Yamaha or Kawai 's upright/traditional piano ?

[michichan]

Im planning to get my very own upright piano
For a long term use...
Dont think i can afford to change it frequently.
Pls suggest with the model too
And mind giving the reason why u suggest that model
thank you so much^^

[michichan]

pls give ur opinion
from wat i've read
for grand piano its better to get kawai rite? instead of yamaha
wat abt upright piano
thanks

[invictious]

Definitely Yamaha for both grands and upright.
I personally dislike Kawai because of it's action and it's..mellowed and covered tone.
It's matter of personal preference, really.
Yamahas are durable and can last a long time, like the U series.

[andyd]

If I had to choose between (only ) Yamaha or Kawai?

For an upright piano I'd get a Yamaha, an SU7.

For a grand piano I'd get a Kawai, a Shigeru Kawai.

[michichan]

today i tried to play on 3 upright pianos
challen, kawai and young chang

not really impressed with kawai
challen seems not bad at all
heard of it? coz this is the first time i actually know abt it

[andyd]

Challen pianos have been made in Malaysia for the last 10 years or so.  I've only ever seen rather old English made ones.

[michichan]

made in malaysia
is it a malaysian brand?
andy where r u from?

sorry wat do u mean by I've only ever seen rather old English made ones.

[andyd]

Challen Pianos, Chas H. Est 1804 by Thomas Butcher.
William Challen entered the firm in 1816 and in 1830 he took over the company.
The name was changed to Challen Pianos, Omega Works, Hermitage Road, Finsbury Park, London N4, England.
Taken over by Barrett and Robinson Ltd. in 1971.
In 1984 John broadwood and son took over the firm.
Musical Products Sdn. Bbd. of Malaysia started building pianos with the Challen name in 1996.

Living in England, I see the occasional old Challen upright.  Never seen a Malaysian made one;  probably the only similarity will be the name on the fallboard.

[amanfang]

I have hated every Young Chang I have ever played on.  Get a Yamaha.

[michichan]

ic. thanks for ur info andy.. so do u like challen? is it good? coz the one i tried is like pretty old.. coz i feel the keys kinda loose n not tight   haha i dunno how to describe...

thanks amanfang yeah im kinda considering of getting yamaha upright now
but which series ya? what do u think 

[amanfang]

I have an M500 and have been satisfied with it as uprights go.  Someday I'll get a grand...

[michichan]

how old is ur m500?
yeahhh i dream of having a grand too one day
but as for now, upright is good enough 
i know i will be so HAPPY once i have my own piano 

[amanfang]

My family bought it new about 10 years ago or so.

[quantum]

I've owned both Kawai and Yamaha pianos. 

For uprights I prefer Kawai, because I seem to be able to archive more nuance on them.  Some recent Yamaha uprights I find too percussive tone. 

For grands I prefer the Yamaha C series to the Kawai Rx.  Here I find Kawai has a bit of a washy feel to the tone.  Yamaha tone has more body, but not as much color as the Kawai.

Shiguru's are awesome.  Kawai EX concert grand is sublime, much prefer this to Yamaha CFIIIs.

[mic2005]

I suggest you check out the Petrof pianos too. During my piano shopping, I was like you stuck between either Kawai or Yamaha. Both names are so popular. But when I visit a piano dealer that carries all these 3 brands, Yamaha, Kawai and Petrof, my ears just got stuck with the Petrof tone. You must try it yourself. I believe there are pretty many of good pianos out there beside the Japanese.... And for the price, you will be suprise that some good European pianos are equal if not less expensive than that Japanese piano. End of the day, it all depends to you. Afterall, tone and touch are very subjective.

PS. I own a Petrof 131....  a little biased here.

Regards.

[michichan]

ic
hi mic,

i never seen petrof here.... im in a small town
so far, i've only seen kawai, yamaha and young chang here
and challen... but i dont think they sell it...
but thanks for ur suggestion
i will definitely look it up and give it a try...
afterall, i wont be buying it anytime soon
the earliest would be next year after i've start working 

quantum, what do u mean by percussive tone?  and which kawai upright do u prefer? thanks

[ksnmohan]

YAMAHA of course!

[quantum]

By percussive, I mean too much sound on the attack of a note's tone.  So much so that it is prominent enough to distract from the body of a note's tone.  It has a "hammery" feel to the sound. 

I can't say to the specific model of Kawai upright I prefer.  Naturally larger will give fuller tone. 

One thing to watch out for, a particular model Kawai case wasn't designed well to fit standard size music.  Books get caught under the top lid and it is difficult to turn pages.  You have to take care or you risk damaging your music if it gets caught.  Sorry can't remember the model number.  Bring along standard size music such as 8.5 X 11 and 9 X 12 to test.