Where can you buy a piano in Pretoria or Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa?
Contact Deon Eshelby (0826753549) or Jacqueline Eshelby (0823486131) for any queries you may have about purchasing a piano (or anything else to do with pianos). We are so lucky to be working in a field that we love - yeah, we are rather obsessed with pianos - and are more than willing to share information and help with your piano enquiries.
Eshelby Pianos persevere to offer a wide variety of high-quality acoustic pianos for sale (and hire) as choosing and having a piano should be personal and meaningful. It is also a familial feature of a home, you should be able to get the piano that you want!  
When looking to purchase a piano, it is always better to physically view and try out the piano in relation to others. It is a good idea to find out what is available before going through to view pianos.
In light of this, we suggest viewing the pianos that are currently available for sale and hire on our website pages (the pianos listed with photographs, descriptions and prices) before scheduling for viewing so that we know what sort of piano you may be looking for. Also, with such a diverse and great varity of stock, it can be overwhelming, so it is a good idea to know where to start.

> Intermediate Upright Pianos for Hire & Sale

> Premier Upright Pianos for Hire and Sale

> Grand Pianos for Hire & Sale

Even with such a great stock of pianos, at points we refer to other businesses knowing that they may have a piano more suited to a client.

What piano should you buy?
There are so many different manufacturers of pianos each producing a variety of models, the production of which may contrast in quality during different years of production or the varying factory owners. An example of this is the tone and resonance difference between a Yamaha piano manufactured from the 1960’s to the mid-1980’s and one produced thereafter. We certainly favour the well-rounded, full-bodied tone of the Yamahas of earlier models, but that is personal taste as the vibrance of a brighter tone has become more popular over the last decade. Furthermore, a Yamaha produced in Japan contrasts greatly with one produced in Indonesia. The photograph to the far, far left is of our DE 693 Yamaha Upright Pianoforte (serial number: 6104060) manufactured in Japan in around 2005. The photograph next to it is of our DE 695 Yamaha Upright Pianoforte (serial number: J2079106; Model LU-90-PE) manufactured in recent years, in Indonesia. More information is provided on our Yamaha Gallery, and current pianos available on our upright and grand pages.

There are so many different pianos around that when looking to hire or purchase a piano, most people have very little idea about what is available and of the value of hiring or purchasing a used piano in relation to a new one. People often make the mistake of trying to buy a piano specifically by its make or brand, often not realising that a great many piano names are dealership brands or possibly discontinued factory names applied to new pianos rather than the factory that they claim to be from. For example, one might see a range of Gors and Kallmann pianos, however a modern Gors and Kallmann would have practically no resemblance to one that was built in the original factory.

Tradesmen relabel pianos and combine parts from different makes – as it’s the case with the Kahn Family most well known for producing Bernhard Steiner pianos (view more information about the Kahn and Bernhard Steiner on our A-B Piano Gallery).

There are literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of makes out there, many of which are of the very best quality, but not necessarily well-known. As such, we endeavour to be given the chance to demonstrate the merits of any of our second-hand pianos based on the individual piano.

Piano Companies produce in different countries with variation in their production. For example, the American produced Steinway pianos are brighter in tone than the Steinways manufactured in Germany. The photographs to the right are of our DE 909 Steinway and Sons Grand Pianoforte (serial number 291133) which is an exceptionally rare "modern" model S grand, New York Edition, built in 1938. The photographs on the left are of our DE 930 Steinway Grand Pianoforte (serial number: 393074) Model S, manufactured in Hamburg, Germany in 1965, and was imported and sold by Bothners in November, 1969. By all means, the DE 909 Steinway has a really bright tone, especially in contrast with the blissfully mellow toned DE 930 Steinway. View more information about Steinway Pianos on our Steinway Gallery or view the Steinway and Sons upright and grand pianos currently available for hire and sale.
The Boston Steinway is actually produced by Kawai.
Furthermore, the piano strings used for Steinway Pianos in America have been produced by a different company, Mapes String Company, since the early 1900’s.

Fun fact: Yamaha and Kawai are great competitors in the East, whereas Kawai is not as well known in South Africa because - historically - not as many shops provide Kawai pianos here.

What should you look for when purchasing a piano?
We ask sellers for a few photographs of their pianos for sale. This is in not sufficient to determine whether a piano is a good example, however it does show a few obvious requirements.

