[Indy]

Were the 6'1" yamahas from the 1970's/80's better made than the current latest C3's?
It has been suggested by a piano expert that the earlier models were built to almost the current S-class range (which are x2 the price of the Conservatoire range).
Does anyone know enough to confirm/refute this argument?
Any advice appreciated.

[PianoGuy]

You've been given very duff advice!

The current C range has many technical improvements over the G range. There's nothing wrong with the G range pianos, but the Cs will have duplex scaling, Ivorite Keys and a better action for a start. The build quality of the latest Japanese instruments is better than ever before. That goes for Yamaha and Kawai.

The G that you've been offered will probably be a Japanese import, which may have the duplex scaling, but it may even have possibly been made for a different climate. If it's a very cheap deal, then you pays yer money and takes yer choice, but you're taking the cheaper option. Bear in mind that even a 1980s piano is now around 20 years old, and the build of Yamahas past and present is so good that this can easily be forgotten.

Don't misunderstand me here, there are many good honest dealers offering well reconditioned or little used imported Japanese pianos at a great saving over new prices, but I suspect few of them would dare to say that build quality of the new ones is poorer. In fact it is the Japanese ethic to improve quality continually. You'd probably have never bought a Toyota 30 years ago, save for the fact they were cheap. Today they are undeniably superb cars, no longer cheap, and you'd buy on quality. It's not quite that simple with pianos, but along the same lines.

Never in a million years will the quality of a 20+ year old G series grand be close to an S-series. You really need to see an S-series to prove this, but I doubt that any dealer claiming that the quality is comparable will have one in stock actually to compare! I would guess that you've been told this by a non franchised dealer?

PG