Buying a piano/Yamaha pianos

[outin]

I'm going to buy an acoustic piano and any help is appreciated. My budget is around 7000-8000 EUR. I need to decide whether to buy a used one or a new one.

The things that I feel are important:

- Must have the silent option due to my living conditions
Would you agree that it is safer to buy a model that has a factory installed silent system (which means buying a Yamaha, I havent seen any others in this area)?

- Should not be heavy to play (why make things more difficult). It has been so many years since I have played with a real piano, that I'm not sure I know what to expect when I'm testing them.

- Of course the sound is important, but If I play in silent mode a lot, then maybe it is not as important as the touch. I prefer softer sounding pianos.

- I don't have room for a huge instrument and I'm also slightly worried about the weight (badly constructed building). I can't upgrade my housing unfortunately...

I'm going to visit a store next week to check the new pianos, but I need to be prepared so that the salesman won't talk me into making a hasty purchase.

If I go for a new one, has anyone any experience on the Yamaha B-series? The one that suits my needs and budget would be Yamaha B2 Silent. These are made in Indonesia. I found very little technical information on the Yamaha homepage. Since I'm more used to buying electronics I find it very confusing how little information there is available on the build and technical details of new pianos on the net...

I could also get a used Yamaha Silent from the U-series or YU-series with a little less. Would these be a lot better?

[pianolive]

As you cannot have a huge piano, I would go for the Kawai K3. It is available with Silent Piano, or you can have it installed later.
We have bought quite many of the K3 and both students and teachers are very pleased with them.
Go to the nearest Steinway House and ask for a presentation.
With your budget you can buy a new one.

[outin]

Go to the nearest Steinway House and ask for a presentation.

Thanks, but that would be very far, since I'm in Finland...
There are actually only two stores selling acoustic pianos where I live. The one I first checked only has Yamahas in my price range. The other one does sell Kawai pianos, so I'll check them out too.

[outin]

I guess pianos are cheaper where you live. I asked about a new Kawai K3 with the anytime-silent system and it's almost 9000 EUR. I could try to bargain but probably will still be over my budget. Unless I change it. Which I shouldn't...

[pbryld]

I guess pianos are cheaper where you live. I asked about a new Kawai K3 with the anytime-silent system and it's almost 9000 EUR. I could try to bargain but probably will still be over my budget. Unless I change it. Which I shouldn't...

Everything in Europe including pianos is twice as expensive as in the US.

[withindale]

Tell the dealer your budget is 6500€ for a K3 Silent. If the 9000€ price has a 50% margin, the profit will still be 2000€. That is a better deal than no piano and 0€ profit.

Ian

[outin]

Usually in this country prices aren't that flexible I'd be happy to get 10 % off the price. But they won't even have a K3 at the shop to try before September...

I'd still be interested to hear experiences about the Yamaha B-series, since I could probably get the B2 with 7K. And the dealer seems to have much better collection of pianos at the shop than the other one.

And there's always the option to get a used Kawai or Yamaha. I've found a few with the silent system. Unfortunately I'd have to buy them from the net without seeing them, since the dealers are not in this area. The dealers do offer a guarantee for 2 years. Then again, if I buy from a local dealer it would be less complicated if there are some problems with the product.

[pianolive]

You could actually go over to the Steinway Gallery in Stockholm where they have all instruments to try out.
The official price for the K-3 ATX is 69000 SEK, but I am sure you could get a better price.
If anything happens to piano they will help you out even in Finland.

[outin]

Stockholm is not impossible, but I think I’ll try to manage with the local dealers.

I have narrowed my options:
Kawai K3 anytime (list price 8950 EUR, would need to bargain a lot for my budget)
Yamaha B2 silent (list price 6290 EUR)
Kawai K2 anytime (list price 6590 EUR)

The larger silent models (like Yamaha YU-series) have a list price well over 10 000 EUR

If the choice is between Kawai K2 and Yamaha B2, do you think there would be real difference in quality? Ultimately I think I’ll make the decision based on trying them out and how they feel to play, but certainly I would like the piano to keep some of its value in case I want to upgrade later.

I think a used piano is not an option, although I have send inquiries about a few. The used models with silent feature are older (90's or early 2000). I would expect the electronics of the system have evolved during that time?

[pianolive]

In Stockholm they use to give a 5 years upgrade warranty, which means that if you upgrade to a better piano you get back what you payed for the old one.

[pbryld]

In Stockholm they use to give a 5 years upgrade warranty, which means that if you upgrade to a better piano you get back what you payed for the old one.

