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PianoGuy

Common problem on these, I have repaired about three of them. There's no need to slacken off the treble strings.

Once repaired they're half decent for their size!

PianoGuy

Is it a Kemble Classic? Small, 85 note modernish angular looking piano with a slopey top door?

PianoGuy

And is there any feedback online for the different retailers of used & refurbished Yamahas? For example, I cant find anything on here about what Mark Goodwin is like to deal with.. A U1 would probably be fine, but the U3 has an extra degree of trouser-flapping bass and is a well mannered enough...

PianoGuy

Good Bluthner, Bosendorfer Lipp and Steinway, are undoubtedly better than good uprights for the reasons previously stated. Aye! Good ones are..... Unfortunately, since the quality of old ones is now just as dependent on the quality of the restoration or lack of it, than the quality of the original ...

PianoGuy

K3 over a B3 any day. As for differences between K3 and U1, I think both are fine pianos, the U1 is far better known because unlike Kawai, Yamaha don't seem to feel the need to completely reinvent their model number system so regularly. the K3 is part of the relatively new K series, redesigned from...

PianoGuy

joseph wrote:I'm sure I've even heard the term 'arm chair grand' because it took up the same room space as a large arm chair - and that was their selling point. No doubt they sounded awful!

That was the Allisonnette.
A. Allison's stumpy offering from the '30s.

PianoGuy

K3. The B3 is OK but sounds a bit 'dead' compared to the Kawai.

Better than either would be a Kemble 121 Classic or Mozart.

PianoGuy

I have an 1897 6'6'' Broadwood short grand which I HAVE to move on Monday. When I bought it a couple of years ago it cost twice as much to move as the purchase price as it is SO phenomenally heavy .. 4 experienced movers with lifting 'jacks'. I can't afford to pay another £400 -500 so dec...

PianoGuy

That price is for the top of the range mutha though. The small concert stool is just as well made and will be cheaper!

PianoGuy

I have to disagree, I was facing the same dillema, the Yamaha YUS3 or the Yamaha GC1 (5.3). My point exactly, see above! I think us tuners automatically think of the ghastly four-foot-nothing stumpy '30s things like Allisons, Challens and Hopkinsons with Simplex actions when the term 'baby' is appl...

PianoGuy

wolfrace wrote: oh and is it ok to get a concert stool for home?

Fine. It's just a style of stool, leather deep-buttoned upholstery is the norm and they're expensive, but should last for ever.

PianoGuy

Agreed Joseph... I would say that any new Yam above the GC1 would be worth considering.

Also don't forget a nicely rebuilt Blüthner 4'11". A pre-war one. Style 4. Not the ballsiest, but a lovely piano!

PianoGuy

There are a number of new piano stools on the market, Tozer are great, almost 'bespoke'to what you want in terms of finish and covering material. I like Tozer too, although I think the quality has dropped marginally since the range was reduced and production transferred from England to Germany. I p...

PianoGuy

Deleted. Double post.

PianoGuy

An American company (spelt without the 'd', ie Gulbransen) founded by Axel Gulbransen in Chicago and best known for their player piano systems. Pianos are hardly seen outside the US, but they used to market organs here in the '60s.

PianoGuy

Pianoguy, thanks for your input. I thought there might be a bit of contempt for this "spinet", but it's appearance is nostalgically rather "Festival of Britain", the rosewood case is almost unmarked and quite pretty (if you ignore the ridiculous cabriole legs), and the Schwander...

PianoGuy

Assuming you find the number, Welmars are usually stamped on the soundboard somewhere, they also employed a different system of registration, the first two digits being the year of manufacture!...not alot of people know that. Only between '46 and '86. Before or after those years you need to revert ...

PianoGuy

I trained in the Bluthner workshop in Perivale and was there for ten years. Good man! Having visited that workshop I would totally agree that the repair quality was stunning. It was also the first workshop in the UK routinely offering a soundboard replacement option. Made the Polish workshops look ...

PianoGuy

Deleted, double post!

PianoGuy

Dear Vernon What about a design fault? According to ermy73 many of these Kemble Mozart 121 have this problem and the solution offered by Kemble is to upgrade to the K131. I would prefer that the radar unit in the plane is upgraded to the next model than have the technician called out to adjust it f...

PianoGuy

Sandy McLeay wrote: If the bridge were oriented with the growth rings parallel to the soundboard, the bridge would be less likely to split. Reblitz seems to imply that this orientation would cause the tone to suffer, but would this be significant?

You'd never notice the difference on one of those, Matey!