Do you want to sell your piano?
View our Selling Your Piano page for more information. Here you will also find out what photographs and questions you could ask a person who is selling their piano.

Firstly, with photographs you will be able to determine what type or style of action is in the piano. This is critical for someone wanting a long-term piano purchase as the "wrong" type of mechanism will not serve a student needing to develop technique. That being said, a beginner could still use a piano with a less desirable mechanism initially. A bad quality "better" mechanism could prove to be less desirable than a high quality "wrong" one. The general rule would be to look for an underdamper as opposed to an overdamper action.

This is very quickly determined by a glance into an upright piano, lift the top flat panel to view inside of the piano. The photograph to the left shows an underdamper and the photograph to the right shows an overdamper.
Furthermore, there are variants of over and under damper mechanisms, so this is still just to establish the viability of the piano.
Underdamper vs overdamper explained briefly:
Nobody nowadays will recommend an overdamper piano for purchase. But one can be swayed by the fact that the some of the overdampers left on the market are masterpieces with intricate details that establish themselves as feature furniture items. Given that overdampers were no longer being built by around 1910, many have exquisite casings and timbers, desirable to someone who loves antiques.
Some overdamper pianos are actually really good, notably some of the Blüthner, Görs and Kallmann and Ibach versions in our experience. We have had about five in our stock over the last fifteen years because these pianos were really special and maintained their tuning.
Many pianos built between say 1880 and 1910, roughly, can have either style of action, so age alone is not indicative.

What is the difference between an overdamper and an underdamper?
Although discussed briefly above, the question is addressed directly, with more detail and photographs below.

There are also different types of underdamper actions.
We will discuss this further as time allows.

Secondly, a piano should look decent internally. As when looking at anything second hand, one should get a sense of it having been cared for, things should look to be "in place", not obviously damaged etc.
We are wary of restored pianos, but in my thinking one is often better off with an unrestored piano which can then be restored properly by an honest and experienced technician you feel is right for you (we cannot highlight enough the value of a piano tradesman and technician being trustworthy) or be minimally restored should your requirements not warrant full restoration.

Too much shiny paint, Christmas tree like felt decoration and the like is a warning sign! Restoration is a whole chapter on its own and can only be properly carried out by the correct people. Many restored pianos have been damaged or altered in the process and would be considered spoiled. It is much harder to undo a bad restoration than simply start afresh on a better prospect.

This is discussed in more detail on our piano Restoration Page (select the link or find the sub-page on our FAQ & More Information page).

Most pianos on the market in our context are old and have likely stood in situ without use nor service for many years. The example of a parent buying their child a piano which was then used for a year... is very common. Pianos left at home after the children leave is also common.

Should you buy a piano from the private market?

So, one should assume that almost any piano available for sale on the private market will need resurrection in the form of general service, pitch raise and the like. Probably a good 90% of older pianos need hammer refacing, centre pin replacement as required, butt leather replacement, a new set of tapes and general regulation. This is why we can often sell a customer a piano in proper condition for less than they would spend by finding a private purchase. A piano is a complicated machine and the difference between one that is okay and one that is right, is huge.

Should you buy a piano from a piano teacher?

Buying a piano from a teacher is often assumed to be a safe bet, but oddly so as surely that piano was worked far harder than one in a private residence?

Public use pianos like ex school or church ones, are generally completely hammered.

Look at the hammers, they should not show signs of very deep cuts from the strings, should be egg-shaped, not flat on the tips, and critically should show a good amount of felt on the front end, especially from the mid-section upwards to the treble.

How do you test a piano?

A side note about looking at and testing the piano: A decent test for a novice buyer is to run through all the keys. If some sound like double notes, be wary as that could indicate loose tuning pins. It may just be signs of an untuned piano, but they tend to go out relatively evenly and drop pitch over time, double sounding notes should be considered a warning of something worse.

We will post a discussion on the significance of the condition of the "back" of a piano separately.

Connecting this with another internal examination of a piano, when looking into an upright piano, the tuning pins ought to look tight. If pins hang at a downward angle, especially only in sections, be wary. If there is an elongated pin hole by which you can see a gap above a pin, be wary. If there is little or no gap between the coil of steel wire on the tuning pin and the pin block or piano frame, be wary. A common temporary remedy for slightly loose tuning pins is to knock them down. This can be a rather successful fix, but it should not have been necessary in the first place and is always a warning sign.

