Hi everyone. I would like to ask you for some rather urgent advice regarding whether or not to purchase a used piano. The piano in question is an Alexander Herrmann, upright, bought new in '76. I spotted this instrument given the very low price, a bargain. The piano itself is like new (the usual family that buys a piano for their children but then they don't continue studying), played very little. The hammers are lightly worn, the soundboard and the string bridges are fine, etc. The only problem I encountered when I tried it is that the action is a bit stiff. Almost all the hammers, after pressing the key, play the note but then do not return to the height where they should be, but remain higher up, halfway through the stroke. Consequently, if you press the same key again, it doesn't sound. Furthermore, the right pedal does not work: the pedal goes down, and the internal lever moves, but the dampers do not move, or if they do, they only move a few millimeters, practically imperceptible to the eye. Also, the left pedal, which should bring the hammers closer to the strings, does not work; or rather, the pedal goes down and the wooden lever moves, and even the hammer rail rises, but once the pedal is released, the rail does not return. I believe all of this is due to the fact that the piano has not been played for perhaps about 30 years, and when I opened it, I found a lot of dust inside, almost cemented.
Ultimately, my question is: is it possible that the problems are caused by the accumulated dirt and can be resolved with a general cleaning of the action and an adjustment of the pedals, even if done by me, DIY?
Or is it necessary to spend a lot, call a technician, and replace parts?
Is it worth taking it and seeing if I can fix it, even risking it, given the extremely low price?
