Plain-English piano buying guides.
Written by James and Catherine. Read before you visit the showroom, or read instead of visiting. Either works.
Choosing a Piano
First-piano guidance, upright vs grand, care basics, and family-specific notes.
Best Piano for Small Yorkshire Homes
Compact upright piano options for Harrogate and York terraced, semi-detached, and flat interiors. Footprints, acoustics, and silent-piano options compared.
Read →How to Choose Your First Piano — A Plain-English Guide
A plain-English guide to choosing your first piano — budget, room size, player level, new vs pre-owned, and what to test when you visit a showroom.
Read →Piano Buying for Families with Children
Matching a piano to your child's learning stage (beginner through Grade 8). Budget tiers, pre-owned vs new, and silent-piano practice solutions.
Read →Piano Care Basics — Keeping Your Piano Healthy
Simple, technician-approved guidance for keeping your piano playing well at home — placement, humidity, cleaning, and when to call a technician.
Read →The Keys & Co. Workshop Preparation Process
Inside the workshop: inspection, action regulation, voicing, and final tuning by James before any piano leaves the Harrogate showroom.
Read →Upright vs Grand Piano — Which Is Right for Your Home?
Sound, touch, floor space, and price compared. The honest guide to choosing between an upright and a grand piano for a home in North Yorkshire.
Read →New Pianos
Yamaha and Kawai model comparisons, warranty, silent systems, and UK pricing context.
Best Piano for a Child Starting Lessons
Concrete model recommendations for a child's first piano — Yamaha B1/B2, Kawai K-15E — plus budget tiers and why a real acoustic beats a keyboard.
Read →How Much Does a New Piano Cost in the UK?
UK new piano prices by tier: entry upright £2,500-£4,000; mid-range £4,000-£8,000; premium £8,000-£12,000; grand £8,000-£45,000.
Read →New Piano Warranty Explained
What our 5-year new piano warranty covers, what voids it, and how to claim. Yamaha and Kawai manufacturer cover plus Keys & Co. workshop support.
Read →Silent Piano Systems Explained — Yamaha SILENT and Kawai AURES
What Yamaha SILENT and Kawai AURES do, how they work, and which new piano models can be ordered with them at Keys & Co.
Read →What's Included When You Buy a New Piano
Line-by-line: workshop preparation, free 30-mile delivery, post-settling tuning, 5-year warranty, bench, and after-sales support.
Read →Yamaha U1 vs U3 — Which Upright Is Right for You?
Height, tone, room fit, and UK pricing compared. The honest Yamaha U1 vs U3 comparison from an authorised Yorkshire dealer.
Read →Yamaha vs Kawai — Which Is Right for You?
An unbiased Yamaha vs Kawai comparison from a dealer authorised for both. Tone, action, model ranges, and what matters more than brand.
Read →Pre-Owned & Restored
Restoration processes, inspection checklists, and the value case for pre-owned pianos.
Are Pre-Owned Pianos a Good Investment?
How pianos depreciate differently to cars, how restored vintage can outperform new, and the real cost-per-year of ownership.
Read →Common Problems to Check in Older Pianos
The problems we see most often in older uprights and grands — sticking keys, loose pins, cracked soundboards — and which are worth fixing.
Read →How Pianos Are Restored in Our Workshop
Step-by-step: strip-down, action regulation, hammer work, string and damper replacement, case refinishing, final voicing. 40-80 workshop hours per piano.
Read →Piano Serial Numbers — How to Check Your Piano's Age
Where to find the serial number on an upright or a grand, brand-by-brand lookup, and what the age tells you about condition and value.
Read →Pre-Owned vs New Piano — Which Is Better Value?
Warranty, tone, touch, and real-world value compared. When pre-owned wins, when new wins, and the trade-in implications of each choice.
Read →Restored vs Refurbished Piano — What's the Difference?
Restored means a full workshop rebuild; refurbished means cosmetic and light regulation. What the terms mean and how to read seller claims sceptically.
Read →What to Look for in a Second-Hand Piano
Inspection checklist for used pianos — keys, hammers, soundboard, pinblock, pedals. Or skip the DIY and buy from a technician-run showroom.
Read →Tuning & Care
Tuning frequency, humidity management, and the audible signs a piano is overdue.
How Often Should I Tune My Piano?
Twice yearly is standard; new pianos and house moves need more. Why Yorkshire's seasonal humidity changes the answer.
Read →Signs Your Piano Needs Tuning
Muddy chords, beating unisons, notes that double-speak — the audible signs your piano is overdue, plus a 30-second self-check.
Read →Why Pianos Go Out of Tune — Humidity in North Yorkshire
Why North Yorkshire's dry winters and damp summers knock pianos out of tune — and what to do about it. Room placement, humidifiers, Dampp-Chaser.
Read →Come and try the pianos themselves.
Reading only gets you so far. Book a private viewing at the Harrogate showroom.