All About Choosing and Buying Pianos

[J2mum]

Hi,


Any pple here can recommend me a reliable piano mover and tuner with reasonable changes?

I got a quote from this guy call Pang Say Min and he charge me $150 for shifting of piano + Tuning. Is this price reasonable?

[jce]

This price of $150 inclusive of moving AND tuning is more than reasonable IF this guy does a good job. Normally a move by professional piano movers can cost $100 and above; tuning by a top-notch tuner also close to the region of $100 (I know of one who charges more than that)

[AWSP]

Anyone interested in a second hand piano. DD has moved on to grade 7 and is moving up to 133 height piano. Our piano is a soijin 125 exams height -can release at $950; It is in good condition; DD practised on it since we bought it 4 years ago when she started at JMC (when she was in K2) and used it since for her ABRSM as well as for yamaha exams. She is in JSAC. She is still practising on it for her yamaha exams next week while waiting for the new piano to arrive.


The piano should suffice for usage till grade 5 or higher. If your child is just starting - no point spending more until she/he intends to proceed highe. then possibly upgrade to 133 ht piano or a grand piano (if you have the space).

PM me if you’re interested.

[AWSP]

cbreeze,

couldnt pm you as your profile does not allow it.
-sojin is Korean brand…
-as with early korean and even japanese brands, there are inconsistency with the brand, however we got this from the yamaha branch which recommended it to us based on the tone and condition when DD is attending JMC there. Bought it for $1800.
DD has been using it for her practice for her ABRSM exams, She passed both grade 2 and 5 with distinction; skipped the rest. Bcoz she is preparing for grade 7 - we have bought an upright grand for her to last to Dip. So can say, she tested it for the past 4+ yrs.

[cbreeze]

Tks,…have PM you already.

[AWSP]

welcome; pm you back.

will post the photos during the weekend as I’m busy on other matters.
I went around to second hand shops as well while shopping for the upright grand for DD over the last 2 weeks. I think mine is in much better condition than those.

[2ppaamm]

Pianos. My experience is to buy a solid piano because the quality of the sound must be good. And, what is a good quality sound really depends on who’s listening!


So far, I have bought 4 pianos for the kiddos. 2 of them were traded in because the sound quality was not good enough, and my children won’t play them. The other two are still hits amongst my 5 kids.

I go for German pianos, because some pianos sound really too ‘sweet’ for my liking. My hair will stand on ends. German pianos sound mellower and I like that. My children too. The brands we tried are Wilh. Steinberg and Schimmel. We’ve tried a Japanese brand and a English brand. All landed in the warehouse, since no one wants to play them.

Height does not really matter to us. I think ours is 150+. The sound quality beats some of the Japanese or Korean baby grands, so we don’t really go for height.

The 2 pianos have been a great investment for us. 4 of my kids finished their grade 8 on these, and we did not have to buy a grand when DS1 did his diplomas, and DD2 is also doing her diploma.

That little bit extra we forked out made good financial sense in the end, since it lasted a total of 35 grades + 3 diplomas and close to 10 years now. Who will inherit these? The ones who score the highest for their exams, and looks like it should be DS1 and DD2, unless DS2 and DS3 spring surprises on us in this year’s exams.

[AWSP]

The tallest upright available are 131-132; some of which incorporate some of the action of a grand piano and is for those with space limitation.

Typically once your child is doing grade 6 and above, you will be upgrading because of the sensitivity etc.
So far, I have gone around looking for a piano for DD. Personally, I like the German Brand Seileur Konsert - it is mellow and has the most beautiful tone; it will set me back by $27K. This is supposed to performance grade.
The lower range would be Kawai K8 and Yamaha U3; brand new ones at 14K for the Kawai and around 12-13K for the U3. Kawai K8 is "not performance grade" but more mellow than the Yamaha ones.
However the preferred choice would be a grand piano; the key action and tone beats the best of the uprights easily; personally, I would prefer a sauter at more than $60K; second hand $30+K; But one needs the space. You will also need to make sure you can control the humidity - preferably fully aircon 24 hr. You will need to do likewise for a performance grade upright.
However, I will not spend this amount for my child if he is just starting. Once DD is ready, I will possibly upgrade my third time to Sauter or a Steinway Grand at only a slightly higher price.

[schnauzer]

Does anyone know of a good home Piano teacher? I am staying in Hougang and am looking for a Piano teacher for my daughter to cut down on travel time. My dd will be taking her grade 1 this year.

[megbryan]

For those who have grand piano…may I know at what stage do you decide to get one for your child? I’m contemplating…