

The Piano Book by Larry Fine (not the same of 3-Stooges fame, I take it), is a must-read if you are thinking of buying a piano. Fine names names--the skinny on all available modern pianos you are apt to find in a dealers' showroom, new and used. Reviewed are servicability, construction quality,tone, and street prices. Armed with this book, a consumer takes a big step towards getting the most piano for his or her money and, most important, reduces the likelyhood of being stuck with an overpriced dog.To put it another way, I have not met a piano salesperson or dealer who had anything really bad to say about any piece in his or her inventory. Tone quality is something you can distinguish after hearing a few good pianos, but the actual quality of the instrument and how it will hold up over time is known only by those who regulary service them in the field. This is good to know, especially with so many asian-made pianos of questionable quality floating around on the used market. If you're looking for an entry-level practice piano or a full 9' concert grand, this book will help you cut through all the manufacturers' and dealer hype.Fine's knowledge of the instrument is great.

Don't do it!(until you have read this book). As the webmaster for PianoWorld.com, I have a large collection of piano books. This one is the Best! If you are thinking about purchasing a piano, want unbiased information about different major manufacturers or are just curious about what makes them tick, buy this book. Our Web site is dedicated to providing information about pianos, and Mr. Fine's book is the one we often turn to. Well written and easy to follow, it contains an amazing amount of valueable information.

Larry Fine does an outstanding job with explaining how to recognize quality in pianos and how to get the trade-off you are looking for. As I read the book, particularly the first edition, it came more obvious which choices for a piano I would like to consider or weed out. It told me many of the aspects of the various piano manufacturers as well as what kind of sales gimmicks to be alert for when I am shopping for anything. Since this book will do all of this explaining, it would definitely be useful to any piano shopper, whether you are looking for one to use or rebuild. It could be also useful for anyone who is studying the economics because it even shows examples of all the different trade-off combinations that a purchaser can run into while shopping for a piano. The Piano Book is also useful because it has information that would be essential to piano owners as well as piano technicians. It tells them everything one needs to know while moving, maintaining, cleaning, or whatever the case may be. Since this is the case, it could help just about anyone involved with the piano decide wisely what they want to do as far as their instruments are concerned. Since Larry Fine gives information on roughly what the piano market is like in his "Piano Book", he helps many purchasers come to a successful conclusion with their piano purchase or maintence, so definitely before you come to a decision about what you want to do about a piano, STOP! Read Larry Fine's book before making an expensive piano decision.

After carefully reading this easy-to-understand book, you will be more knowledgeable and better-informed than virtually any salesperson you'll meet. Rather than relying on salespersons' "soundbites," you will have a comprehensive knowledge of the truly important aspects of quality for any piano, used or new, grand or vertical, and be able to compare features from brand to brand or dealer to dealer. Having played the piano for over 30 years, I very much enjoyed learning so much about the construction and features of this instrument. The book validated many of the perceptions which I already held about certain brands, and allowed me to expand my horizons and look at others I hadn't really considered. In fact, I ended up purchasing a higher-quality brand than I expected to, which I hadn't even really considered at the beginning. If you are in the market for ANY piano, or just interested in learning more about pianos, this book is worth far more than its small cost.A final note- if shopping for a new piano, it is ESSENTIAL to also purchase the current Annual Supplement to The Piano Book, which provides cumulative updated information since the publication of the full book, and most importantly, it gives list prices for every new piano available in the U.S., which in my experience were accurate. Mr. Fine also provides extremely helpful advice on expected discounts from list price, and negotiating the selling price with the dealer.I've had two piano teachers and at least one technician recommend The Piano Book to me, and they were absolutely right.