Yamaha U1/Yamaha C2/Samick SG185

[Astyron]

Hello People,

There's a lot of intelligent people on this board so I'm hoping you can give me some opinions.  I'm looking at possibly buying a new piano to replace my twenty year old, bought used when I got it, doesn't stay in tune, console Kimball.  I just can't have my students playing on this instrument any longer without guilt pangs.  And we're in a position where we can afford to make the monthly payments on something else.  Here's what my thoughts are, and keep in mind that all prices quoted are in American dollars:

Yamaha U1 -- this is a NEW upright instrument.  I feel that it is like many Yamahas, which in my opinion have a slightly shallower touch than many other instruments, and while Yamaha's tend to be bright this one is not overly so.  I can't recall the proper term for this, but it has a very good repeating action and is dynamically expressive.  Store price for this instrument is $8350.00 BUT my husband works at the music store and I can get it for 15% over cost, which makes it roughly $5080.00.  I went shopping for an upright and this is the only one in the store I really liked the sound of. The other Yamahas were a bit brighter than I want (more typical Yamaha sound), and the Boston's were out of my price range.

While there I also sat and tried some grands, which was bad...I'm afraid to fall in love with a grand I can't afford.  It's sometimes too much of a crap shoot waiting to find a used grand being sold locally that's of any quality.  I figure my husband's discount would get me nearly as good a price as someone local selling their instrument.  I found these two that I liked:

Yamaha C2 -- this NEW grand had what I consider an ideal sound for me.  It has the light Yamaha touch, dynamic expressiveness (easy to play, sweet pp, resonant and carrying ff, good range in between), and is slightly bright, but not overly so.  It is however a much more expensive instrument with a store price of just over $24,000.00.  My husband would get it for $13,000.00 which is a bit more than I wanted to spend (I had hoped to keep it around $5000.00), but it's such a nice sounding instrument.

Samick SG185 -- this USED grand is the one I have the most qestions about.  It is brighter than either of the Yamaha's I picked out, has a much deeper touch, but has very good dynamic expressiveness with both easy to play pianos and very brilliant fortes.  I could hear something in the sound that bothered me slightly though -- a subtle twang that was not  related to being in tune.  The store price on it is $7700.00 and my husband would get it for maybe a thousand less, or the price listed, as it is used. 

My Questions:
I don't know much about Samick.  Is it a quality brand?  Where is it made?  Do they maintain well, hold a tuning well, and have lasting power?

I know many of you will be freaking out at the cost savings I'll get on a new piano with my husband's store discount, and are probably thinking I ought to find the nicest piano there is and just get it, but we're relatively young, somewhat frugal (as I don't have any retirement benefits being earned..just what we squirrel away), and on a budget.  The cars are both paid off now, so that how we can justify a bit more debt on something like a piano.  With that in mind, do you think going for the$24k piano at a price of  $13k piano is worth it, and being in further debt for a bit longer?  Keep in mind that my husband can get his discount ANY time, as long as he keeps working there, and he has excellent job security.  So there's no rush to buy something expensive.  His coworkers down in the piano gallery are always hard selling me on the Steinway they plan to sell me one day.  I flat out told one of them the other day that it'll never happen, I'll never buy a $30k Steinway and they could stop suggesting it. 

Yamaha questions:  Do today's Yamaha's hold their tuning or are they overly sensitive to climate changes?  I thought I remembered hearing that Yamaha pianos are really touchy and fall out of tune easily.  I live in Wisconsin, US, and right now it's 7 degrees F outside and dry as a bone.  Summers are humid and average in the 80's.  We do not have air conditioning and run a humidifier in the music room, in the winter.

[teresa_b]

Hi Astyron,

I can't give you advice on which piano(So difficult!) but I can tell you my parents bought a Kohler & Campbell (Samick under another name) 6'1" grand last year.  It's very nice, no twang, but any one that was less than that size sounded and felt far inferior.  It is holding iin tune now, but took about a year before it would quit getting out of tune easily.

If the climate is a worry, get a "Dampp-Chaser" system installed on your piano.  (Esp. if you go for a more expensive piano)  My piano tech installed one on my piano.  It is expensive--like $600 or so.  But it keeps the piano at a constant humidity. 

Good luck!
Teresa

[kamike]

Given your range of choices, I would suggest the Yamaha C2.  These instruments are very consistent in build quality, tone, and touch.   It is an outstanding piano for the money.  There is no reason that it would be particularly prone to more problems than other pianos. 

I am interested in your comment about Steinway.  It is true that there were some unique issues with Steinways for a period of time, but still, the sound and touch place this piano in an elite group.

Your area is one of the worst for seasonal humidity changes due to indoor heating.   Regardless of what piano you buy, you should definitely consider a humidifier system.  If you have a forced-air heating system, have a humidifier installed at the furnace.  Otherwise purchase a piano specific humidifier or install a free-standing one nearby.

[Astyron]

Actually, I didn't post an opinion about the quality of the Steinways, so I'm not sure what you're interest in that I said .  I just said they REALLY want to sell one to me, and I won't buy one...the reason isn't quality, it's price; I don't see being able to afford one.  I don't get the same kind of employee discount on one of those.  Steinways are very fine instruments and I enjoy playing on them.  I'm looking at C3's as well now, just for curiosities sake.  I'm really taken with the soun dof that C2, but will probably end up with an upright in the end.  It's what's best for our budget...I think *glances over shoulder at lurking husband*  Um..right, husband?  Or will you let me get a grand? 

[kamike]

My bet is that you should be able to work some of those womanly charms and get that C2

[chiyo]

I think I might be replying too late, but I wanted to add my $.02.  Samik is a Korean piano...and it is one of the 2 major piano brands in Korea along with Young Chang.  It is said to have less brighter sound and heavier touch, and preferred over Young Chang by piano majors.  Of course...99% of them would switch to Yamaha Grands if they could afford it.  So...I don't know if you already got yours or not, but I'd say go for Yamaha if you can afford it, and if not, Samik is not too crappy piano either.