• The Piano Book, Fourth Edition, by Larry Fine, Foreword by Keith Jarrett. Boston, Brookside Press, 2008.
  
  This book will give you everything you need to know, and more, about purchasing a piano, used or new. It's written as a guidebook in a personalized, i.e., first person, style. Mr. Fine, who is a piano technician himself, provides numerous insights and opinions, most of which, are sensible.* The Piano Book is very well-organized and can therefore serve as a quick yet thorough reference for the novice entering into the world of pianos, in addition to being useful for the more experienced piano player/buyer. The Piano Book is available through major book chains and amazon.com. Here is a link for more information and ordering The Piano Book directly from the publisher.
  
  *Our only quibble is that Mr. Fine assumes that technicians and sales personnel who work for a specific companies cannot therefore be objective. That may be the case with some "storefront operations", as he calls therm. Unfortunately, Mr. Fine doesn't know about Daynes Music. We have remained in business owing to our honesty, reliability, dedication, passion, and our objectivity, sometimes brutally so, when it comes to the pianos we sell.
  
  
• "For a Steinway, I Did It My Way," Anne Marie Chaker. The Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2008.
  
  This article, written by WSJ staff writer, Anne Marie Chaker, describes her personal journey in finding the right piano for her, in this case, a used Steinway grand. You'll hear the same advice repeated from her: first, find a good technician to help you evaluate the piano, and second, play it. Eventlually, she found the piano of her dreams, and so can you. Here is a link to the article.

More Links:

• www.ptg.org/findatechnician.php (The Piano Technicians Guild)
• www.pianoworld.com/buypiano.htm
• www.bluebookofpianos.com/ages
• www.pianonet.com