All About Choosing and Buying Pianos
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Yes, all thanks to some 2ndhand dealers who don’t tell the truth!
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And the thing with some 2nd hand sellers is that when the old piano is said to be 30+ yrs, it’ll turn out to be 40+ when checked with the reference table. Ok, some. Not all.
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I think most of the piano teachers prefer yamaha U3 than U1 and YUS 5. I am deciding which to go
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janicelhl:
I think most of the piano teachers prefer yamaha U3 than U1 and YUS 5. I am deciding which to go
U1 I thk is the 'bare' minimum for the teachers. -
I’m planning to buy a piano for my girls too.
Narrow down to 2nd hand Kawai. Not sure want to get the Upright grand (shorter) or k6 (taller)…I perfer to go to Kawai shop to buy 2nd hand rather than outside as not sure whether they telling the truth abt the age of the piano and the condition of the piano. -
I have not go to Kawai yet. I only know Yamaha is going to have a sales next month. Cannot decide yamaha u3 or yus5?I am afraid if I go to Kawai ,I will be having problem deciding which brand n model again!
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i am at a stage of trying to persuade husband to buy a piano for my K2 (started in Aug last year with christofori and starting his Lina Ng Piano made easy L3, consider slow? he commented teacher's piano keys are more difficult to play than home keyboard) and now looking at this 81pages thread, already :faint:
so hoping some kind soul can help me with these...
1) our budget is around $2500
2) husband said just buy any cheap one as we are layman and won't know the difference as a piano is a piano (he did said earlier that just use the keyboard until spoil )
3) if we want to buy 2nd hand, is it better to look out for ads, or go to a 2nd hand dealer shop? if latter, any recommendations?
4) is it necessary to get exam-model?
5) what type of maintenance is required?
6) what is it about resale value? is there any resale value/take back scheme for 2nd hand piano?
he is now using Yamaha DGX 220 digital weighted-keys (i was told) keyboard at home and is the only one in our family learning piano.
many thanks. -
Hi, Jedamum :hugs:
Just sharing my experience with me
We bought a 2nd-hand piano from Christofori towards end Y2009. We bought it at $3,299.00. It is a Japan-assembled piece and it comes with 2 times free tuning. We went to the workshop to view all the models display there and the sales co-ordinator was able to explain and played on the various models . DD1 tried on this piece that we found that we loved it so we decided then to purchase. There was an installment plan to pay for a period of 12 months; interest free.
The model that we bought was exam-model type (according to Sales ). It has been 2 years plus and we just had the 3rd tuning done on Monday Tuning co-ordinator commented that it is still in good condition and good maintenace :please:
My DD1 had piano lessons at Yamaha from K2 till P3 and all the while using keyboard. But when she switched to using Piano at home, she does not faced much problem, just needs to curl and press harder on the keys She is now P4 and is now having private lesson once a week, 45 mins each at home.
P1 DD2 has zero piano knowledge but started the private lesson with the same piano teacher. I feel it is a good start for her as the teacher teaches her \"from scratch\" and she has to use her strength to press the keys down.
Just my own experience to share with you! :hi5: -
Hi Champion, does your daughter go for any grade test yet? How much do u pay for the lesson
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As mentioned in earlier threads, I would seriously consider the Hailun HL125 if the player is a beginner/amateur.
Reason #1: It’s cheap and good. At $3800+ (don’t know if price has changed after NIE bought a whole lot from PianoMasters), the sound quality is good, and strings are slightly longer than U1’s (125cm vs 121cm). At this price, it’s value for money. The compromise is a little on the action - isn’t as light as U1, but the weight is good training.
Reason #2: Pianomasters’ 5-year half-price buy-back policy. Don’t think you can find this kind of bargain common elsewhere. After 5 years, you can start the piano-shopping with new criteria all over again, with the learner’s progress in mind. Even if there isn’t any buy-back, or even if there isn’t any resale value, it’s a less than $4k expense over the 10 years.
Reason #3: Pianomasters lets you choose the piano from its warehouse. Unless you’re buying 2nd hand - hordes in the market and seriously, it’s hard to tell what’s wrong or good with just a few visits, you can’t choose the new piece that you’re putting down thousands for.
Funny thing is, there are some quality products from China we tend to ignore and put aside, simply because we hear that word ‘Made in China’ and shy away. I had that notion at first too. It’s true for most other China-made pianos, but Hailun is different.
