This is the most important article you will ever read about piano quality. Whether you are interested in new or used, upright or grand, every great piano ever built has had all of these features. (Click on most images for a close-up view)

Line weighted Keys

A piano’s keys are the levers that control the action and where “the rubber meets the road.” In other words, it’s the only way for the player to tell the piano what to do. Better keys make better pianos and offer an insight into the overall quality of the instrument.

To see the entire key, you will have to remove the music desk and fallboard (key cover) of an upright or the fallboard of a grand piano.

Because of the different length of the keys and size of hammers, the keys need a little help to create an even feel from note to note. This is done by using weights.

Strategically placing lead weights in the sides of the keysticks evens out the response throughout the keyboard. Pianos with properly weighted keys offer much better sensitivity, dynamic range and control than pianos without weights or with back weights… and they cost about the same as a low quality piano.

Looking closely at the keys will give you an insight into the quality of the piano and if it is appropriate for a young beginner.

Line weighted keys offer a natural, even, pleasing feel that makes the piano easier to play. Look for the distinctive round weights when looking from the side of the key.

All-Wood Action Parts

A piano’s action consists of thousands of small pieces crafted together. When properly designed and built, the action is what allows the player to express themselves musically.

Today’s technology allows quality piano builders to make wood action parts to tolerances of 1/1,000ths of an inch. Even novice players find that nothing compares to playing a piano with an all-wood action.

While most builders have abandoned plastics like ABS and Styran, some continue the experiment. It can be very difficult to tell wood parts from plastic. While the older formulas were white, gray or black, some clever companies use plastic that looks like wood!

To tell the difference, feel the parts with your fingers. Wood always has a “warm” feel and will have a slightly rough texture, even when sanded. Plastic parts will feel “cold” and smooth.

All-wood actions are always recommended for beginners (especially children), churches, schools and concert use.

All-wood actions have a natural feel that is incredibly reliable and fun to play.

High-quality, close-grained spruce soundboard

The soundboard is the single most important part of the piano and its function is the same as the amplifier and speakers for a stereo system. You can see the soundboard by looking at the back of an upright or at an opened grand piano.

While they are made of many types of wood, the best, most stable soundboards are made from spruce. Spruce is a strong, light wood, prized for its ability to carry sound, with a distinctive grain that runs in straight, parallel lines.

Because sound waves travel along the straight grains of the soundboard, broad-grain boards carry less sound, making the piano more muted and thin. These lower-quality boards are also more susceptible to changes in humidity.

The tighter the grain, the better the piano.  Eight or more grains per inch tells you that the piano was built using good quality materials.

Quality soundboards offer better sound, stability and longer life.

Bonus… 3-D “I” beam plate

The plate is a cast iron frame over which the piano wire (or string) is stretched. You can see the plate by lifting the top of a grand or upright and looking inside. The plate helps support up to 42,000 pounds of tension created by the strings. The thinner and flatter it is, the less strength it has and the less stable the piano will be.

“I” beam plates offer better tuning stability and serve as a stronger foundation for the piano.

Bonus… Full length ribs, notched into the frame

The ribs are strips of wood running diagonally across the back of an upright or bottom of a grand piano’s soundboard. Their primary job is to maintain the crown of the soundboard over decades of use and seasonal changes.

Full length ribs that are notched into the frame are a sign of higher quality piano building and serve to better maintain the crown than ‘floating’ ribs that stop an inch short or so short.

Congratulations! You’re ready to visit Billings Piano Gallery to find your perfect piano…