Upright choice

[sylvester550]

Hi. I'm looking for a decent upright, after having to move to a smaller house for work, leaving my Grand a couple of hundred miles away. I need to spend maybe £5000 for a piano which sounds good, but more importantly has a good action which can be played with some subtlety. I play a Yamaha U1 occasionally, but don't enjoy it too much. I played a new Kawai K300 recently, which was better, and a new Hoffmann which felt very nice. They stretch the budget a bit tho.
I'd appreciate any views on U.K. available makes, and how they play. I'm probably a bit spoilt by being so used to the grand I know, but feel there must be something to suit!
Thanks for any suggestions....

[huaidongxi]

my approach in your situation would be to play as many used pianos, even if they're a bit over your budget, as you can within accessible distance.  since you're used to a grand, you might set a 122 cm (48 in.) minimum height requirement for your candidates.  don't be shy about trying pianos considerably beyond your budget, either, if they're in a sales room with other candidates, because it could help you sort out the qualities and touch you prefer.  yamaha U1's are somewhat middle of the road, please as many consumers at a high-mid price tier as possible, piano.  and there have been so many thousands sold over the years they'll have variations between individual instruments. the advantage with used pianos isn't just the price ; since the action is critical for you, new pianos (except high end ones that get meticulous, thorough set up and prep) have a big variability on how much they've been 'played in' and regulated.  the better-run shops do more with the prep for their inventories, and you'd find that out as well by trying as many pianos as you can.

[reiyza]

Not to hi-jack this thread... But I too am also interested in looking for an upright. Whereas I am transitioning from a digital(CLP-430R) to an upright, and a grand is exceptionally out of reach due to pricing here in the philippines. Yamaha and kawai are leading brands here in my area and pearl river and steinways in the capital.(too expensive).



Waiting for your expert reply guys.