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At Luca Music, every step is taken to insure that the instrument you select will perform to the exact, original factory specifications.  We want your learning experience to be as pleasurable as possible.   Learning the piano is challenging enough without having to deal with a piano that has sticky notes or plays out of tune.

1. Tuning- Most used pianos in people’s homes are thought to “just need a tune up”. The reality is most haven’t been tuned in years and require a complete pitch raising. A pitch raising involves tuning the piano up to five times in order to bring the piano to “ A-440 ” concert pitch.  Rather than “just tuning the piano to itself,” Luca Music tunes every preowned piano to factory concert pitch.  This assures the best possible tone as well as future tuning stability.

2. Regulation- If you have ever played a piano and noticed that some of the keys don’t respond well or stick or get “ hung up,”  you were probably playing a piano in need of a Regulation or Regulating.  Many people are unfamiliar with what a regulation is, or feel it is part of tuning.  Regulation is the process of adjusting all the keys  to play to factory specifications.  There are over a dozen adjustments on each  key not to mention tightening of all the action screws and removing dead felt from  each hammer.   A full regulation job cost $300-$400 at present, and is performed on every  preowned  piano purchased at Luca Music.

3. Finish Repair- Naturally a piano which has been in a home for several years may  become scratched or dented.  At Luca Music, each piano is thoroughly inspected and  repairs are made to each defect in the piano’s finish.  In some cases, pianos are completely stripped down and refinished if needed.
         
   
4. Warranty: At Luca Music’s 4000 sq. ft. repair facility, two full time technicians go through each piano to assure that our customers will receive their piano in perfect working order.  Because meticulous attention is paid to every detail, we can assure each customer that each piano will perform perfectly, in fact we guarantee it.  Every preowned piano purchased at Luca Music comes with a Parts & Labor warranty.  If a problem arises, we’ll fix it, free of charge.  It’s that simple.

5. Delivery: Luca Music will deliver your piano free of charge to any street level residence anywhere in Rhode Island or nearby Massachusetts. Delivery services are also available at the rate of $95/ hr. (2 hour minimum).

Preowned Piano F.A.Q.

Q. What is a spinet?, a Console? A Studio? An Upright?

A. Within the family of vertical pianos, (notice the use of the word vertical not Upright, which is actually a type of vertical) there are four types of pianos.  Starting with the largest they are as follows:

1. The Upright- These are the big old bombers usually seen at Grandma’s house. Most are nearly five feet tall and weigh 600-800 pounds (try moving one!).  Many are converted from player pianos and some are cut down and have a mirror on the top.  Ninety-nine percent of  them are over 70 years old and some have been around for over 100 years!

Identification- Enormous height (compared with modern pianos).  Models which feature lots of decorative carving date closer to the turn of the century.  The plain, squarer type are typically 1920’s vintage (likely converted from a player piano as over half of the pianos sold in this period were players).  Eighty-five note models date from the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Pros- Very high initial quality.  It would be difficult to find a modern piano with the high level of workmanship and generous use of high quality material that even the average old upright utilized.  They can usually be purchased quite inexpensively (often free for the moving).

Cons- The fact that they are at least seventy years old pretty much negates the fact of all the high quality.  Most are too worn out, below pitch, ugly, and difficult to move to be useful as instruments (hence the free for the moving bit).  Better models that have had sufficient repair work can be useful as Practice Pianos.

2. The Studio- Studios are a kind of mini version of full-size uprights.  Unlike the bombers, studios are still made today by most manufacturers.  Within the modern vertical family, the studio has the best touch and tone.  This is due to the fact that studios have longer strings and larger soundboards as well as full size actions versus the compact actions found in Consoles.  Studios are actually designed for professional or school use, but are frequently found in homes where players desire the highest quality piano without buying a grand.

Identification- Studios are usually between 45 and 52 inches tall and have plainly styled cabinets with front legs supported by toe blocks (similar to uprights).  Some feature double rubber wheels and locking cabinets (to keep little fingers out).  There are some studios which have console style cabinets such as the Charles R. Walter line of pianos. Bear in mind that it’s not cabinet style alone that makes a studio a studio.  The longer strings, bigger sound board, and full size action are what make the piano professional grade.

Pros- Top sound quality and touch.  Plainer furniture styles are more timeless than many console and spinet styles, which can look dated in twenty years.  Studios are also a better value as fewer purchasing dollars go toward furniture styling and more toward the instrument itself.

Cons- For some, the studio’s styling is too plain to fit in with their décor, though the trend has moved away from this attitude in recent years.  Also, some manufacturers build studios with console style cabinets increasing the available choices but usually at a premium of $800 or more.

3. The Console- After the beginning of the Great Depression, full-size upright piano production came to a grinding halt.  At this point, manufacturers introduced the small piano; the console and soon thereafter the spinet.  Both are quite similar in cabinet design (except for the size), but very different underneath the skin. Consoles have direct blow actions like their larger counterparts the studio and upright.  It should be mentioned though that consoles have compacted actions, which don’t perform as well as the other, larger actions.  Consoles are a good choice for the recreational pianist who is looking for a piano, which devotes roughly 50/50 to furniture and instrument.

