hey, i bought an essex 123S. it was delivered today and now i have a question:

piano salesman said they'd tune it up before putting it on the truck, then they'll send someone out again in a couple months to tune it again.

deep breath. i'm hating the sound; like, it's pretty bad.

pitch is all over the place, upper register sounds really shrill; nearly impossible to get a mellow sound out of the treble clef. if i hit the keys one at a time, like with a staccato touch, some of them sustain and some of them are dampened right away. i know music and have a good ear (i think), but i don't know the workings of the piano as a machine.

i guess my question is whether or not this is to be expected. does a piano get all out of whack on a delivery truck? do i just need to wait it out for a couple months, let the piano rest and acclimate to my home (temperature and humidity level i'm guessing??) and then let the technician fix the problems then? my impatient and impulsive nature is telling me to get on the horn ASAP and get my complaints logged for future reference.

please. advise me, oh wise and generous sages of piano.

thanks.

Give the piano a couple of weeks to acclimate, call the dealer and get the free tuning.

Even better, discuss it with the dealer, some of them are good guys. They might give you an extra tuning. Presumably, they would like to get your business in the future at some point.

this is not good, im about to upgrade my yamaha to a 123s tomorrow!! they had two in the store, one sounded really muffled and deep, where the other one sounded AMAZING and crisp and perfect and I have that one reserved! I know its made in china but there is great reviews for that model..

thread watching begin

good luck buddy

Yes -- stuff like this happens. When I got my Ritmuller a few months, my piano showed the exact same symptom -- some of the notes would occasionally sustain when there was no reason to. I was also scared out of my wits. It turns out that the delivery folks did a bad job of putting the pieces back together. When the tech came, it took him all of ten minutes to take care of the problem.

Yes, it does get out of whack on the truck. No, you should not wait a couple of months before getting it tuned, but a couple of weeks! Call the dealer, let them know how unhappy you are with the sound and schedule the tuning for a couple of weeks out. Be sure to make note of all the little things you notice so you can tell the tuner when he's there (and you will want to be in the room while they are tuning).

As a rule transporting a piano does not cause the roblems you describe. It sounds to me like it was not very well prepped.

I'd call the dealer and discuss the issues with them. If it were me, I'd send a tech out right away to address the issues on an interim basis until the 6-8 week tuning.

I agree with Steve on this. If you wait until your traditional service, you might find that the tech. has not set aside proper time to deal with these issues, as these do not sound like normal delivery issues.

Call right away and have a tech. come out now. Then have your complimentary service at the proper time.

Good luck,

I take it you know that the top octave and half or so has no dampers? So the top notes do sustain a bit because of this. Is this what you are referring to? In which case all pianos do this.

i didn't know that. thanks. the issue extends to more than the highest notes. still, good to know:)

Your piano should be reasonably playable with some forbearance for odd tings, pings and a few wobbly unisons from day one. If you're not suffering from OCD perfection syndrome and the piano can't be enjoyably played, a call to the dealer is in order. Consider also however that some of your issues may be caused by room acoustics.

Kurt

I'm assuming that you played this particular instrument extensively in the dealer's showroom before deciding to purchase it - correct???

of course. it sounded nice in the showroom, but needed tuning. i was assured it would be gone over with attention to detail before it was delivered. i noticed all the issues i mentioned in the showroom with the exception of the upper register brightness. i think i was intimidated in the showroom and didn't really try to get a sweet/singing sound out of it when i played it, so i didn't notice the brightness. i'm hoping/assuming the brightness can be combatted by a good technician???*

*(??? - had to match your question marks;)

Hi, and welcome to Piano World!

You’ve gotten some good advice and input here so far…

I might add that acoustic pianos, though magnificent musical instruments, can be very finicky and down-right ornery. I agree with the others that it would be good to let the piano settle a bit and get acclimated to its new environment (before getting too upset at the unpleasant sounds).

Next, I cannot emphasize enough how much difference you will notice after a highly-competent piano technician services/preps/tunes the piano. You will notice a huge difference.

If you are absolutely dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the performance of the piano upon initial delivery, I’d follow the other’s advice and contact the dealer right away and share your concerns with them.

You have a right to have high expectations of your new piano, but that requires the hand of a fine piano technician.

Congratulations on your new piano!

Rick

Welcome to the forum, grapesoda, and congratulations on your new piano.

Did you by any chance record the serial number of the piano you played in the showroom? Are you sure that the same piano was delivered?

Although diagnosing such things over the internet is difficult (if not impossible), I agree with Steve that it sounds as if the piano was not well prepped. It could be that the owner figured that it made more sense to postpone the prep until after it had acclimated to your house. Or it could be that the owner was hoping you wouldn't notice that the details you mentioned in the showroom hadn't been dealt with.

