Anyone tried Yamaha C2 Baby Grand?

[bananafish]

I'm planning on buying a Yamaha grand, incidently I saw an ad on campus for a used (5yrs) Yamaha C2, asking for $11500. My ex piano teacher had one and I liked it. I'm wondering if anyone used it and liked it too (or not, and why), or else, what would you recommend for a yamaha grand. Also, I went to a local music store and tried out their Kawai RX-3, it was pretty good too. Which one would you choose if price isn't an issue? Which one is better?

Thank you for all your replies 

[donjuan]

C2 is very popular.  It's 5'8'', so I would say it's hardly a 'baby' grand.  I myself have one - 3 years old. At that time, when I was going around comparing various pianos, I also played the Kawai RX series.  Personally, I found the action quite stiff, but that is sort of how I feel about all Kawais in general.  Anyway, I really like my yamaha and have absolutely no regrets.  It is a great piano because Yamaha is so popular, and if you can play a C2, you can play anything.  -that is, you wont blame a bad performance on not being used to the piano. 

I found that the bass depth increased dramatically between C1 and C2, so that was the main reason I went for it.  I think better woods are used from C3 and upwards, but C2 just sounds much better than C1 to me.

Go buy it! No regrets, I promise.
donjuan

[quantum]

If price was no issue and it was a new RX-3 with Millennium III Action, I'd probably go with that.  Longer piano, deeper bass, good scale.  But if you prefer the sound of the C2, there is no reason why you shouldn't go with it.

Note, I own a C3 myself.   

[bananafish]

Thank you all for the replies. I'm very tempted to buy it. However, like most buyers, we plan to buy one that will last for a LONG time, so why not buy a good one the first time, right?

So, I've done my online research (limited, I might add) on comparing 1) C1 vs. C2, and of course, C2 won, easily. Then, the hard part was comparing C2 and C3. Some reviews fanatically prefer C3 much better than C2, others don't seen to mind THAT much, but better, as in slightly better. So, I'm wondering whether C3 is really THAT much better? What is the biggest improvement? I'm currently a music student, how will the difference between C2 and C3 affect my practice (or are all the hypes came from picky professional concert pianists? I don't mean Quantum  If I had money to stretch, I'd certainly go for C3 or even C7, whatever the number's bigger)

Thank you all again.

[donjuan]

Thank you all for the replies. I'm very tempted to buy it. However, like most buyers, we plan to buy one that will last for a LONG time, so why not buy a good one the first time, right?

So, I've done my online research (limited, I might add) on comparing 1) C1 vs. C2, and of course, C2 won, easily. Then, the hard part was comparing C2 and C3. Some reviews fanatically prefer C3 much better than C2, others don't seen to mind THAT much, but better, as in slightly better. So, I'm wondering whether C3 is really THAT much better? What is the biggest improvement? I'm currently a music student, how will the difference between C2 and C3 affect my practice (or are all the hypes came from picky professional concert pianists? I don't mean Quantum  If I had money to stretch, I'd certainly go for C3 or even C7, whatever the number's bigger)

Thank you all again.

Well, I have to go play on my teacher's C3 every week after preparing using my own C2.  The difference is really not that noticable..  Of course, the C3 is a little longer, and I recall that better woods were used in it.  You will not get screwed over in a performance on a C3 if you practice on a C2.  You just wont. 

[quantum]

I did look into C2 vs C3 in my piano search.  From my experiences in playing both, the C3 had much more available tone colours than the C2. 

One thing I really like about the C3 is the key surface - black keys are made of wooden material.  C2 and below have plastic on the blacks.  The wood helps control slipping on the keys when playing tricky passages. 

I've read several places that jazz pianists like C2's.  They have a brighter sound and more projection.  Also I somewhat recall a sales person tell me that C2's are often picked for use in churches (probably due to their projection). 

For the music I play the tone of a C3 suited my needs better. 

I agree with donjuan that there probably isn't a big difference if you practice on either instrument.  Where the difference lies is in the tone of these two pianos. 

[bearzinthehood]

Right now I'm practicing on a C2.  Honestly I don't like the sound, it's way too bright.  The action is fine though.