This bible of the piano marketplace is indispensable to buyers and owners of pianos, amateur and professional players alike. Hundreds of thousands of pianos are bought and sold each year, yet most people buy a piano with only the vaguest idea of what to look for as they make this major purchase. The Piano Book evaluates and compares every brand and style of piano sold in the United States. There is information on piano moving and storage, inspecting individual new and used pianos, the special market for Steinways, and sales gimmicks to watch out for. An annual supplement, sold separately, lists current prices for more than 2,500 new piano models.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Library Journal
This comprehensive volume contains valuable information for the consumer; following a technical but lucid description of the mechanics of a piano's action, it discusses all aspects of purchasing and maintaining an instrument. Numerous illustrations and charts enhance the text, which is clearly and directly written, and buying tips accompany the guides to purchasing both new and used instruments. But most valuable for a prospective buyer are the numerical ratings of virtually all models of pianos currently available, both foreign and domestic, based on the experiences of technicians around the country. An excellent source book. Susan Kagan, Hunter Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"If there is to be a piano in your future, the single indispensable reference is The Piano Book" -- Noah Adams, host of NPR's All Things Considered
"The Piano Book is a must-have resource, no matter what kind of music you play, or what kind of piano you own or intend to buy." -- Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer
"The Piano Book is a must-have resource..." -- Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer
"a book that will be of great service to the piano world" -- Robert Silverman, former editor of The Piano Quarterly
"The Piano Book is a must-have resource, no matter what kind of music you play, or what kind of piano you own or intend to buy." -- Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer
"The Piano Book is a must-have resource..." -- Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer
"a book that will be of great service to the piano world" -- Robert Silverman, former editor of The Piano Quarterly
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The salesperson in the piano store assured me that NONE of the pianos in their store were shipped with parts and actions that the Piano Book warned against. So I had them remove the wooden cover plate of a beautiful floor model piano to prove it. And there was the name of the "less confidence" action I had been warned by the Piano Book to avoid. The salespeople were shocked. Another piano of the same brand in the same store had the "higher confidence" brand name parts/action I had been told by the Piano Book to look for. I bought that piano, which was at a lower price than the first one (less fancy cabinet). The salespeople had assumed they were otherwise the same! They were not the same...on the inside. Thank you Larry Fine!
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book based on the glowing reviews on Amazon as well as on other piano related sites. The book IS a great concept and appears to be quite comprehensive on first glance.
However, if you are shopping in Europe or are interested in including in your search quality European piano manufacturers (many of which have been around 100-150 years) the book is hopelessly incomplete and, more than once, severely out of date and inaccurate. On the entries for various German brands Mr. Fine keeps repeating phrases such as "no pianos appear in our survey", "I have heard that...", "I played on one once...", "it is difficult to make distinctions" or simply copies text from the advertising brochures of the manufacturers.
The ratings and rankings in the summary section and classification of quality are clearly indicated to be the opinion of Mr. Fine, yet are based on only anecdotal evidence. Worse yet, information on changes in ownership or farming out of manufacturing which has taken place in some instances during the last years -- with an enormous impact on quality -- is not reflected in the rankings.
In summary, this is a great book if you know nothing of pianos and are shopping in the States on the low end for cheap Chinese knockoffs or consumer products from the likes of Young Chang, Kawai, Yamaha, etc. If you are trying to sort out the middle/quality or top of the market, include European brands, or buy a traditional grand piano, the book is incomplete and based on heresay/opinion rather than research. It is not terribly useful and can be at times misleading.
Format:Paperback
I own the first edition of this book and it has some advantages over the subsequent editions. In particular, he gives specific ratings for each brand of piano. As I understand it, some piano makers who felt offended by this (i.e. their piano's didn't rate as well as they wished) threatened to sue Mr. Fine, so the ratings were removed from subsequent editions.
Ideally, if you really want the best reference, get the latest edition and supplement, but augment it with the first edition if you can find a copy (yellow cover).
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 68 reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
influences salespeople
There's not much to add to the superlatives written about this book except to note that simply having it in your possession can influence salespeople! Read more
Published on Jan 10 2004 by Michael J. Cashen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very helpful!
After a hiatus of almost 20 years, I decided that the time was right to buy a piano for myself and my young son. Read more
Published on Dec 19 2003 by C. M. Cha
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun as well as useful
I agree with everything said above about how useful this book is--it was my bible when I bought my piano. Read more
Published on Nov 8 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for piano customers and dealers
I own a music store and have used this book a lot when researching piano brands as well as what to look for in a used piano. Read more
Published on July 5 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars
Biased
After studying the piano market for the past six years, I have found it continuosly changing and evolving. Read more
Published on Jun 28 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
This book has everything you need to know about how to buy and maintain a piano plus a lot of entertaining information about piano industry and piano mechanics.
Published on April 25 2003 by Slava K.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensible!
Well worth it! If you are even considering buying a piano, buy this book first.
Get the supplement too -- it has excellent price guidelines. Read more
Published on Jun 30 2002 by "wbuddha"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buying a Piano?? Then you MUST buy this book!!!
If you are buying either a new or used piano "with strings" (as opposed to a purely digital [no strings] piano), you MUST buy this book. Read more
Published on May 1 2002 by M. Hines
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best protection against the Sales department!
This is the best protection for the buyer against sweet-talking salespeople! Great breakdowns of piano design and history as well as detailed description and general... Read more
Published on Oct 13 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
One book recommended by both NOVICES & EXPERTS!!
How can you go wrong? I am so impressed with this book. It was recommended to me by a Registered Piano Technician who saved me from spending too much money without being educated. Read more
Published on Sep 14 2001 by Kelly Seymour
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