Identification- Consoles are typically between 40 and 44 inches tall. Any taller and it’s probably a studio in a console’s clothes, any shorter and it’s probably a spinet or a Consolette (a large spinet).   Consoles often have two unsupported legs on the front, unless it is a continental console, which has no front legs.  In addition, consoles have music racks on the front similar to spinets.

Pros- An extensive array of furniture styles is available in consoles.  Most are fairly inexpensive, and are still much better than the majority of beginner pianos or digitals out there.

Cons- While consoles are still a step above spinets, they still don’t play and sound as good as their larger counterparts.  Some flashier furniture styles may look dated in 20 years.

4. The Spinet- Pianos live two lives; one as an instrument and one as a piece of furniture.  The spinet was created primarily to satisfy the latter of these two needs.

Spinets are shorter than consoles making them less imposing in the décor of a room.  In order to achieve this low profile, special modifications to the action were required.  Unfortunately, these modifications came at the expense of action performance.  The keys of the spinet piano are much shorter that the larger pianos in the vertical family, and the action itself is mounted much lower in the piano. The action is connected to the keys via a series of rods.  The complexity of the spinet action makes it very balky to play and expensive to service.  Another factor is the height of the piano itself.  The piano is just too short for it’s own good.  The strings and soundboard just aren’t long enough to produce a nice tone and most sound thin and tinny.  Due to the bad rap that spinets have gotten over the years, most manufacturers don’t even make them anymore.

Identification- Spinets are usually 36 to 39 inches in height.  They otherwise look pretty similar to consoles.  Most were built between 1950 and 1980.

Pros- The small size of the spinet makes it easy to fit in the living room.  Though it should be noted that all verticals take up the same floor space it’s simply a matter of height.   Spinets are quite plentiful on the used market today as tons of them were sold during their heyday.

Cons- Spinets have the worst tone and action of the vertical family.  Most were built as promotion pianos in order to step customers up to consoles, and as a result quality is usually poor.

Some hybrids and oddballs

1. The Consolette- Typically an overgrown spinet or a midget console 39 to 40 inches tall, roughly equal to spinet in performance.

2. The “Upright Grand”- Just a regular full size upright with a fancy moniker.

3. The Studio Console- a studio in a console’s clothing, otherwise equal to a studio in performance.

More about actions.

In your quest to find your perfect piano, you undoubtedly will hear references to the piano’s action.  Just what is the action and how does it affect playability?  In brief, the term action encompasses all of the moving mechanical playing aspects of the piano including the keys, the hammers, and all the various parts in between.  The action is the pianist true interface with the rest of the piano.  All the wonderful tone in the world won’t mean anything if the player can’t express himself or herself through a smooth, well balanced action.

Ultimately, vertical piano manufacturers try to emulate the grand piano action as much as possible.  Why the grand action?  Because the goal of the piano student is to eventually end up on a grand.  Even if the student doesn’t plan on going to “ Carnegie Hall” or purchasing a grand themselves, at one point or another they will likely end up playing a grand at a recital or lesson.  Therefore, it makes sense to purchase a piano that will prepare them as much as possible.  Strengthening of the fingers develops piano technique.  Actions which are too light; such as those found on spinets will hinder the student’s progress and could make playing a grand very difficult.

Q. What do they mean when they say  “a 5’7” or 4’11” Grand”?

Q. What size is considered a baby grand, and when is a piano a grand?

1.      4’5” – Lapetite (Kimball model name)

2.      4’7” to 5’5’’- Small Grand, Baby Grand or Quarter Grand (Chickering)

3.      5’6” to 7’- Medium Grand, Grand, Parlor Grand (Steinway).

4.  7’to7’6”- Grand, Semi-Concert Grand?

5.     9’ – Concert Grand. 

Q. What about parts? Is it advisable to buy an older piano that I may not be able to get parts for?

A. As hard is it may be to believe, brand new parts are available for just about any piano made in the last 100 years.  The reason for this is that piano actions were made by only a small number  of companies.  Even with the millions of pianos out there, there were only a couple dozen different types of actions made.  In addition to new parts there is the possibility of salvaging used parts from retired pianos.  So, getting parts should never be a problem.

Q. What brand names should I look for? It seems like there is so many!

A. And there are so many! Over 5000 in the U.S. in the past hundred years, and that doesn’t even count the foreign brands like Yamaha and Samick.  Ultimately you have to find the piano that suits your needs for touch, tone, and appearance best.  It would be unwarranted to resolutely deem a piano good or bad based on brand name alone.
Practically every company has built its share of good pianos and bad pianos.  Considering the number of names out there, don’t be surprised or put off if the piano you’re considering doesn’t have a name you’ve heard of.

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