Frame cracks are rare, however spell the death of a piano if present and although pianos with minor frame cracks can be absolutely fine, it is something to be avoided as one cannot know the extent of the problem or for how long it will remain as it stands. A serious frame crack is immediately noticeable in the sound of the piano, as loss of tension is easily heard.
We do know of and service pianos with minor frame cracks which are perfectly stable.  That type of crack I would assume is from a poor design or casting flaw and could easily have been present from early in the piano’s life. Bad cracks are probably caused by mishandling, a piano having been dropped in transport or a frame being damaged during restoration or having been refitted to a piano incorrectly. There is something like 17- plus tons of tension on a frame, so sayings it's critical to the piano is an understatement.

Something else to look for are signs of moth or mouse damage and in some cases woodworm and in one or two we've seen - even termite damage. These are usually fairly obvious in the sense that one could see signs of damage, bits of felt or wood, spread about, urinal damage in the case of mice, often on the strings as well.
Moth can be more difficult to detect as the favourite area for them at the beginning seems to be the felts under the keys. However, careful inspection of the piano may yield warning signs, such as "nibbles" out of the name board felt, visible behind the keys with the key-fall open.

A piano with very unlevel keys is also a tell-tale sign.

The most commonly heard tale from customers is how a relative had a piano in which the soundboard had cracked and the piano had to thus be discarded... In most cases this is unlikely, as in our context soundboard cracks are extremely common to the point of being expected. Very few soundboards actually affect a piano detrimentally.
Buzzing is often a sign of a bad crack, a noticeably poor tone in a piano or section therefore is more likely to be caused by a soundboard moving, due to the structure of the piano failing or to a cracked bridge or pin block or indeed frame.
Soundboard cracks can be very difficult to detect as one has to examine the soundboard in its entirety.  Most of it is hidden behind the action and structure of the piano.

Several pianos are notorious for back problems, one locally produced piano due to glue-failure, in which all the glued parts literally just let go.

More easily seen are the aesthetic points of a piano.  Often a less desirable style of piano is a fine instrument, but not currently considered fashionable. Things like discoloured or chipped keys are not necessarily detrimental to the use of the instrument, the same applies to the casing and condition of the finish, but this serves no point in the production of sound or touch.
These would be matters of personal taste and needs. A student needs a good piano, not necessarily a pretty one.
Pianos are imminently repairable as long as they were of a quality standard when built and has not been so badly damaged that repair outcomes are uncertain. The repair costs involved can be high and this often determines viability.

But, once the basic outline of a piano is determined, the only way of judging general condition and quality is for an experienced technician to physical view and test the piano. Much is determined by feel rather than technical correctness. Only an honest technician with experience can judge overall condition properly.
The advantage in viewing a piano beforehand is that you could quite easily determine whether the piano in question is actually worth pursuing ahead of laying out fees on a technicians visit.
You may well feel that the piano being viewed feels fine for your needs and you are happy to go with it without further inspection. In which case, all is well.

A phrase we find ourselves using ever more frequently is that we cannot sell a buyer a piano, they must choose it. There are a myriad of factors that make one piano over another the right choice for a particular person.

We do think that the thinking process of any old piano being good enough for a young child beginning their piano journey, is seriously flawed. At the very least, get something of fair quality which has a decent touch and is tuneable.

If in doubt, consider piano rental it works extremely well initially at a low cost, without long term commitment. But, rent a good piano, not something that is being offered because it's cheap. The things we've seen...!

Other considerations include:
the tone of the piano, the touch weight of the keys...
We will be adding notes about this as time allows.

We hope this helps with your search for a piano.

What is the difference between an underdamper and an overdamper?

When purchasing an upright piano, one of the most obvious things to look for is whether the piano in question was built with an underdamper or an overdamper action. Unless the piano is magnificent has remarkable wood and carvings and can maintain tuning, has been evaluated by a professional, technician, it is best to avoid an overdamper! 

This is easily distinguished by opening the top lid and looking into the piano. 

Looking at the photographs to the left, one can see the damper side of the underdamper then clearly see the hammers from directly above the piano. In the third photograph of the piano from the front one can also see the hammers very clearly. If the hammers are clearly visible it's an underdamper. An underdamper is infinitely more desirable as a playing instrument. Very few, if any, technicians and tuners would advise you to purchase an overdamper.

Now, looking at the photographs on the right, looking at the piano from above, one can see that there is a wooden panel over the hammers.

