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Greetings.....I have been reading the forums here for awhile now and finally joined. Thank you all for the wonderully informative posts. I am learning alot and just purchased Larry Fine's books. Right now, I am the very proud owner of what a very reputable piano technician described as the " worst piano he has ever come across in all his years of tuning pianos." I am so proud of having this distinction. lol

I purchased this Marshall Rose baby grand from a piano dealer on eBay. I knew nothing about pianos. I thought a piano was a piano. Little did I know! It was able to be tuned to a point up until last month when I was told it was ready to be junked.

I have a limited budget of about 5 grand. We want another baby grand and have shopped around a little ( Northern NJ) and had an awful experience at a piano dealer which seemed much more like shopping for a car. ( same tactics)

I just found a listing on craigslist for a used Altenburg Baby Grand( 21 years old) for $3200. I emailed the owner. She said that it was played rarely and was really a decorative piece.

web page

I read that not using a piano is not a good thing. It has been tuned regularly however. Should I pass on this one because it has been played so little or is it worth having it checked out?

BTW...I play very little ( started lessons as an adult) My 10 year old son has been taking lessons for about 2 years. The piano is mainly for him.

Thanks for reading all of this! Appreciate any input.

The best used piano money that you can spend is that spent for a prepurchase inspection by an experienced tech who has no affiliation with the seller. You can probably locate techs via your local Yellow Pages. Please start trying to locate a tech now, then make an appointment to audition the piano.

The recent tuning and the included followup are good things.

In general it's tone, touch, appearance, then price. Buy the piano, not the deal. If you ears do not like the tone of this or any other piano, that instrument has no value.

I agree with FogVille - Have the piano checked out first by a good tech. How about the one who made the pronouncement on your Marshall Rose? He didn't pull any punches.

Being un-played would not necessarily be an issue. Some people buy Steinways because their decorator recommended it. I would be more worried about the environmental conditions that it stayed in. This is where the tech can help in his assessment.

BTW - What is the length? "Baby Grand" actually means nothing and I can't guess from the angle in the photo.

Others can give a better assessment on the asking price. I know nothing about Altenburg. Can you do a little bargaining? But, having a follow-up tuning provided on a private sale is quite unheard of.

All in all, it might fit your needs very well.

As an aside - From the photo, the piano looks beautiful. If it is really a lacquer finish, I personally prefer that to the look of the poly finishes currently used on all but the finest instruments.

I wanted to thank you both for your kind replies .Unfortunately, someone who had previously checked out the piano called the night before I was to see it and made a full price offer. Oh well...guess it was not meant to be. So..my search continues....
Thanks again...

Hello Joy112,

I'm checking with someone to see what's in stock. You're near my area.

Off the bat, I see a like new 5'2" Young Chang... asking price is $7500... Mahogany Polish, but let me check some things out 1st.

Joy112,

There's three grands in your area around what you were looking for:

1) Samick, used for $4990

2) Hallet Davis, new for $6590

3) 5' Weber, 8 years old for $5500

Please private message me for more info.