They do that in every piano shop in Denmark too.

Where do you live exactly? If I were you, I would travel a bit to try stuff out. I drove a couple of hours to Copenhagen where I found a wonderful old Steinway that I bought for only 6000EUR, it was far better than any upright Kawai or Yamaha I tried.

Your main problem is the silent system. If you can do without that, you can find really good deals on used pianos. You could probably double or triple your money in value by doing this.

[outin]

I live in Turku, which means I could either go to Helsinki or take a boat trip to Stockholm. Unfortunately my work and other stuff keeps me so busy that it would have to be next month. But yesterday I found another dealer just 50 km from here, I might visit them next week.
The silent system is essential, I'll do most of my playing late night. Also I'm a bit desperate to get the piano soon, because the digital piano I have now drives me grazy...

[john90]

A used Schimmel could be a great option. Fairly recent ones came with Yamaha silent systems factory installed. A nice German instrument with the best value factory silent system.

[keys60]

About time someone gave Schimmel a little play around here. Nice axe.

[outin]

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! I bought a Yamaha B3 silent today. Got a good deal, about 1300 euros less than the listed price. I really liked the way it felt to play and although there was a U-model (about 4000 euros more) that clearly had better sound quality, I think this one will work for me. I compared to a couple of small grands they had and can't say there were so much better.

[keys60]

Congratulations! Enjoy.

[paivi]

Täällä pyörii siis muitakin Turkulaisia... Ostin vuosi sitten uuden Yamahan F:ltä. Olen ollut tyytyväinen. Soittelemisiin, Päivi

[outin]

Sieltä minäkin, oli hyvä palvelu. Vielä ei ole tullut, mutta toivottavastí pian!

[outin]

Well, s**t happens...

The piano I bought did not exist! A mistake in their storage data. I would have to wait until November. They did have one, but it's white. I don't really care about the colour of the piano as long as it's NOT white.

So...the salesman offered me either the cheaper B2 model or a good deal with the lot more expensive Japanese made U1 silent that I really liked at the shop. Just 3500E more than the one I already had bought.
I argued with myself for an hour or so and lost
The U1 will be delivered this Friday

I know it's a better investment than the B3 model, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much. Now I'll have a piano that should be good enough for me for the rest of my life. And if playing doesn't go well, I can only blame the head and the hands, not the instrument...

[jimbo320]

Once you play that piano you'll be glad you got it. I hope the brain and fingers cooperate...

[tb230]

Congratulations! I have a U1 silent as well, and I am probably using the silent option about 60% of the time I play the piano. I love the extra 'focus' the headphones give me, it's a bit like sitting alone in a studio - no outside distractions and full attention to details. My family likes the silent option too, not having to listen to endless repeats and scales... I hope the U1 will work out for you, when I got my piano the dealer refused to show me the B2 and told me he didn't think much of it. (Interesting sales tactics.) I also tried a B3, but the silent option on the U1 is much better and with more flexibility. Happy playing! 

[paivi]

Hei, kuulostaa tutulta, mäkin sorruin lopulta vastoin suunnitelmia U-sarjalaiseen. En ole katunut sekuntiakaan, toki perhe varmasti kaipaisi silentia (jota pianossani ei ole). Se virittäjä jonka F välitti on huippumukava ja taitava. Varmasti hyvä hankinta! Päivi

[outin]

Mahtoiko virittäjä olla sama Harri joka juuri äsken kävi tuon omani virittämässä? Oli oikein mukava ja kyllä eron pianossa huomaa, nyt soi kauniisti.

[paivi]

Hei, hän juuri. Ensimmäisen vuoden aikana hän kävi useammankin kerran, nyt piano on selvästi asettunut. En olisi uskonut kuinka pieniä asioita voi kuulla, olen aiemmin soittanut vaatimattomammilla pianoilla. Tässä sitten pienikin epätarkkuus häiritsee helpommin.
- Ilmankosteuden vaihtelu kuuluu pianosssa hämmästyttävän paljon, virityshetken kosteustasolla piano soi uskomattoman puhtaasti. Virittäjä on jaksanut paneutua kiitettävästi tällaisen kotisoittelijankin toiveisiin. Päivi

[carlsen10]

Well, i had a Yamaha U-1 once, and i sure do miss it! Whenever you play with the headphones, you 'll feel the peace of playing. When you play without silence-option, it sounds fantastic as well.

I kinda liked that piano