From the photograph from the side of the piano, the hammers are not clearly visible.

The third photograph - to the bottom right - looks much like the first, a piece of wood limiting your view of the hammers.

If the hammers are not clearly visible and are obstructed by a wooden board, or occasionally by metal rails, it is an overdamper. 

An Underdamper is infinitely more desirable as a playing instrument. Very few, if any, technicians and tuners would advise you to purchase an Overdamper.

While an Overdamper piano can be well usable, they have shortcomings.
- They simply do not damp anywhere as well as an Underdamper - you will clearly notice a resonance after letting the keys up.
- They tend to have a noticeably different key touch compared to an Underdamper which is often heavier and more mechanical in feel.
- The general mechanism is more laborious and slower in response and in coming back to "rest ".
- An Overdamper is more difficult to work on and while any field technician/tuner ought to be versed in the service and tuning procedure of such, it appears many are not, and we increasingly hear of tuners saying that Overdamper pianos cannot be tuned or that they personally are unable to assist with service.
This should not be the case and in fact there are a few particularly good Overdamper mechanisms out there, some being difficult to distinguish in use from an Underdamper piano, but even so will be regarded as a lesser instrument compared to another with an Underdamper action.
The adjustments required for good regulation, hammer alignment and the like are simply more difficult and laborious to achieve for the technician and so very few Overdampers are properly serviced when tuned.
The awkwardness of tuning them also often means that they are not finely tuned as human nature is generally a little lazy and so a tuner is more reluctant to go back to strings already passed in initial tuning to tidy-up notes which are perhaps passable but not in fine-tune.
The result of this over time can unfortunately mean a piano which is not in its best state and customers are generally told not to expect more from their Overdamper than the mediocre - even if in truth it could be improved.
-  Overdampers are considered obsolete and as such carry very little, often no value in monetary terms. This means that should you choose to invest in one and consider repair and service, the money invested will not be recoverable in resale.
The value of the same brand of piano can be on opposite ends of the value scale depending on which mechanism it contains.

While the value of a piano is often in its use and the enjoyment gained from this, it just doesn't make sense to purchase an Overdamper when you could get an Underdamper with a better outlook for the future.
If a child begins their career on an Overdamper, an upgrade will be required in time as they progress, because an Overdamper will not produce the technical ability required for serious practice.

This does not mean you should write-off your treasured Overdamper piano as we look for different values in what it is we require from a piano.
If you are happy with the performance of your Overdamper piano there is no reason not to keep it provided the condition allows for pleasant use and reliability.
We see many Overdampers much loved by the family who owns them. Pianos often having great sentimental value which outweigh the purely practical considerations.
Many pianists are not proficient enough to be bothered by the differences between the actions.

Given the era of the Overdamper, many are aesthetically the most beautiful and of the most antique styles of pianos and may be bought for that reason.  Many collectable pianos of developmental interest are Overdampers.

It must be noted that whether the piano you are looking to purchase is an Overdamper or Underdamper cannot be the only criteria as many Underdamper actions are not viable for other reasons, but in plain terms it probably indicates immediately whether a purchase ought to be pursued further or not.

Many factories of piano builders indeed made both versions of piano consecutively or changed their actions over time, so the piano brand does not show which action is contained in the instrument in question.
The era of Overdamper actions seems to have been over in general by around 1910 but some makers did continue using the system even beyond that date.

In this light, some factories never produced an Overdamper.
Thus, age is also not indicative of which system is present.

We have an Erard built in 1817 which contains an Underdamper mechanism.

We have bought Overdamper pianos in trade but usually because of aesthetics. As mentioned, many of the most spectacular casing styles contain this action.

Can an overdamper be converted to an underdamper?
Yes, but the massive amount of labour and parts required would make it non-viable.

Where you able to find the piano that are looking for on our website?
There is such an awesome variety of pianos available on the pages and we continuously trade in pianos, and as such not all of the pianos are displayed and we have an extensive stock of previously owned pianos held in storage which are due for restoration when time allows (view some on our Pianos Under Restoration page). As such, if you are looking to purchase or hire a piano other than what is shown on the pages of our website, please do provide us with a description of what you are looking for and we can let you know what is available.

Please also look at our Piano Gallery to see the different pianos produced by different factories. One has an idea of what a typical piano looks like, but there is just such an awesome variety of finishes, structures and makes available! A piano purchase is personal - as it should be!