Advice is often given here that it is best to ask a dealer to fix any problems you notice in a piano BEFORE you agree to buy it, and you don't put down the deposit until the issues have been fixed to your satisfaction. It's too late in your case, obviously, but I agree with the others who suggested you call the dealer right away, describe the issues you have with the piano, and ask him to specify exactly what was done before delivery. The damping issues should be easily dealt with, as should the pitch inconsistencies. The fundamental brightness/shrillness of the notes... that may be harder to deal with.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

update: spoke with the salesman this afternoon. he advised me to give the piano a month to settle down and then the tech will come out and address all issues EXCEPT for the voicing of the upper register. he says that's not part of the free service offered with the piano. seems kinda cheap to me, considering the 5k i just dropped, but what do i know....

From what you describe, it doesn't sound like any of the issues you wanted addressed were actually addressed before delivery. That WAS the deal, wasn't it? And now you're being asked to wait a month? I wouldn't be happy, either. As others have suggested, I'd have the technician out there now, not later. If they refuse, get your money back.

Sounds really cheap to me. Maybe we should ask who the dealer is, so we can all stay away?

It doesn't represent Essex well either.

Some observations:

You admit that you really didn't concentrate on the tonal structure of the piano while in the dealership.

There could be, indeed, a large difference between your home and the showroom acoustics. Is the piano placed on carpeting? Is it against a wall? Have you put something sound absorbing behind the piano?

Voicing a piano is a complex job and to completely change the basic tone of the instrument is more than a touch up. Consider your purchase price, it was very good for this Essex, and put things in perspective.

There is no reason to panic or be angry at this stage.

What enticed you to buy a piano that obviously needed tuning even BEFORE delivery to your home?

Norbert

thanks for the observations.

i feel neither anger nor panic at this point. thanks for being concerned about my feelings!

i did my best to listen to the tone of the piano in the showroom. i liked it, especially when compared with the yamaha uprights they were displaying.

i'm not looking for a handout. i'd just like to solve the problem. if paying skilled technician to come spend some time with it is the answer, that's what i'll do.

the piano is in a carpeted room, against a wall. there is nothing on the wall behind the piano.

i'm not sure what is meant by "consider the purchase price". am i to assume that i got a deal on a lemon? i know $5500 is chump change to some, but it was a sacrifice for my family.

i was told this was procedure. i'm no expert on piano buying. if i made mistakes before purchase, i'll take accountability.

Please read the whole paragraph to which you are referring. What I was saying is that there is a fairly high cost to do a tonal re-voicing and not just a touch-up to a few errant notes. While I agree that $5K (now $5.5K) is an expense for any family, one cannot expect the dealer to absorb the additional expense to obtain the tone you desire. The piano is not intended to compete with the more expensive instruments and you cannot expect that type of sound. You are asking for more than the usual prep and maintenance which is considered standard for this instrument.

If the piano is indeed a "lemon," request a replacement from Steinway.

This was at a Steinway dealer?

It's unusual for any piano dealer to have badly out-of-tune pianos on the floor, even the entry-level grands.

thanks for the clarification. all the responses on this board have been really helpful, and i'm grateful to those who shared opinions and advice. i'll consider the input and set my expectations accordingly.

sara

it wasn't badly out of tune. it wasn't perfectly in tune either.

my intention is not to drag any dealer/brand name through the mud.

Ask the dealer if they tuned the piano before delivery. What you do not want to happen is get a piano that for some reason does not hold tuning very well.

Steve and Rich, two reputable dealers themselves, have both advised you to inform your dealer immediately. A wise and conciencious dealer will address problems in the field immediately and send out an experienced and empathic tech., quite aside from the first tuning in your home.

Norbert[/quote]

Don't you think it's a bit late for recriminations, Norbert? Not everyone is a seasoned, experienced piano buyer, in fact, almost nobody is and there are a few 'enticing' salesfolk out there.

Was your piano brand brand new our had it been on the floor for a while? I had an Essex 123 that i miss dearly ( i had to trade it in for a continental piano without legs or toeblock so it could fit up the stairs of my new condo) but I remember mine never sounding it's best; but I think it was because it was brand new and had probably only been tuned a handful of times. Your piano probably just needs time to adjust--When I traded my piano in i made sure and got the floor model that had been out for years; that way I knew it had been broken in and maintained properly.

If you're truly unhappy with the way your piano sounds, give it about two weeks and call the dealer...nohing takes two months to acclimate to an environment, two weeks is plenty. And just remember, they're not calling the shots, you are. Tell them to come fix it the way you like it or you'll take you're 5k else where. It will work I promise.