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chowy

Hi,

I'm new to this site and pianos and I am in the process of purchasing a piano for my daughter who has recently started piano lessons (3-4 months) and will be hopefully, going through her grade exams soon.

She is learning using her teachers Weber baby grand.

I know that this topic has been probably covered to death but we have decided that we are looking for a quality upright as we don't have the room for a baby grand! Room size is approx. 10ft x 9ft.

We have been to a 2 retailers now - where I did not state a budget and the 1st one demonstrated differences between pianos. He played the Steinway upright and then compared it to a Boston and a Kawai and I was shocked to hear the differences!!!!

The Steinway was amazing! but &20K was way out of my budget and the Boston was good too but no where near as good as the Steinway and &5K was also more than I expected to pay!

The retailer told me that they are closing down in a month and a closing down sale is in progress soon so there may be good discounts to be had as he said that the Boston will be down to around &4K. We will be returning next week to investigate further.

The 2nd retailer we visited stocked Yamaha, Petrov and Kemble and this time I stated a budget of around &3K. The piano salesman pointed out that all the mid range piano brands are good and at this price range there is no such thing as a bad piano, just different ones. Unfortunately, this just confused me more!

He did however, show me 2 used Yamahas, a U1 (less than 7 yrs old) at &3,100 and a U3 (7 yr old) at &3,500 and I was impressed by the sound (although I'm no expert) when he played them. I did notice that the keys in the U3 were yellowing and not white like the U1. Is this just ageing?

My question is what shall I buy?
Are the Yamaha's U1 and U3 good value used?
Is the Boston a superior piano to the Yamaha?
Should I ignore Petrov and Kemble?
Are there other brands to consider at this price range?
Will height of the piano make much difference to the sound considering that it will be located in a small room?
Last stupid question - I assume the Steinway or equiv. quality pianos are not available used at this price?

Any advice will be most welcome
Dave

Barrie Heaton

chowy · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 6:11 pm Post subject:

Hi Barrie

Thanks for you speedy reply.

Maybe an easier question would be -

If it was your money in the same situation as me, what would you buy?

If Yamaha U1 is a great piano where is the cheapest place to purchase one?

Regards

Dave

Barrie Heaton · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 7:10 pm Post subject:

chowy · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 7:40 pm Post subject:

My budget is 3.5K maybe stretching to 4K if one exists that is so much better than the 3K range.

Barrie Heaton · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 8:00 pm Post subject:

then a new Yamaha at the site I gave you or
Chamberlain music

if you wish to go up market then you will have to go secondhand and 4.5K

Barrie,
_________________
Barrie Heaton
Web Master UK Piano Page

chowy · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2004 8:27 pm Post subject:

I will try those retailers.

I think I will go for the Yamaha U1.

Thank you very much Barrie for your assistance.

chowy · Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 9:43 pm Post subject:

Hi again,

Been offered an 1989 Yamaha U3X for 3,100 pounds. Could this be better propersition than a new Yamaha U1?

The seller told me that this was the Yamaha flagship handmade model before being replaced with the SU131S. If this is the case, is this piano a big quality step up from the U1 i.e. upper mid range or maybe premiership?

Barrie Heaton · Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:40 pm Post subject:

That’s a good price and yes it is far better than a U1

Barrie,
_________________
Barrie Heaton
Web Master UK Piano Page

richarddale · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 12:10 am Post subject:

what are the contact details for this dealer thats closing down

thanks
[/quote]

chowy · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 1:13 pm Post subject:

Key Pianos in Washington Tyne and Wear tel.0191 417 6024.

They are doing appointments for this weekend and reps from Steinway are going to be there.

chowy · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:45 pm Post subject:

We have purchased a new Yamaha U3S after a lot of deliberabion and headache!

Many thanks for all your help and advice

Regards,

Dave

Barrie Heaton · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 8:15 pm Post subject:

Enjoy your new piano and don’t forget to have it tuned a least 3 times in it’s first year

Barrie,
_________________
Barrie Heaton
Web Master UK Piano Page