All About Choosing and Buying Pianos
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Dreamaurora:
My next door neighbour is a part-time piano T and she makes very nice music. I don't mind staying next to pianists like you or her. In fact, I think the sound of music - piano/sax/violin if one is good - makes the neighbourhood 'classy'.
Wah, I must be a neighbour's menace then since sometimesI practice after midnight, and my sessions normally last from one and half hour to 2 hours. :sad: Some concert pianists I know of also practice after midnight. So if you are looking for a new home, better check that your neighbour is not a professional pianist. :evil: Ok lar, but I did a noise test before. With carpets, curtains, and muter the sound is quite minimal and the sound is already quite soft even if heard from within my own home.
Btw, what is a muter? You mentioned it twice before. -
jedamum:
Aiyoh, then die already lah. DS is getting better in his dynamics but he's no where near talented. So far none of my neighbours come banging at my door leh.
I read elsewhere that ideally should keep prac hours before office hours unless one is a talented pianist n people don't mind music accompaniment for dinner.
If they do, then I'll make ds drop piano and learn violin instead - beginner violin has got to be one of the most goose-bumps inducing sound one can hear, and after that they will surely regret.
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Okay, I am going to post some brief reviews of pianos I tested on Robert Piano’s Centerpoint branch last week. Note that all the pianos I tested were brand new and as such my opinions should not be applied to 2nd hand models of the same models.
First, the Kawai pianos.
Kawai K2
Made in Indonesia. An entry level Kawai costing around 5K+. The feel and sound is strangely very unKawai like and more Yamaha instead. In fact, if I’ve never seen the brand, I would have thought it was a Yamaha instead. Touch is not heavy and sound is bright and sweet. Easy to play and easy to get good tone out it. You may want to get this if you like Yamaha sound but die die want to get Kawai instead.
Kawai KX
Made in China. Another entry level Kawai costing around 5K also. I prefer this to the K2 as the tone is closer to Japanese Kawai. Sound is semi dark and sweet. It is not that easy to play but not that hard to play also. Good choice as a 1st piano.
Kawai K3
Made in Japan. The direct rival to Yamaha’s U1. In terms of build quality, action and tone I think K3 is superior to its Yamaha counterpart. But the catch is like most Japan Kawai it needs some decent technique to produce good tone out of it since by default the K3 sounds quite dark and a bit dull. So the question is K3 or U1? K3 will be more suitable for students who are more serious and want to achieve a wider variety of tonal control whereas U1 will appeal to students who want to enjoy practicing and playing more.
Kawai K8
Made in Japan. The spiritual successor to Kawai’s K80. Direct rival to Yamaha’s YUS5. The tone of this piano is even darker than K3, but the sound is significantly fuller and the action more refined. And compared to YUS5, it actually sounds like a grand. But the learning curve for this piano is even higher than K3 and I would definitely recommend this piano for serious students as this piano can last all the way to the diplomas. I never had any problem playing on actual grand pianos because I feel K8/K80s are actually even harder to play. But if you don’t want to turn every practice session into a mighty struggle with the piano you may want to consider YUS5 instead which is definitely a more fun piano to play. I personally own a K80 and I love it and still practice on it everyday.
Kawai GM10
Made in Indonesia. The budget baby grand model in Kawai’s lineup. This piano puzzles me. The action and tone are actually inferior to K8. The one I played in the showroom had floaty actions that just make finer details almost impossible to achieve. I did feedback to the salesman about this and hopefully this is just a tuning issue. But as for now, I would not recommend this piano at all and would advise students to either stick to the cheaper K8 upright grand or top up more for RX1.
Kawai RX1
Made in Japan. The first model in the the professional RX series and its direct rival would be Yamaha C1. This piano represents a significant step up from the K8. The tone is a perfect blend of darkness and sweetness and the actions are very precise. I smiled when I played it as the piano understood all my musical intentions and executed them exactly as I heard them in my mind. Definitely a worthy investment for any serious students. Yamaha C1 is excellent as well, so the choice here will come down to personal preference of the tones.
Moutrie 121, 122, and 125
Made in China. I tried all three and each of them is quite different from one another. 121 has a dark tone that is very similar to K3 and K8. The action is good and the sound has good punch for its size. The downside is the same as K3 and K8; need to work to get good tone out of it. 122 and 125 are brighter and sweeter, but the two units I tested seemed to have some tone balance issues. The bass notes sounded hollow and I feedback this to the salesman to see if it can be fixed by tuning. For a cheap price of 4K+, you can get Moutrie 121, which is a very attractive alternative for K3. Good choise as 1st piano for students who are more hardworking. -
FQW:
There is a difference between fiddling around and practicing. I prepare for performances and practicing is serious business for me, so that means I need to work and repeat a lot of short passages. And trust me, this is very irritating to hear. People like to hear the end results, but not the process. Even I can't stand to hear other pianists practicing.
