New Petrof 125 F, Kawai K25 or used Yamaha U1 ???

[kristenslkrogh]

I'm buying a piano for my son. I am currently deciding between:


- 3400 $ :  used Yamaha U1 (first owner,10-year-old, played for about 2 hours a day)

- 3900 $ :  new Kawai K25

- 3900 $ :  new Petrof 125 


What would you buy?

Any suggestions would be very useful (since neither me nor my wife play piano it's a very hard decision for us).

Thanks for the help in advance,

Mare

[jeremyjchilds]

My initial reaction would be to go with the Yamaha (even though I'm not a Yamaha fan per se). You will lose more value from a new piano, especially a smaller one.

THe U1 is pobably the best known piano out there. You will have no problem selling it if there happens to be any problem with lessons etc. Also, in my opinion, (an all areas other than tone quality) the U1 reflects a successful effort to balance all preferences to a happy medium. (Rather than reflecting one taste or another)

Get the U1 and then when your son is ready for a fine instrument, in the years down the road. let his tastes be the judge, so he can find a piano that truly excites him!!

Good luck, I hope music will enrich your life!

[thalberg]

I vote for the Petrof.  This is because I think Petrofs have an infinitely better sound than Yamahas.  As a pianist, I always go for sound, and if your son does well, the sound will mean everything to him.  And, if I saw those three pianos for resale in the paper, I'd call the Petrof owner first.  Note that Jeremy's consideration was for money, but even he did not seem happy with the Yamaha sound. 

I owned a Yamaha for six years and hated it.  I've never ever ever played a single Yamaha that I liked in terms of sound. 

Also, 2hrs a day for 10 years is a LOT.  I did a little more than that to my Yamaha for only six years and the whole thing needed regulating twice--and that's not cheap.

I think in terms of price the other two are the better deal.  It sounds like the Yamaha has been played a lot and the price reduction doesn't reflect that.