Samick??

[depp]

My local dealer sales only Samick piano and I don't know anything about that kind of piano?

Any one with experiences from a Samick piano?

[intermezzi]

I know a little bit about Samick, that they are Korean made, and a budget line of piano. I have played one used Samick in a music store, I think about a 1999, and was not impressed at all. It was a smaller model, about 42" tall, and the sound was very muffled. Perhaps the taller models have a better sound. The Piano Book by Larry Fine says they have been inconsistant in the past, but have gotten better recently. They are certainly not to the level of Yamaha, Kawai, etc., but perhaps similar to the less expensive Chinese pianos we see a lot nowadays. In other words, not a great piano, but not bad for the money.

[alzado]

I am not sure about the one reply you have received to your question.

Samick, Kawai, Yamaha, Young Chang, Pearl River, and others  -- the asian pianos -- seem to vary up and down somewhat.  In one edition of Larry Fine's book, one or another of these brands gets "pinged," and in a later edition, he gives that same brand a plus up.

While generally Kawai is good, I have seen a couple of postings where members of the forum are very unhappy with a particular Kawai.

I wouldn't summarize Samick on the basis of playing one used upright, which appears to be what the other respondent did.

I have a "Howard by Baldwin" grand -- 5'8".  This was manufactured by Samick under contract with Baldwin, using at least some Baldwin parts.  My piano was built about 1990 and these "offshore Baldwins" are no longer made or sold.  However, Samick does manufacture quite a few pianos under contract with various western companies, as well as their own line of pianos.

Larry Fine rated the Samick-made Howard as "recommended for purchase" and said, as I recall, that it was "a somewhat successful effort to imitate the tonal qualities of a Yamaha."  If that's correct, bear in mind that Samick is considerably cheaper than an equivalent size Yamaha.

It is an oversimplification to say that Samick is an "economy" line of piano.  Is is much cheaper than premier brands like Baldwin or Steinway -- or in recent years, even Yamaha, which is really a rather expensive piano.  Even so, there are "weird" brands on the market today (Chinese, Indonesian ? ? )  that are a lot cheaper (and cheesier) than Samicks.  Some of these are made under contract by "God knows who" at "God knows where."  Samick has been around a long time, is well known, and has a pretty good track record.

Samick makes a complete line of pianos.  If you get one of their best grands, I would imagine that you would be getting a pretty good piano.  It will be cheapER than a Yamaha, but hardly cheap.  Is a $16,000 piano cheap?  (Well, we could argue that one all day.)

Lastly, the warranty work provided with our piano was excellent.  We did have a couple of service calls the first year, completely paid by the dealer-- who, I'm sure, was reimbursed by the manufacturer.

Just my $.02--   Hope it helps.

[jeremyjchilds]

Only samick??? wow.

In my opinion, samich has a lot of varience...

I have played and tuned only samick grands...so if you are looking for an upright, I can't help you.

You need to trust your intuition here. Going with a Korean or Chinese piano in general will give you a  shorter life than a japanese or german piano (Please, this is in general, so don't go off on me) I have had to perform major major repairs on Young Changs, Pearl rivers, samicks, ritmullers, etc. that were 10 years old or less. (Malor repairs like Repinning the entire action) This should not be...I have yet to do a major repair like that on a yamaha or west-european piano of the same age. of course, on the flip side, they are way cheaper...

So if that doesent scare you.. then all you have to worry about are the subjective things. The great news is that you are going to be the one playing the piano, so it doesent matter what others think, get the one that makes you happy.

Just so we can help you more...what is your prosepective budget?

[depp]

I like the touch and feeling from the Samick piano, but I'm not sure about the sound.

My budget for an upright piano is $15.000.

[alzado]

With the posting by Jeremy Childs regrding Samicks --

Mine is 15 years old, and after a couple of corrections in the first months, I have had no problems with it.  None.  It is played every day.

It has very good tuning stability. 

As for Mr. Childs' concerns, if the pianos he needed to repair were less than 10 years old, then they were under warranty.

Of course, as he explains, buy what you like.

Best luck--

[jeremyjchilds]

Yes, the pianos are definitely under warranty...I just use this as an example. Sometimes Fords break down more than Toyotas. But I've seen some fords with 400 000 kilometers on the reading....

As for Alzado's great experience with his Samick...Great!!

Like I said, they have a lot of variance. I have seen some nicer ones! I am very happy for Alzado that he got a great reliable instrument for an affordable price. (Especially because he appears to like his piano a lot)

Just want to encourage you to look at each individual instrument rather than generalizing. Quality controll can be a lot less stringent from chinese\Korean pianos because of the large volume and low prices...just a fact of business. Good luck, if You get a great Samick it's better than a bad Yamaha...unless you're a brand snob

[intermezzi]

Wow, at $15,000 you could choose just about any upright piano out there. Definitely look around some. If you can, I'd try out something in Yamaha's U series. They seem to be among the more favored uprights from what I've read in this forum, and the U5, their tallest piano, is still well within your budget. Unlike the Samick, I have had the opportunity to play several U series pianos. I found the touch on all the ones I played to be very smooth and even, and the sound full and crisp. I have a smaller Yamaha piano myself, and am very happy with it, though if I could afford it I would have gone for a U1 or above.

Of course, let your own fingers and ears make the decision. No one can generalize based on one or even four pianos, but I love that this forum lets you draw from a range of many people's personal experiences and opinions.

[teresa_b]

I agree with trying out a lot of pianos in your price range and getting a feel for the individual instrument as opposed to a specific brand.

My parents had $10,000 to spend on a new piano last year, and they ended up with a new Kohler & Campell (made by Samick and marketed by Steinway dealers) 6' grand. 

I was with them when they picked it out.  We tried a number of pianos, including a few used Yamahas and Bostons.  The K&C smaller than 6' were not impressive, but at the 6' size there was one that was just wonderful.  Not in the Steinway category, but also not $60,000! 

Good luck--
Teresa

[mamma2my3sons]

I've played piano for 2.5 years. I have a new 5'9" Kohler & Campbell piano & it is exceptionally nice at its pricepoint. Mine is made in Indonesia, (fyi, the upper tierred Kohlers are made in Korea.)

Realize that while Kohler & Campbell is made by the Samick company, it is generally considered a little better than actual Samick branded pianos, as well as many pianos made by other companies (typically Chinese) such as Story & Clark, Hallet Davis, Nordiska, Hazelton, Steck, Hardman etc etc etc) However the K & C will of course cost you more as well. ...

That being said, all of the above are considered somewhat entry level pianos. The Larry Fine piano book is also highly recommended as well as www.pianoworld.com forums have a wealth of knowledge on them.

A bit of advice: For a grand, wouldn't go below 5'5".  Also once you have chosen the piano based on playing as many pianos as you can within your price range & actually have it home, get a good tech (preferably an independent one)  go over it  & do the little things that a dealer will likely not incur costs for! It is the difference between having a "decent" piano & one that will almost "sing". ..

Best of luck to you. Let us know what you choose.

[depp]

I bought the Samick