Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Going to look at a U3, some tips?

I've found a made-for-north-america Yamaha U3, in 1976. Kindof old, but the only owners have used it very little, and claim it's in wonderful condition. I can't bring a tech with me, so I'll give it the once over first. I'll look for rust on the strings, loose keys, cracks on the soundboard.....what other things should I be looking for?
thanks

Look at the hammer return spring retention cords. A Yamaha of this age probably has many that are broken, and most or all ready to go.

Take a flashlight with you. Once you get the front panel off, look at the front base of the hammer butt assembly. That's in between the hammers and the dampers. You can see the springs held in place by little loops of cotton thread. Some or most are probably sticking straight out. You can sort of get the idea here: vertical action diagram

This is fixable, but it's usually a few hundred dollars to either replace the flanges or to repair the cords.

Check the condition of of the hammers--shape, grooves, alignment.

I'd advise you to try to get the sellers to hold it until you can have it checked out by a tech. Could be a gem--but it could be a dog.

Dave gives some great advise.

If you play yourself, give it a good workout. Can you achieve a wide dyamic range in tone and volume? If not, a good regulation will be in order.

Good luck.

Thanks...I'll take my first look, and listen, then get a tech to check it out, if it passes the initial test. One thing that might make this process difficult is that he said it's not been tuned in 7 years. This could mean it's slipped, and would require raising it in increments...costing a lot of cents to raise it some cents :o)

Yes, depending on its environment, the piano might be up to a half step flat or so, maybe more.

If they are serious about selling it, they should have it tuned. Just my opinion though.

The important controls when buying an used piano are>

are the ribs firmly attached to a soundboard

is the soundboard in good condition, without cracks, and with measurable crown

is it far out of tune, if so, it will need to be tuned three or more times to get it right, which costs, of course

are there any strange clicks when you play, which can indicate that an instrument had visitors, like moths or mices, and that can happend, believe me

look for the shape of the hammers at the striking points, they should be oval,and if there are stripes made by strings on them, you can suppose that 1 mm of depth, means 10 years of home playing, 2mm 20 years, and if more, you will have to change them very soon

try to move every hammerhead to the left, and to the right by your finger.If some of them go more far then the others, there is possibility that the centre pins are bed, or, in better case, the flanges will need to be tightened.

check if there are some notes that are extremly detuned, which can indicate loosed tuning pins, or cracks on the pinblock.

Look how the wooden parts look like. If the color is changed to gray, it means that the piano has been in the humid space for the long time, and that can cause problems later

Check the uniformity of key depths,dampers when the right pedal is pressed, do all keys lay in the same line horizontaly , is the color of sound similar on the whole range of thge piano.

Ask the seller some questions, try to detect if he or she is sincere and honest, or he looks suspicious to you, if so, you may expect that there is some hidden fail of the piano as reason for sale.

Look for every other thing you can remember, and do not talk too much, not until the price is bargoned at your benefit.

Good luck.
Bojan Babic

bojanbabic@yahoo.com

Fantastic advise Bojan. The seller said this was a gift to his parents 34 years ago, and it has been in the family forever. His sister took lessons for a year, about 20 years ago. I think they just want to cash out of something that no one uses, but the asking price seems a bit high.....if it checks out to be in great condition, with no repairs necessary, then it might be worth it. I *do* feel better about it being a non-grey market refurb. We'll see.....

Everything recommended checks out great. It's in wonderful shape for being that old. No rust on strings, no dust inside, ribs all solid, no cracks in soundboard, no wobble with keys, action smooth, tone balanced, played soft as well as loud, no broken retention cords....and the seller is genuine, a good fellow. There aren't many made-for-N America U3's that show up around here. He's gotten swarmed with calls, and I just happen to be the first one to see it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/topotone/sets/72157623684687268/
I brought my chromatic tuner to see how out-of-tune it was, but surprisingly, it was almost spot on. Had I not know it had it's last tuning about 5 years ago, I would have thought it was recently tuned.
Really, all the areas of concern seemed to pass with flying colors. I've got the $ down to $3100. I told him I'd pick it up today, and am wondering now if I need to hire a tech to look any further. It's not in my town, so I'll have to do a search for techs in that area, and see if anyone is available.

Great list, Bojan!

Check pianobuyer.com (ad on right) for more tips on purchasing a used piano. The one thing you can't easily check is the torque on the tuning pins, and that's one of the most critical aspects.

--Cy--

Thanks...yes, everything checked out great. I brought it home last night, and will need to hire someone to bring it up one flight of stairs. I think that might be better than having my son get some friends to carry it up...could be tricky without a piano board, but, we brought my 48" Weber up there years ago....it *was* quite heavy, as I remember, but the U3 is even heavier.

What sort of cleaner and polish should I use for the finish and the keys?