Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Considerations for taking a piano to Nicaragua from the US

My professional duties are taking me to Nicaragua soon. Nicaragua is a tropical wet and dry climate. May to October is the rainy season (averaging 15 rainy days per month) and November to April is the dry season (with average daily temperatures rising to about 93 degrees F). Due to the high cost of electricity, it will not be possible to run the A/C often. Thankfully, the home is located in a breezier part of town and the rooms have ceiling fans. The piano currently resides in Monterey, CA a mile or so away from the Pacific (yet surprisingly low humidity considering).

My family loves our Charles Walter 1520. My oldest has passed me up and is working on some advanced pieces (like Rachmaninov's Prelude Op.23 No.5 and Beethoven's Pathétique). Doing without a piano for our time there is not an option, the question I have is what is the best course of action.

Option #1: Install a dehumidifying rod to help the piano survive the raining season. That would certainly help reduce the possibility of damage due to humidity, but I worry that the lack of temperature control in the home may also harm the piano. Tuning will always be an issue; however, we are informed that there are piano tuners in our area. That is comforting, but it seems the instrument will always be out of tune in this environment. What else should be considered for this option?

Option #2: Put the piano in climate-controlled storage during our time in Nicaragua and purchase a digital piano. Unfortunately we have no friends or family who can take the piano into their home. Purchasing a digital piano has its ups and downs as well. My wife and I spent two hours today at a Yamaha dealer auditioning digital pianos. It didn't take us long to zero in on the AvantGrand series (either the NU1 or N1 are within our reach financially) as having superior touch. The CLP-585 came close, but the AvantGrand were clearly superior. Since my children are playing more advanced pieces, action & touch are the most important factors.

Unfortunately (from a humidity standpoint), the AvantGrands have real actions made of wood, felt, etc. This leads me to this question: Will the actions in these hybrid pianos be adversely affected by changes in humidity to the same degree as the soundboard?

Option #3: Find a piano in Nicaragua. I simply don't know how to evaluate this option. No one I know in Nicaragua has tried to find an instrument there. I'm working on contacting the university and orchestra to see if I can find any more information on the availability of instruments, but, for now, this option involves the most chance. If pianos follow the pattern of cars (which are all imported), then new pianos are likely to be hundreds to thousands of dollars more costly and there is no telling what a used instrument might be like. For me, this option is fraught with too many unknowns.

I would be grateful to hear your recommendations!

I seen some ads for pianos there like this kranich and bach and it doesn't look promising (seriously, look at the keys in the close up)....

http://www.encuentra24.com/nicaragu...usica-moda-arte-musica.2?q=keyword.piano

Might want to consider picking up a decent DP with some nice weighted keys and bringing it down with you...store your CW, or lend it to a good friend until you get back. I'd be worried about key bushings swelling (something a Damp Chaser will not really help with too much) and finding a decent tech to take care of it.

Pianos from tropical regions with little A/C don't do well. Strings rust, termites invade, and parts stick. I've seen more than a few. De humidifier rods can't keep up, if the environment has no A/C. I would not bring the Charles Walters piano to a tropical country on a temporary basis unless you have full time A/C.

Have you tried the Kawai "Concert Artist" digitals? They are generally acknowledged to have the best actions short of the Yamaha AG series. The advantage is that they don't have all the humidity sensitive parts the Yamaha has. I think you should try to find the new Kawai CA97 or CA67 (or CA95/CA65 if you can't find the new ones) and see what you think. I've played them and you can play advanced pieces on them. They do have wooden key sticks and bushed front key rails and balance rails, but everything else is metal so it should stand up better to the environment you will be in. I think this would be your best option. It could get very frustrating trying to keep an acoustic piano in tune and in playable condition from what you describe. The digital might not be ideal, but I think it's a valid compromise in your situation. I definitely don't think you should haul your beloved Charles Walter to such an environment.

You really need to rethink taking the piano with you and the same goes with putting it in climate controlled storage. Perhaps you should talk to some local techs and dealers to see if they have creative ideas to find a baby sitter. According to the 2008-2009 supplement to the Piano Book, the 1520 had a retail in the 11k range. Charles Walters are great pianos but subjecting them to the high temp and rh in Nicaragua would most likely be very bad. Check out some of the general information on the Dampp Chaser /Piano Life Saver web site to see what
high humidity can do. No way is a system going to keep up plus ceiling fans have a distortion effect on the sound.

If you go the electronic route make sure you have surge protection and know what kind of current you
will be having to plug into. You may need a converter or a model that will run on the electric there. Electronics may not do well in high humidity and heat so shop carefully before taking a plunge. Maybe you could get a less expensive acoustic piano through a technician in that area and save the shipping costs and heartbreak.

If I was in your position I would try to find a good temporary home for it by someone who will treat it well.

Ando-based on your recommendation, I went out and tried the Kawai DPs you recommended. I agree with your assessment. They do have a nice touch, but not quite that same at the AvantGrands. This has given us something new to consider.

We have decided not to take our Charles Walter. I agree with you JIMBOB. If I could find a home for the piano that would be ideal. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be a possibility at the moment. We will find a safe place to stor it and bring a DP. Thankfully Central America has adopted the US standard for electricity, but a surge protector is a must.

Many thanks for sharing your expertise!

I spent a few weeks in Nicaragua last summer. I didn't see a single acoustic piano nor any shops selling them. Nicaragua is wonderful but the populace is still mostly poor. There's an emerging middle class but they're emerging from a profound poverty. Their economy was in a shambles as recently as the late 80's and before that they were the very definition of a banana republic until the civil war and American interference. Piano is not something most Nicas have had much exposure to. As an example, we became friendly with the woman who managed a successful boutique hotel in Grenada. She managed the property, the books and served as the concierge. He wages totaled about $300 dollars US a month plus some tips and kickbacks from tour companies.

Kurt