Go on YouTube and you can hear many good reviews there, even from ang-mohs. Bad reviews come generally from people or ‘experts’ who are biased against China-made products from the beginning. Just read on and you’ll find they’d never even touched the thing they’ve lambasted throughout their comments.
I’m looking forward to get a YUS5 or equivalent as a prize for myself and my little darlings 5 years later if we all progress well. Plonking down thousands for a permanent feature at home you wouldn’t know what to do if nobody’s using just feel so…permanent heartache for me, and having nothing much to look forward and work towards. -
janicelhl:
Hi Champion, does your daughter go for any grade test yet? How much do u pay for the lesson
My P4 DD1 will be going for Grade 2 practical & P1 DD2 will be going for Grade 1 practical in Sept this year.
I am paying the teacher $150 for DD1 and $140 for DD2 - for every 4 lessons; 45 minutes each. -
Hi Champion, can your piano teacher travel to the east?how much would she charge for grade 4?
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reddiechan:
hihi, thanks for the info.As mentioned in earlier threads, I would seriously consider the Hailun HL125 if the player is a beginner/amateur.
Reason #1: It's cheap and good. At $3800+ (don't know if price has changed after NIE bought a whole lot from PianoMasters), the sound quality is good, and strings are slightly longer than U1's (125cm vs 121cm). At this price, it's value for money. The compromise is a little on the action - isn't as light as U1, but the weight is good training.
Reason #2: Pianomasters' 5-year half-price buy-back policy. Don't think you can find this kind of bargain common elsewhere. After 5 years, you can start the piano-shopping with new criteria all over again, with the learner's progress in mind. Even if there isn't any buy-back, or even if there isn't any resale value, it's a less than $4k expense over the 10 years.
Reason #3: Pianomasters lets you choose the piano from its warehouse. Unless you're buying 2nd hand - hordes in the market and seriously, it's hard to tell what's wrong or good with just a few visits, you can't choose the new piece that you're putting down thousands for.
Funny thing is, there are some quality products from China we tend to ignore and put aside, simply because we hear that word 'Made in China' and shy away. I had that notion at first too. It's true for most other China-made pianos, but Hailun is different.
Go on YouTube and you can hear many good reviews there, even from ang-mohs. Bad reviews come generally from people or 'experts' who are biased against China-made products from the beginning. Just read on and you'll find they'd never even touched the thing they've lambasted throughout their comments.
I'm looking forward to get a YUS5 or equivalent as a prize for myself and my little darlings 5 years later *if* we all progress well. Plonking down thousands for a permanent feature at home you wouldn't know what to do if nobody's using just feel so...permanent heartache for me, and having nothing much to look forward and work towards.
Hailun is buy-back scheme or upgrade scheme?
if my boy for some reason did not continue, the shop will take back the piano at 50% price? any conditions?
Champion,
thanks for the note!! will have to bring ds2 down for our shopping trip since he will be the one playing.
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maintenance wise, tuning once a year?
and what is it about 'heater'? :oops:
tq. -
Hi! I am new here. Anyone can advise choice of decent upright piano for beginner? Need to get one soon
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Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum but I've enjoyed reading the discussions on this forum. I thought I'd like to share what I've learnt during my very recent buying experience:
http://www.pianobuyer.com/fall11/65.html
You can get lots of information on the depreciation value of pianos and how to choose a piano from the above link. Just click on Table of Contents.
Cheers!
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any comments on Yamaha JX113T? Worth buying for beginner? can last till grade 8?
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Hi, chattyirena, thanks for sharing. May I ask what piano you buy in the end?
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schen:
any comments on Yamaha JX113T? Worth buying for beginner? can last till grade 8?
It's only 113cm tall.
Thought exam grade is 121cm and above? -
BigDevil:
Not necessarily. All pianos, no matter good or bad, can use to play grade 8 pieces. But of course the quality of the piano will dictate the range of interpretation possible on the pieces.schen:
any comments on Yamaha JX113T? Worth buying for beginner? can last till grade 8?
It's only 113cm tall.
Thought exam grade is 121cm and above?
Height is not that important, most important is the quality of the key actions and the pedals. Make sure the pressure of the keys can be varied like one quarter, half, etc. Same goes with the pedals. -
Finally we have made our decision and bought the brand new Kawai K3. Cant wait for its arrival. Hoefully we wont regret.