My next door neighbour is a part-time piano T and she makes very nice music. I don't mind staying next to pianists like you or her. In fact, I think the sound of music - piano/sax/violin if one is good - makes the neighbourhood 'classy'.Dreamaurora:
Wah, I must be a neighbour's menace then since sometimesI practice after midnight, and my sessions normally last from one and half hour to 2 hours. :sad: Some concert pianists I know of also practice after midnight. So if you are looking for a new home, better check that your neighbour is not a professional pianist. :evil: Ok lar, but I did a noise test before. With carpets, curtains, and muter the sound is quite minimal and the sound is already quite soft even if heard from within my own home.
Btw, what is a muter? You mentioned it twice before.
The muter is a piece of cloth that can be raised in between the strings and the hammer, basically muting the sound. For upright pianos, normally operated by the middle pedal and for grand pianos by a knob or lever. -
Dreamaurora:
Hi Dreamaurora,Okay, I am going to post some brief reviews of pianos I tested on Robert Piano's Centerpoint branch last week. Note that all the pianos I tested were brand new and as such my opinions should not be applied to 2nd hand models of the same models.
First, the Kawai pianos.
Kawai K2
Made in Indonesia. An entry level Kawai costing around 5K+. The feel and sound is strangely very unKawai like and more Yamaha instead. In fact, if I've never seen the brand, I would have thought it was a Yamaha instead. Touch is not heavy and sound is bright and sweet. Easy to play and easy to get good tone out it. You may want to get this if you like Yamaha sound but die die want to get Kawai instead.
Kawai KX
Made in China. Another entry level Kawai costing around 5K also. I prefer this to the K2 as the tone is closer to Japanese Kawai. Sound is semi dark and sweet. It is not that easy to play but not that hard to play also. Good choice as a 1st piano.
Kawai K3
Made in Japan. The direct rival to Yamaha's U1. In terms of build quality, action and tone I think K3 is superior to its Yamaha counterpart. But the catch is like most Japan Kawai it needs some decent technique to produce good tone out of it since by default the K3 sounds quite dark and a bit dull. So the question is K3 or U1? K3 will be more suitable for students who are more serious and want to achieve a wider variety of tonal control whereas U1 will appeal to students who want to enjoy practicing and playing more.
Kawai K8
Made in Japan. The spiritual successor to Kawai's K80. Direct rival to Yamaha's YUS5. The tone of this piano is even darker than K3, but the sound is significantly fuller and the action more refined. And compared to YUS5, it actually sounds like a grand. But the learning curve for this piano is even higher than K3 and I would definitely recommend this piano for serious students as this piano can last all the way to the diplomas. I never had any problem playing on actual grand pianos because I feel K8/K80s are actually even harder to play. But if you don't want to turn every practice session into a mighty struggle with the piano you may want to consider YUS5 instead which is definitely a more fun piano to play. I personally own a K80 and I love it and still practice on it everyday.
Kawai GM10
Made in Indonesia. The budget baby grand model in Kawai's lineup. This piano puzzles me. The action and tone are actually inferior to K8. The one I played in the showroom had floaty actions that just make finer details almost impossible to achieve. I did feedback to the salesman about this and hopefully this is just a tuning issue. But as for now, I would not recommend this piano at all and would advise students to either stick to the cheaper K8 upright grand or top up more for RX1.
Kawai RX1
Made in Japan. The first model in the the professional RX series and its direct rival would be Yamaha C1. This piano represents a significant step up from the K8. The tone is a perfect blend of darkness and sweetness and the actions are very precise. I smiled when I played it as the piano understood all my musical intentions and executed them exactly as I heard them in my mind. Definitely a worthy investment for any serious students. Yamaha C1 is excellent as well, so the choice here will come down to personal preference of the tones.
Moutrie 121, 122, and 125
Made in China. I tried all three and each of them is quite different from one another. 121 has a dark tone that is very similar to K3 and K8. The action is good and the sound has good punch for its size. The downside is the same as K3 and K8; need to work to get good tone out of it. 122 and 125 are brighter and sweeter, but the two units I tested seemed to have some tone balance issues. The bass notes sounded hollow and I feedback this to the salesman to see if it can be fixed by tuning. For a cheap price of 4K+, you can get Moutrie 121, which is a very attractive alternative for K3. Good choise as 1st piano for students who are more hardworking.
