2nd hand U3-Mark Goodwin vs other piano dealers?

[tharidla]

Hello piano people!

I'm in the market for a second hand upright, and have been recommended a Yamaha U3. I've checked a few out in dealerships and online, and I wondered if anyone has any wisdom to share as to whether Mark Goodwin's reconditioned uprights are much better than others?

I visited Richard Lawson recently. His U3s are around £500-£1000 cheaper than Goodwin's. Every single piano in his showroom was really out of tune so it made comparison difficult, but is this something that will be cured with a tuning?

A quick search of ebay reveals a plethora of sub-£3000 U3s all 'reconditioned' and claiming to be 'better than any other dealer' etc whereas Mark's start at £3390!

I visited Goodwin's London showroom, and did find one that I liked, but £3400 does seem expensive compared to others out there.....is it worth it or is it over the odds?

Many thanks for your help!

Matt

[joe]

Hi,would Ring John at reid pianos 0208 800 6907,he will Have plenty to choose from and is local.

[pianocat]

Hello piano people!

I'm in the market for a second hand upright, and have been recommended a Yamaha U3. I've checked a few out in dealerships and online, and I wondered if anyone has any wisdom to share as to whether Mark Goodwin's reconditioned uprights are much better than others?

I visited Richard Lawson recently. His U3s are around £500-£1000 cheaper than Goodwin's. Every single piano in his showroom was really out of tune so it made comparison difficult, but is this something that will be cured with a tuning?

A quick search of ebay reveals a plethora of sub-£3000 U3s all 'reconditioned' and claiming to be 'better than any other dealer' etc whereas Mark's start at £3390!

I visited Goodwin's London showroom, and did find one that I liked, but £3400 does seem expensive compared to others out there.....is it worth it or is it over the odds?

Many thanks for your help!

Matt

Yes, I do notice the same trend as well. Goodwin seems to be more expensive than other dealers.

[mdw]

Look around at other makes. There used to be loads of money in the 2nd hand Yam game, now there very little so corners are cut. If Reids are local to you try them as Joe sugested. Top people who have full workshop and showroom set up. Not just out of a container and off to the customer.

[tharidla]

Hi thanks for your replies, will definitely check out Reid!

[tharidla]

Thanks all for the suggestion of J Reid, I went to his showroom and tried a few.

Interestingly one can buy a brand new Reid-Sohn upright for £3000 or £3100 for very sexy walnut finish, but an 80s U3 is £3400. It was a very close call sound-wise, although with the front off I think the yamaha won. With front on I found the Yamaha a bit muffled.

Any wisdom on which would be the best buy? Is Reid-Sohn as reputable as Yamaha?

Thanks!

Matt

[mdw]

We have sold quite a few and had no problems. Was it the 126 which is a nice piano.

[joseph]

The Reid-Sohn pianos I've played are not as good as Yamaha, but then, they're from the '80s. They were good instruments in that they were quite solid, it seemed, but they sounded pretty ropey. That said, they were built at a price.

They seem to have a good reputation now, but I've honestly very little idea about the instruments.

Mark Goodwin seems to put a lot of time and effort into his showroom, and seems to make sure his instruments are in very good condition before he sells them. Whether or not his prices are competitive I don't know, but people like his service and he seems to have a steady trade, which is a good sign. I don't know much about Richard Lawson.

If I ever come up to Manchester I might pop in and say hello to Mark, on a social call. But I might be tempted to buy one of his old-skool Yamaha G series grands or something, out of nostalgia - you know how it is... best not go!

[joe]

Would buy new piano if Its a 126 at that price.oppose to a 30 year old piano which has been heavily used,and in my opinion Yamaha dont restore well.Yamaha is a better piano than reid-Sohn if both new.

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

We stand by our pianos and we have many happy customers
When people ask us to price match the cheaper dealers we request that they visit both dealers first. At that point, the customer normally wants to buy from us. I've always found this to be a reassuring sign.

To the original poster I would recommend that you buy whichever piano you would be most happy with. Don't get the cheapest, don't get the one your teacher or tuner thinks is best, don't get the one you saw a good review of on youtube. Get the one that you sat down and played and fell in love with. Then take it home and enjoy it

[vernon]

Perfect advice

[NewAge]

Mark,
Good to see you've popped-up again after quite a long absence.
In fact reading between the lines of other threads, I had a gut feeling of why you may have been out of the lime-light. But then again I could be wrong.
Welcome back.

[Colin Nicholson]

Good to hear from you also Mark.
Hope you're doing well, and of course the 'little one' is sprouting as normal!

Colin

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Thanks chaps, I hope you are all doing well

These days my sister and my wife (both pianists) are the frontline of the business. I sort of wait in the wings to help out with the bits that I'm best at. And when I'm not doing that I'm very busy down at the park making various animals out of wet sand with my 2 year old.

p.s. I've edited out the slightly melodramatic part of my earlier post, sorry about that!

[Barrie Heaton]

.

To the original poster I would recommend that you buy whichever piano you would be most happy with. Don't get the cheapest, don't get the one your teacher or tuner thinks is best, don't get the one you saw a good review of on youtube. Get the one that you sat down and played and fell in love with. Then take it home and enjoy it

I would agree to a point if its just person preference . However, if your tuner says _Don't_ buy that one because it has this and that problem... Then you should take the advice and look at other pianos

Barrie