All About Choosing and Buying Pianos

[bktan02]

Can anyone advice when is the business hours of Pianomaster on weekday and weekend? May go down with hb if he agree to buy the piano for our son. Thanks!

[rex21]

Intermezzo:

If you like the schimmel sound you might also consider the C126T ~ sweet clear voice and lovely touch.

i think it's around $21,000

the petrof K135 is nice too. an upright grand, around $19,000?
we like the sound, but the keys felt a little heavy for my dd, so didn't seriously consider it. Should be pretty ok for an adult though ~

i think the kind of piano you like also depends on the genre of music you play mostly..

i tried the C126T i think. just before the C130. i prefer the C130 hehehe..

i play both pop & classical.. depending on mood. maybe i need 2 pianos.. :evil:

[MummyThreeStreams]

tiredmummy1972:

Hi! would like to start my 8yr old son and 7yr old niece for piano lesson @ my home. both have no music background. should I go ahead and get a piano for them to learn at home or just get a digital piano or keyboard? appreciate if someone can advise on this.

Thanks!

You can buy an inexpensive second hand piano first. If they show interest, you can hold it and upgrade it in the future. If they are not interested, you can sell the piano. If you bought it from a second hand dealer (rather than an owner), they will usually buy it back at a %age of the sale price.

[tiredmummy1972]

Chattyirena:

Hi Tiredmummy1972,


I was puzzling over the same question early this year, so I asked a professional pianist and my ds' JMC teacher for advice. Both gave the same piece of advice - get an acoustic piano, because it trains the child's hearing more effectively, and it would last you much longer. They were both against getting a keyboard or digital piano (e.g. Clavinova by Yamaha) because the sound isn't \"real\" enough, and neither is the touch.

I took their advice...

Thanks chattyirena!
Err., Acoustic piano=upright piano?

[MusicAmor]

Has anyone purchased pianos from the piano gallery before?


I have set my sights on this excellent reconditioned yamaha U3 which gives out an amazing sound and touch unlike the other uprights ive tried. I instantly fell in love with it and it is approximately around 4.5k. It looks really new to the extend that i couldnt believe that this upright was dated to the 80s.

The only concern is that this particular set is approximately 30 years old so im worried whether it will be able to last in the long run. The dealer (piano gallery) offers a 10 year warranty on its soundboard and cast iron though.

I dont know whether the set is still available though. The sound is really good (not too bright or mellow, clear bass) and fantastic touch. Initially i was aiming for the U1 and K3 but this U3 set is clearly superior (they have all 3 in the showrooms a few days back!).

Now the question… is this a good deal? What are the odds of an acoustic breaking down on this age? And any feedback on piano gallery’s aftersale service?

[MummyThreeStreams]

I don't have feedback on Piano Gallery. but I use a U3 that's about 30 yo too. The U3 is an excellent piano. I agree with you about its character. Love the sound and touch.


I bought it a few years ago at about $3-$3.5 k. Maybe the one you saw is a bit newer than mine. What's the serial number? You can google the serial number for the age and the various U3 series online to see if that series has a history of problems. Eg see this site : http://www.markgoodwinpianos.co.uk/info/yamaha-u3-u3h-u3m-u3a-u3g

I think the old Yamahas are built to last several decades, if the are well taken care of. Did you take a good look inside? I'm not an expert, but I think the main risk is humidity damage to the soundboard. Can't think how else the piano can break down. If the strings snap or the keys become sticky, you can just replace the parts, not a problem. But if you have soundboard damage...

[MusicAmor]

MummyThreeStreams:

I don't have feedback on Piano Gallery. but I use a U3 that's about 30 yo too. The U3 is an excellent piano. I agree with you about its character. Love the sound and touch.


I bought it a few years ago at about $3-$3.5 k. Maybe the one you saw is a bit newer than mine. What's the serial number? You can google the serial number for the age and the various U3 series online to see if that series has a history of problems.

I think the old yamahas are built to last several decades, if the are well taken care of. Did you take a good look inside? I'm not an expert, but I think the main risk is humidity damage to the soundboard. Can't think how else the piano can break down. If the strings snap or the keys become sticky, you can just replace the parts, not a problem. But if you have soundboard damage...

Inside is okay i guess.. no rusty parts and etc (im no technician to begin with!)

If i could recall correctly, the serial no is 30xxxxx(7 digits). What about yours?

[MummyThreeStreams]

Mine starts with 2, so yrs is newer. The Yamaha website allows you to search for the age via serial number.

[tiredmummy1972]

I am going to confirm a 2nd hand 6yr old Pearl River ( UP-108M) piano @ $1400. is the price ok?

[Chattyirena]

tiredmummy1972:

I am going to confirm a 2nd hand 6yr old Pearl River ( UP-108M) piano @ $1400. is the price ok?

Hi Tired Mummy,

The only way to know whether the 6 year old Pearl River is a good price is to check the price of a new Pearl River of the same model and calculate the depreciation value from there. If the piano is in excellent condition, then any price between 70% to 60% of a new Pearl River would be reasonable. The depreciation schedule may be found on:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/spring12/65.html

Just fyi, early last month, someone offered me an Exam-Model Christofori for $1K. However, the seller was unable to give me the model or serial number (probably due to language differences which made communication between us difficult), but said that she had tuned it regularly every 6 months until her DD gave up learning the instrument. She also said it was around 6 to 8 years old... She did offer to let me try out the piano though. I never got round to going to her home or to the Christofori shop to check out the prices or the piano, coz I had already decided on a Yamaha.

My piano tuner told me that Cristofori pianos are made by the same manufacturer as Pearl River, as Cristofori is an EOM brand (you can commission the factory to put any brand name on a batch of pianos and market it as such, but all pianos of with the same model specifications bearing different brand names are essentially the same piano). So if you are keen, you could check up on both brands and compare prices. I believe that Cristofori sells used pianos in their shops / warehouses too. In fact they just had a warehouse sale last month.