Should I buy a Yamaha GC1?

[celticqt]

I was offered what sounds like an incredible deal on a piano this weekend.  Right now I am making my living playing - I teach lessons, do gigs, and also study myself.  I play about 3-4 hours a day on an older Story & Clark upright -- it has some definite drawbacks for me technically.  So....

I was browsing/schmoozing in my local music store a few days ago.  They've been trying to talk me into buying a new piano for about 6 months; and they just offered me a GC1 for $11,000, but I only have a week and a half to decide.  Is this a good deal?  I am very nervous about making such a huge investment without shopping around first.  I have also read some of the posts in here about GC1's and am wondering if it will be what I need.

At my lesson, I play my teacher's 9' Steinway and find the action much too heavy.  At church I play a Yamaha C3 and Love it.  I just don't know if I'll be satisfied with a GC1.

Any advice/opinions?

[tompilk]

The GC1 is a fantastic piano and I was looking to buy one of them, a GB1 or a C1 a month ago. However... I did like the GC1 better than the C1!!! It is a fantastic piano, but for teh same price I ended up getting a Yamaha G5 (equivalent to C5 but mine is second hand - 5 years - that's all!!!) which is 6'6", rather that 4"11' and the sound is much more impressive... shop around a lot and make sure you choose the right piano.... feel free to ask anymore questions as I have learnt much about pianos especially Yamahas while buying my piano... GC1 are nice and bright sounding if you like that... but bigger is generally better for big sounds such as Rachmaninov, which I like to play...
Tom
P.S. My piano was hired to Westlife to perform a concert in Ireland... and it is in condition as new... it shows what you can get if you shop around - I spent just under $10,000...
  Hope this helps... ask me more!!!

[celticqt]

Last night I went to the music store and played both a GC1 and a C1.  The difference in their sounds was amazing - the GC1 was brassy and tinny in the upper register, and the C1 was beautifully mellow.  They are asking about $2,500 more for the C1.  Since it's new, delivery, setup, two tunings, and a 10-yr. warranty are included.  But I can't see spending thousands of dollars on a GC1 that I didn't really like.

[tompilk]

I founds the Yamaha C1 too mellow that it was hard to get the required sound out and it felt as though the energy you put into the piano wasn't going anywhere special...
Just a thought to help you decide...