1974 Yamaha G5

[windswept]

Im in the process of upgrading my daughters piano without braking the bank Any help would be so appreciated!

She really liked (after playing many) a 1974 reconditioned Yamaha G5 grand that came in on consignment.. The dealer is offering a 5 year warranty on parts and labor. They want almost $13,000. for it. What do you think of this year, how long will a piano that old last and does the price sound fair?

[windswept]

I forgot to ad that it is a Grand and 6'6

[49410enrique]

if the reconditioning was a complete overall, i.e new strings, hammers, pin block, finely regulated or upgraded action, new key tops, finish, etc. and if this was done in the past few years ? probably worth it, but if we're talking about a light restoration and it's years and years ago (i.e 1990's-early 2000's) it sounds steep.  i'm giving a bit of lee way since i myself have only played 1 or 2 yamahas i actually liked and one of those was their top of the line concert grand that was a few years old but never sold the other was a brand new C3, the rest of them leave me wondering why they are so sought after...

at the 10-15K range in the used piano market, the down economy has really created a buyers market. i don't put any value on any 'warranty' in terms of dollars, it does add some sense of peace with a used purchase but that kind of money will buy A LOT of piano, i think if the yamaha is a little tired (i.e. older redo/not a complete overhaul) 13K feels really steep unless they're willing to throw in some free fine regulation and voiceing work and maybe 1.5-2 years of free tunining in addition to a slight drop in price.

there are some folks on here that have a very good sense of fair/experience here more than I, i.e dealers, etc. , my perspective only comes from what  i can only offer and honest fair advice in the "what would i do" "how would I feel about or handle this situation" as a pianist/student.

edit forgot to say , depending on use (i.e 1 hr per day or less? 3-5 hours per day?) and how well you control the environment (humidity control, temperature extremes, etc) and how consistent you are about general maint. it should last many many more years again depening on the quality of the redo and how old that restoration is.

[emill]

hello!

My son Enzo has a Yamaha G5 .. yes it is 6'6". Regarding your first your question whether it lasts ....there are so many variables, but the one we bought was made in 1955 in Japan.  We paid for it  around USD 5,500 in 2006 and since then we have spent about USD 2,000 more for new hammers, their installation, revoicing and balancing.  The action for the last few years is smooth and balanced at about 50-60 grams, I think. Before the new hammers, my feeling was that the G5 was on the bright side and the lower notes are not so bassy compared to other pianos. We also installed a dehumidifier, a must in our tropical and humid country.  It sounds so much better now than when we acquired it, thanks to our dedicated piano technician.  Are we happy with it ...  NOT SO ... we are always full of envy at some friends who have nice sounding Kawaii, Steinway or a YAMAHA C3 ..... BUT it serves its purpose of being a home grand piano with the correct feel of its action mechanism for a grand.  This is how it sounds:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=41450.0     and     

Since then Enzo has succeeded in breaking all the strings... ... he practices about 5 times a week, 2-3 hours if a weekday and 4-6 hours on a weekend.

I hope we were able to help.

[windswept]

Thank you very much enrique and emill for all the information, I found this very very helpful

Emill, Enzo plays wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing and talking about your piano!!

You both helped give me a starting point.

[pytheamateur]

It looks like Yamaha has discontinued the G Series.  From my memory, they were not supposed to be as good as the C Series.  Is this correct?

[pianolive]

Yes, they were followed by the C-series and I think there are at least 4 or 5 different C6. Different scales in the bass