Yamaha U1 pros/cons

[psaiko]

I am going to buy an upright in the same priceclass as yamaha U1. I have tested some pianos and its likely I will go for the U1.

What are your personal pros and cons for this instrument. I have heard it is designed for jazz playing, but hope thats just rumour

I would appreciate if you could answer within the next 10 hours

Thanks

[Axtremus]

... I have heard it [Yamaha U1] is designed for jazz playing ...

No! The U1 has been around for a long time, it was introduced long before Jazz was deemed "respectable." Millions of kids all over the world have taken piano lessons learning classical piano on the U1 -- it works just fine. No manufacturer would be dumb enough to design (or market) any piano that's good only for Jazz or only for Pop or only for Classical -- they don't want to cut theselves out of a big segment of the market that way. They all build "all-purpose" pianos, and the U1 is no exception.

[hiline]

The U1 is widely considered to have the standards of a professional upright piano. For classical music, of course ! 

[Waldszenen]

I own a U1 and have played on many of them... here are my thoughts:

Pros

• Very reliable; will last an extremely long time (with regular maintenance) without degradation
• Nice, solid tone overall
• Light keys, very good for rapid fingerwork (though see below)

Cons

• Tone can be slightly on the bright, metallic end
• The keys are considered too light by some - especially if you practise continuously on the U1 and suddenly have an exam/performance on a "heavy" grand
• After time the keys are prone to double-striking
• Apparently my tuner says it's more sensitive to humidity than other pianos but it's not a problem where I live

Hope that helps aye. It's a very good piano overall.

[hiline]

Did you buy the U1 finally?

[psaiko]

Did you buy the U1 finally?

I did. I agree with the previous post, it is a really nice piano but the sound may be a little over sharp at times. I tried a 1/3 more expensive Schimmel (dont remember the model) which had a very beautiful a little softer sound. If I had the money I would have bought that one.

About the keys, are they really that soft? That could be a problem. On a scale from 1-9 how hard do you think they are (5 being the mean of course).