Email response from Dean Mermell (Twelve Pianos) - Dec 17, 2020
dean.mermell@gmail.com
Obtaining a piano
People offer us pianos frequently, but we are now really picky, we only take good grand pianos in good condition. We’ve found that grands survive and stay in tune better out of doors than uprights. But since you’re just starting out at this kind of thing, an upright may be easier for you.
Would you recommend looking at free pianos through craigslist?
Yes, there are often good pianos being given away on Craigslist, if you know what to look for. There are also really bad ones people would love for you to take, that you should definitely not take. If you find one that looks good you should have it checked out by a piano technician (a tuner) or someone that knows pianos before accepting it and paying to have it moved, tuned, stored, etc. Don’t take a piano that hasn’t been tuned in more than a couple of years.
What would you recommend for covering maintenance costs?
You should buy a vinyl cover for any piano you keep outside or wrap it well in a plastic tarp every night. Leaving a piano out without protection even in the best weather will cause it to become unplayable pretty quick. Other than that, normal wear and tear and tuning can be done by any piano tuner. It generally costs around $150 to get a piano tuned, if it’s in already decent shape. Be aware that no piano likes being outside any longer than necessary, so plan the amount of time you will have the piano outside, like an event that lasts a couple of weeks, rather than making it a long or permanent installation. That just doesn’t work, and you’ll end up needing to junk the instrument.
Think about things like having hand sanitizer available at the piano, and perhaps an alcohol solution and cloths or paper towels to wipe the keys down with.
Have you had any issues with vandalism and how have you dealt with that?
We’ve been very lucky. When we were putting out pianos on the coast, um, illegally, we had the worst damage to our pianos done by police who impounded them (a whole other story). That and the one time someone blew one up with dynamite (yes, that happened). Other than that, no serious problems with vandalism.
For more on this subject, you may want to watch my film, Twelve Pianos, on Amazon.
www.twelvepianos.com
Email response from Dean Mermell (Twelve Pianos) - Dec 17, 2020
dean.mermell@gmail.com
Obtaining a piano
People offer us pianos frequently, but we are now really picky, we only take good grand pianos in good condition. We’ve found that grands survive and stay in tune better out of doors than uprights. But since you’re just starting out at this kind of thing, an upright may be easier for you.
Would you recommend looking at free pianos through craigslist?
Yes, there are often good pianos being given away on Craigslist, if you know what to look for. There are also really bad ones people would love for you to take, that you should definitely not take. If you find one that looks good you should have it checked out by a piano technician (a tuner) or someone that knows pianos before accepting it and paying to have it moved, tuned, stored, etc. Don’t take a piano that hasn’t been tuned in more than a couple of years.
What would you recommend for covering maintenance costs?
You should buy a vinyl cover for any piano you keep outside or wrap it well in a plastic tarp every night. Leaving a piano out without protection even in the best weather will cause it to become unplayable pretty quick. Other than that, normal wear and tear and tuning can be done by any piano tuner. It generally costs around $150 to get a piano tuned, if it’s in already decent shape. Be aware that no piano likes being outside any longer than necessary, so plan the amount of time you will have the piano outside, like an event that lasts a couple of weeks, rather than making it a long or permanent installation. That just doesn’t work, and you’ll end up needing to junk the instrument.
Think about things like having hand sanitizer available at the piano, and perhaps an alcohol solution and cloths or paper towels to wipe the keys down with.
Have you had any issues with vandalism and how have you dealt with that?
We’ve been very lucky. When we were putting out pianos on the coast, um, illegally, we had the worst damage to our pianos done by police who impounded them (a whole other story). That and the one time someone blew one up with dynamite (yes, that happened). Other than that, no serious problems with vandalism.
For more on this subject, you may want to watch my film, Twelve Pianos, on Amazon. www.twelvepianos.com