All About Choosing and Buying Pianos

[JennyP]

yes, i agree what schellen said.

i also plan to buy the piano soon but after i confirmed with the teacher, she says not need, temporary key board can already.
and i also advise by my friends, after her daughter confirmed and intestered in and she start to buy the piano then.
she says not need to buy the expensive one first, because her kid still very young and she might request to change future if they want to have better one.

[MMM]

Hi,


We got a 17 yr old (3 yrs back) yamaha upright from century piano at liang court. We paid around $3500. Good condition and looks brand new as the shop owner source from Japan personally and will do touch up before selling. There is also free tuning for quite a long time (maybe 4 or 6 times?). We only started to pay for last 2 tuning which the shop owner does it personally.

Kids were studying in Ossia then and her teacher didn't encourage us to go to Cristofori as she heard too many stories. She told us to go for a yamaha or kawai.

We were contemplating digital as it's cheaper. In the end, we decided against it when we realise that piano has a resale value if it is well-maintained. So the $3k that you pay today will still be worth money if you eventually want to sell it and it's well maintained. In view of that, it's also more reliable to go for those popular brands as with any products for resale value reasons.

The piano has been good. We do not encounter any issue so far. Also, there is a buy back scheme as part of the purchase with the shop and comes with I think 10 yrs of warranty.

I am not music trained. But there is a difference between playing on a piano and keyboard since the weight of the key is different. This is important if there is a long term view towards learning piano. This might affect the way their fingers curve etc... when they play. I still don't understand :roll: but this appears to be an important aspect that teachers watch out for.

But like all parents, we can't guarantee that kids will continue sometimes. In our case, we've 3 kids and was thinking if first 2 didn't pursue, then maybe the 3rd will????

[MMM]

Just to add, we got a exam model (at least 120cm???) for long term view. In case they pursue, they can continue to use the same piano until grade 7? I don’t think it’s worth to spend few k on non-exam model and then change again later as it might cost more in the end.

[ESMJ family]

MMM:

Just to add, we got a exam model (at least 120cm???) for long term view. In case they pursue, they can continue to use the same piano until grade 7? I don't think it's worth to spend few k on non-exam model and then change again later as it might cost more in the end.

Thanks for yr comments.
Any idea where to go for 2nd hand piano at good rates ?

[MMM]

For us, we shopped around based on those ads in the papers. For a start, I recall visiting Kawai music school at parkway (they carry 2nd hand pianos), another shops in Toa Payoh and Suntec before going to century piano at liang court. I was tempted to go to Cristofori becoz of the ads but decided to give it a miss based on the teacher’s comments.


I think we end up with century piano because they had quite a good range. They will also touch up the piano so the condition looks new and much nicer as compared to those we saw. It’s been 3 yrs and their after sales is good. They are the ones who call me up to remind me about tuning (even when it’s free). So I never have to remember. Also, I feel that they "don’t " run away after selling us the piano. The owner is still tuning and taking care of the piano. His tuning cost $70 (1/2 yrly). Also, we’ve shifted the piano twice using movers they recommend and everything is still working well.

Note that they will usually "open" up the piano to show the "interior"… we are layman so we just check if anything is "broken" or "rusty" or if it looks ok… Also price wise is close after looking around, so we felt it’s a better buy comparing what we saw. A friend got hers at a shop along upper/ bukit timah area and she’s happy too.

But one observation is that it’s not easy to get a apple to apple comparison as the age and condition of those 2nd hand piano differs.

Note that for yamaha piano, there is a code on each piano that is engraved on the interior. The shop usually has a book that shows for each code, which year,etc… was it mfg. So the shop can’t lie about the age of the piano.

It’s probably good to set a budget and ask them to recommend on your budget. The price should be negotiable.

Hope that helps.

[ESMJ family]

MMM:

For us, we shopped around based on those ads in the papers. For a start, I recall visiting Kawai music school at parkway (they carry 2nd hand pianos), another shops in Toa Payoh and Suntec before going to century piano at liang court. I was tempted to go to Cristofori becoz of the ads but decided to give it a miss based on the teacher's comments.


I think we end up with century piano because they had quite a good range. They will also touch up the piano so the condition looks new and much nicer as compared to those we saw. It's been 3 yrs and their after sales is good. They are the ones who call me up to remind me about tuning (even when it's free). So I never have to remember. Also, I feel that they \"don't \" run away after selling us the piano. The owner is still tuning and taking care of the piano. His tuning cost $70 (1/2 yrly). Also, we've shifted the piano twice using movers they recommend and everything is still working well.

Note that they will usually \"open\" up the piano to show the \"interior\"... we are layman so we just check if anything is \"broken\" or \"rusty\" or if it looks ok... Also price wise is close after looking around, so we felt it's a better buy comparing what we saw. A friend got hers at a shop along upper/ bukit timah area and she's happy too.

But one observation is that it's not easy to get a apple to apple comparison as the age and condition of those 2nd hand piano differs.

Note that for yamaha piano, there is a code on each piano that is engraved on the interior. The shop usually has a book that shows for each code, which year,etc... was it mfg. So the shop can't lie about the age of the piano.

It's probably good to set a budget and ask them to recommend on your budget. The price should be negotiable.

Hope that helps.

Thanks ! At least i know where to go but which brand is more recommended ? Do i need to bring my girl to 'test' it ?

[MMM]

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[MMM]

It would be good if she is already good at the piano and see what she likes as well. Shop around and enjoy the process.


I think our girl was only K1 or K2 when we got the piano. She was encouraged to test it though there are only few simple songs she knows. But how can we hear if it is good based on those twinkle twinkle little star songs? We got the sales people to play the songs for us too to hear how it sounds.

In terms of brands, personally I prefer Yamaha or Kawai (though the expert will tell you that there is a difference between the 2). I am too layman to understand. Talk to the various sales people and hear their comments. I think there are korea brand pianos too and of course those european high end ones as well : ) You will hear comments like oh this is now made in china,etc… I equate buying pianos to those of a car. Which brand? Japanese, chinese, korea or european??? Personally, I prefer a yamaha or kawai given their brand equity and it’s widely used. So resale would be better too.

[ESMJ family]

MMM:

It would be good if she is already good at the piano and see what she likes as well. Shop around and enjoy the process.


I think our girl was only K1 or K2 when we got the piano. She was encouraged to test it though there are only few simple songs she knows. But how can we hear if it is good based on those twinkle twinkle little star songs? We got the sales people to play the songs for us too to hear how it sounds.

In terms of brands, personally I prefer Yamaha or Kawai (though the expert will tell you that there is a difference between the 2). I am too layman to understand. Talk to the various sales people and hear their comments. I think there are korea brand pianos too and of course those european high end ones as well : ) You will hear comments like oh this is now made in china,etc... I equate buying pianos to those of a car. Which brand? Japanese, chinese, korea or european??? Personally, I prefer a yamaha or kawai given their brand equity and it's widely used. So resale would be better too.

thanks for yr sharing will start sourcing, hope to get a gd deal !

[pinky]

My experience with Cristofori (Funan Mall) was quite OK. The sales staff was quite knowledgeable and helpful. They do have a buy back policy+ 2 free tunings+10 years warranty. The after sales service was good too.

I bought the non-exam model since my son was a beginner then.
Before the exam, I would then book the studio (exam centre) for him to
practise on the actual exam piano(2-3 times). Heard that exam model is
more expensive and may not be the exact model that you buy so I
compromise by doing the above.