PIANOS
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AWARDS '09
Frequently Asked Questions
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WHO WE ARE
WHY WE SELL PIANOS PRIVATE SELLERS LEMON BUSTING BUYING FROM US PITFALLS REASONS TO OPTIMIZE WHEN NOT TO OPTIMIZE OUR PIANOS WHAT PIANOS TO AVOID OTHER USED PIANO SOURCES PRICE COMPARISON INSPECTIONS OF OUR PIANOS WARRANTY TERMS WHO WE ARE My name is Brian Henselman. I am a Registered Piano Technician who maintains a small collection of high quality pre-owned pianos for resale. My wife, Jeannie, and I also teach private piano lessons. As the owners of MusicMasters Piano Service and as Piano Teachers we are frequently asked to help Austin families locate, evaluate, and select the right piano for their needs and budget. WHY WE SELL PIANOS It is the most efficient way for us to help our clients find a quality used piano. Most first-time piano buyers require at least some professional assistance in their quest for a good used piano. Typically, first-time buyers search for what they "think" was an ideal piano, and once they locate it, hire a technician like me to inspect or "lemon bust" it. However, this approach has many limitations (see below). BUYING A PIANO FROM A PRIVATE SELLER Most first-time buyers don't know how to evaluate or pre-inspect a piano once a good candidate is located. Also, private piano owners/sellers don't have a group of pianos assembled for side-by-side comparison. This leaves the buyer having to sample pianos from different sources and compare them from memory. It is much more advantageous for you to locate a group of pre-inspected pianos (like ours) and sample them together (here) at the same location. HIRING A PIANO TECHNICIAN TO LEMON BUST A PRIVATE SELLER'S PIANO Although it is very wise to hire an independent technician to guide you and inspect a private seller's piano before purchase, this technician rarely gets to see the piano for more than 30 minutes before rendering his or her verdict. Then, even if a privately-owned piano passes a technical inspection (which costs the buyer money), the buyer gets no warranty. There are also additional expenses for the buyer such as having the piano moved, tuned, repaired, and/or optimized after it is delivered. WHY YOU SHOULD BUY YOUR PIANO FROM MUSICMASTERS INSTEAD It's easier, and we guarantee our pianos. We simplify the process for our customers by pre-buying a few quality pre-owned pianos and carefully optimizimg them for our clients. This avoids those pitfalls most used piano buyers encounter. The best part is the final cost of a fully optimized MusicMasters piano is comparable to a traditionally purchased privately owned piano, except our customers are not obligated to pay anything for the piano until it passes their final approval. WHAT PITFALLS SHOULD USED PIANO PITFALLS Aside from avoiding mechanical defects (which may be impossible for the first-time buyer to detect), the best advise I can give is don't buy on looks alone. Some of the prettiest pianos on the market have really bad reputations or perform poorly. Also, don't be enamoured by brand name alone. Every manufacturer has different tiers of quality. Some very respected brands have miserable 2nd and 3rd tier siblings. Terms like "licensed by" or "manufactured for" are terms that could indicate one of these lesser tiers that won't perform favorably. On the other hand, some of the best bargains out there are "off-brand" stencils of a major manufacturer's piano (i.e. a Howard grand piano built by Kawai is a quality 100% Kawai designed and built piano). Note that many former respected brands have been bought and sold numerous times, and now no longer resemble the original brand that once received praise and admiration. WHY WE OPTIMIZE USED PIANOS We have found that there are many local used pianos for sale that are not in optimal condition. Although they may not have performed well for the original owner, if located and purchased early enough, we can improve many of these pianos via optimization. A properly optimized used piano typically costs less than half of an equivilent new piano. Another reason we optimize used pianos is the fact that many of the finest piano brands and models ever built are no longer manufactured and cannot be purchase new. WHEN NOT TO OPTIMIZE Unfortunately optimizing isn't viable for every used piano. To insure that they can be optimized, I personally inspect and select each piano prior to purchase. When evaluating these instruments, I look at cosmetic condition, wear, design, brand-name, touch response, and tone. If a piano is well built by a reputable company, isn't excessively worn, or damaged, I can fully optimize it with a pitch-stabilization, tuning, a first class comprehensive action regulation, and custom voicing. WHAT KIND OF PIANOS DO WE SELL? To maintain a stock of high quality yet affordable used pianos, we regularly search for local pianos in good condition that were made by reputable companies. Condition is important to us. We prefer to buy original-owner (non-smoker) instruments that have very little wear. We typically purchase domestic consoles or better that are less than 40 years old, that often look and play like new. Because they have a proven track record, we pay a premium to purchase local pianos that I have already serviced before, as I know these instruments and their history. We also import high-end late-model Japanese pianos. However, because these are such premium imported pianos, their high wholesale prices command a substantially higher resale price. WHAT KIND OF USED PIANOS SHOULD BE AVOIDED? Because of their inferior design and poor construction, We typically do not buy nor resell any spinet-type pianos, even if they are nearly new. We also do not buy nor resell older antique upright/vertical pianos or antique grand pianos. Also, please note that we rarely accept trade-ins. We have found that if someone doesn't want their current piano anymore, and trades it in toward a better piano, then there's usually something wrong with their old piano or they wouldn't be trading it in. WHAT ARE SOME OTHER LOCAL USED PIANO SOURCES? We don't recommend looking for the "cheapest" piano available, even if it's from a dealership. Some resellers are piano "brokers" who will find a cheap piano in questionable condition and clean it up for quick resale. Claims like, "The lowest prices in Texas," etc. typically indicates this type of business. Brokers often add hidden charges for items normally included at no additional cost. These hidden markups include local delivery and/or a matching bench. Even traditional retail piano dealerships, (stores that mark up pianos to twice their wholesale cost), often do little to properly optimize a used piano. Most retail dealerships typically only clean up used pianos cosmetically, quickly tuning them to their prevailing pitch, and at best repair or adjust only those parts that are glaringly malfunctioning. This is not optimization. HOW DO OUR PRICES COMPARE? Our prices are generally between that of a wholesale piano "broker" and a retail dealership. We sell our pianos for less than full retail because, unlike typical piano dealers, we do not have a commissioned sales staff, nor pay referral commissions for piano teachers, and/or finders fees to piano technicians who recommend our pianos. Other dealerships pay teachers and technicians for their referals. Make sure that your technician or teacher is not expecting one from us. DO WE ALLOW INSPECTIONS OF OUR PIANOS? YES. We gladly welcome piano inspections and personally recommend having any piano thoroughly inspected by an impartial qualified technician (RPT), prior to sale. WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF OUR WARRANTY? Unless negiotated by the buyer as a price concession, all of our pianos are warranteed to function properly and be trouble-free for a minimum of one year after their purchase. I will personally repair or replace any parts as needed which fail due to defect during this period. If a piano should develop an uncorrectable defect during this one-year period that I am unable to satisfactorily remedy, then I will buy this instrument back for the original purchase price. MusicMasters "professional" level pianos include an upgraded 5-year warranty option at no charge. Unless negiotated by the buyer as a price concession, all MusicMasters Professional Studio Uprights and Grand Pianos purchased after September 1, 2009 qualify for this option by hiring me to continue tuning and maintaining their MusicMasters piano at least once a year for every year (up to 5 years total). Exceptions: Normal wear and maintenance, (i.e. tuning) is not warranteed. Because I personally perform all warranty work, this is a local, Austin-Area only warranty. Abuse, improper use, or improper maintenance invalidates any warranties implied or expressed. |
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Copyright © 2009 Brian Henselman, Austin, Texas