Between Hailun & Moutrie, which do you think has better action and tone ?
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NICKW:
I am not sure as I have only visited pianomaster once. But from what i can recall i would say they are on par. The 121 is better than hailun entry model and hailun higher ends are better than 122 or 125. When i visit pianomaster again i will test them more thoroughly.
Hi Dreamaurora,Dreamaurora:
Okay, I am going to post some brief reviews of pianos I tested on Robert Piano's Centerpoint branch last week. Note that all the pianos I tested were brand new and as such my opinions should not be applied to 2nd hand models of the same models.
First, the Kawai pianos.
Kawai K2
Made in Indonesia. An entry level Kawai costing around 5K+. The feel and sound is strangely very unKawai like and more Yamaha instead. In fact, if I've never seen the brand, I would have thought it was a Yamaha instead. Touch is not heavy and sound is bright and sweet. Easy to play and easy to get good tone out it. You may want to get this if you like Yamaha sound but die die want to get Kawai instead.
Kawai KX
Made in China. Another entry level Kawai costing around 5K also. I prefer this to the K2 as the tone is closer to Japanese Kawai. Sound is semi dark and sweet. It is not that easy to play but not that hard to play also. Good choice as a 1st piano.
Kawai K3
Made in Japan. The direct rival to Yamaha's U1. In terms of build quality, action and tone I think K3 is superior to its Yamaha counterpart. But the catch is like most Japan Kawai it needs some decent technique to produce good tone out of it since by default the K3 sounds quite dark and a bit dull. So the question is K3 or U1? K3 will be more suitable for students who are more serious and want to achieve a wider variety of tonal control whereas U1 will appeal to students who want to enjoy practicing and playing more.
Kawai K8
Made in Japan. The spiritual successor to Kawai's K80. Direct rival to Yamaha's YUS5. The tone of this piano is even darker than K3, but the sound is significantly fuller and the action more refined. And compared to YUS5, it actually sounds like a grand. But the learning curve for this piano is even higher than K3 and I would definitely recommend this piano for serious students as this piano can last all the way to the diplomas. I never had any problem playing on actual grand pianos because I feel K8/K80s are actually even harder to play. But if you don't want to turn every practice session into a mighty struggle with the piano you may want to consider YUS5 instead which is definitely a more fun piano to play. I personally own a K80 and I love it and still practice on it everyday.
Kawai GM10
Made in Indonesia. The budget baby grand model in Kawai's lineup. This piano puzzles me. The action and tone are actually inferior to K8. The one I played in the showroom had floaty actions that just make finer details almost impossible to achieve. I did feedback to the salesman about this and hopefully this is just a tuning issue. But as for now, I would not recommend this piano at all and would advise students to either stick to the cheaper K8 upright grand or top up more for RX1.
Kawai RX1
Made in Japan. The first model in the the professional RX series and its direct rival would be Yamaha C1. This piano represents a significant step up from the K8. The tone is a perfect blend of darkness and sweetness and the actions are very precise. I smiled when I played it as the piano understood all my musical intentions and executed them exactly as I heard them in my mind. Definitely a worthy investment for any serious students. Yamaha C1 is excellent as well, so the choice here will come down to personal preference of the tones.
Moutrie 121, 122, and 125
Made in China. I tried all three and each of them is quite different from one another. 121 has a dark tone that is very similar to K3 and K8. The action is good and the sound has good punch for its size. The downside is the same as K3 and K8; need to work to get good tone out of it. 122 and 125 are brighter and sweeter, but the two units I tested seemed to have some tone balance issues. The bass notes sounded hollow and I feedback this to the salesman to see if it can be fixed by tuning. For a cheap price of 4K+, you can get Moutrie 121, which is a very attractive alternative for K3. Good choise as 1st piano for students who are more hardworking.
Between Hailun & Moutrie, which do you think has better action and tone ? -
Thanks for the info, Dreamaurora
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Hi
Anyone can advise me if i should get a 2nd hand piano at this stage ? my gal is into 2nd term of yamaha junior course. My budget is not exceeding $4k and her piano teacher advises to get between 10 to 15 yrs piano as according to her 20yr piano keys may not be as stable for beginner. -
hi, need to ask a question which may sound silly
Can we put books on top of piano?
Previously on bookshelves but need clear space for other books
thus want to put some piano books, like around 20+ books(majority thin ones, a few thick ones), on top of piano, in a row using bookends..
not sure is it ok? is it too heavy for the piano?
thanks! -
I've seen teachers put tons of books on their pianos. So far their piano is working fine. I guess it's ok.
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