Use a Certified Piano Technician When Buying Used Pianos

You’ve always wanted a piano, why not consider used pianos first. New pianos could be cost-prohibitive for many households while used pianos can offer good value with less of a monetary investment. Maximizing this investment is as easy as having a Certified Piano Technician check out your used piano.

The Piano Technicians Guild has a couple of classifications: Registered Piano Technicians (RPT) and Associates. An RPT is what you are looking for when you’re looking for a professional to evaluate your piano.

RPT

Registered Piano Technicians have to go through three strenuous tests to earn their title.

·         Written tests—these exams focus on the candidate’s knowledge of piano design, repair techniques, and tuning theory.

·         “Hands-on”  tests—The first of these practical tests is to tune a piano by ear. The candidate must tune the piano within select standards, measured by highly sensitive electronic instruments. The other test is to actually assemble two types of ‘action,’ or the piano’s mechanical component for both a grand and vertical piano. In addition, the ‘regulation’ and all of the complex adjustments that make the piano function in total must also be completed.

Associates

Associates are Piano Technicians Guild members that have not yet completed the exams and can hold positions including piano retailers and refinishers.

With the amount of training an RPT has to complete, you can be confident that they can fully inspect your grand piano just like a good mechanic can fully inspect your car. An RPT’s suggestions will add cost to your used piano, but even with that, the total investment of used piano and RPT evaluation and repair will more than likely keep your cost down and will enable you to enjoy your used piano for years to come.