Boston v. Yamaha, Kawai tuning

[lancashire_lass]

Has anyone heard anything about the tuning reliability of Boston grands compared to Yamaha and Kawai? I've heard that they may need tuning more often. It's for use in a church where temperatures will obviously vary as it's only being heated once or twice a week.

[amelialw]

yes, a Boston does go out of tune more often, same for a steinway and sons piano especially in cold weather

My best friend who's in canada owns a Boston Grand GP-178(same as mine) and his goes out of tune very often during winter. Mine does not out of tune, not as frequently though

The steinway and sons pianos in my school need to be tuned practically every day

[richard black]

There's no very consistent pattern. Some pianos of a given model stay in tune much better than others - for instance, the Yamaha C3 (of which I frequently play at least 6 different examples): some are stable like anything, some go way out of tune in no time.

That said, humidity changes are the worst thing for pianos, followed by temperature changes, following by handling (being moved).

Oh, and some tuners are much better than others at leaving a piano set so that its tuning will be stable over a long period.

[lancashire_lass]

Thanks for your help.

[a-sharp]

Also - it totally depends on where you live, and what kind of humidity-controlled (or not) environment the piano is in. If you live in a humid climate hear the ocean or a large body of water, it's quite different if you live a comparatively dry area year-round. Frequent, dramatic changes in temperature & humidity will wreak havoc on any wooden instrument...

[electrodoc]

I have owned both A Boston and a Yamaha grand. I found that the Boston went out of tune very frequently, especially when there were noticeable temperature or humidity changes. There were also a few strings giving false harmonics which meant that even when in tune some notes sounded 'sour'. For this reason I changed the Boston for a Yamaha (S6). The Yamaha holds its tune much better and there are no false harmonics. However, drastic temp/humidity changes do throw it out more than I would like.

If you can find a good Yamaha that you like then I would recommend it over the Boston.

[keys60]

Yamahas are built with an 80 pound torque on the pin and hold well. I don't know what kind of pinblock the Boston uses other than they are built by Kawai to Steinway's cheapened specs. Its a decent piano though. It may be more susceptable to the humidity that the other pianos in the house. Also, if its fairly new, not a stable yet.

[tosca1]

I used to have a Boston GP178 and in 2007 I replaced it with a new Kawai RX3. Lack of tuning stability was a concern with my Boston although it was an early one from 1993 and possibly the newer models are more stable. One of the many positive aspects of my RX3 is its tuning stability.

Kind regards,

Robert.

[keys60]

Steinway, Boston, Kawai, Yamaha are all quality pianos with quality pinblocks. Unless they are new, they should all be quite stable, unless in an unstable environment or the piano tuner has stability issues.

[gorucan]

There is no way to compare those, as other's stated, it very much also depends on circumstances and room the piano is placed in.

Yamaha Conservatory models are however supposed to last longer.

[rachfan]

The tuning instability was a problem with Boston vertical, not grand pianos.  Their uprights have since been redesigned to resolve the issue.