PianoGuy

Just for the record I did say "nothing against Markson's" and indeed, just like Openwood I still have nothing against Markson's. I believe Pianoguy also has nothing against Markson's. Nobody has anything at all against Markson's. I hope that is clear! Although.... .... there are other dea...

PianoGuy

A440 wrote:
Openwood wrote: Nothing against Markson's,

I have nothing against Marksons either, in fact I'd say they were one of the better retailers, but to do such scant research is poor journalism, and not what I'd expect from the Grauniad.

PianoGuy

joseph wrote:I thought Petrofs were supposed to be ok now,

Well I've just tuned a brand new budget model fresh from the dealer. Still the same old Eastern European frame and bottom of the range Detoa action. I'll await its return for a full recentring job before the year is out.

PianoGuy

Yeah, strange that Petrof, out of all the various makes available should be picked out as decent pianos. Indeed. So we have: Waldstein 108, Pearl-River's most average model. Markson 110, Dealer's own fringe model available only to fecking Londoners. Kemble Cons. An uncharacteristically decent choic...

PianoGuy

Here's to sloppy journalism! Hear hear! You would have thought that old Rusbridger would have ensured a mention for Fazioli at least, being the owner of one oft mentioned in his organ. Nothing against Julian Markson, but the review was a shallow piece of London-centric old crap. Nobody in his right...

PianoGuy

If it was your cup of tea, go for it. Build quality is OK, tuning pins can sometimes be a challenge for the tuner, but other than that, no real issues. Should be cheap though. Don't pay more than say 1800 quid inc VAT, delivery and first tuning if it's in a dealer's. Offer no more than 1k private sa...

PianoGuy

Not familiar with Hyundai's model designations, but how tall and how old is it? I didn't think Hyundai were still being imported. A 1980s/'90s one is a competent piano, although no better in quality than today's average Chinese offering. The best Chinese pianos will trounce one. Korean piano designs...

PianoGuy

German design simply means the piano is based on a german piano, which it probably is. Doesn't mean its German built etc. Pianos often come in to stores from china with no name on them, and shops can add whatever name they like. Take a look at Irmler for example, or Markson pianos, Even Brodmann, B...

PianoGuy

Piano Guy, I agree with you about kawais generally not being as good as Yamahas, yet I have known a couple of older Kawais to be exceptional pianos, way better than yamaha. True enough, they are the exception rather than the rule but its interesting. One in particular had the most beautiful singing...

PianoGuy

Thanks for the detailed info! How do these Yamahas compare with Kawai grands of similar size and vintage (say mid 1980s onwards)? It looks as though prices are comparable. I'm looking for a grand piano for under £10000 and would welcome any advice as I'm unsure whether or not to go for a ...

PianoGuy

It's true, Rogers don't spring to mind as school pianos, perhaps it's a local thing! I would say they were made with schools in mind though, the particular model I refer to is in light oak, and has a full-length music desk wich is formed out of the folding section of the lid - if that makes any sen...

PianoGuy

The G3 was discontinued some time in the mid nineties, so there will be a fair number of C3s that are newer, but basically the differences in UK models when they were concurrent were: Different rim shape C3 had duplexing and G3s did not. Casework on the G3 is simpler, with plain edges to the lid and...

PianoGuy

Bluthner in London use Colin Leverett's company piano restorations ltd in High Wycome, an they replace the soundboards in that factory as far as I'm aware. Artur Pizarro just had his Estonia concert grand rebuilt with a new soundboard (don't ask) and his Bechstein London Baby Grand rebuilt with a n...

PianoGuy

Ah, but my guess was so quick I got it in even before the question was asked!

PianoGuy

athomik wrote:It's a G1RE from mid 1989.

Only a couple o' years out!

Not bad from memory!

PianoGuy

But you can buy a new Bluthner in an old Bluthner case from Bluthner's in London. Despite the posh address the prices are not inflated. Agreed, but I have a suspicion that whereas once upon a time Blüthner's had their own techs working in West London, the pianos now get soundboard replacements done...

PianoGuy

joseph wrote: I was just wondering why in the UK there isn't a concert grand being made.

Because Thatcher sold off our manufacturing industry?

PianoGuy

About 1991 from recollection.

PianoGuy

Yeah, Danemann were the school pianos of choice until Knight nicked their thunder in the early '80s. Shame because no Knight was a patch on a 118cm Danemann. A few local authorities flirted with Barratt & Robinson too. Rogers of the era you are interested in were built by Bentley in Stroud, Glos...

PianoGuy

Hello Chief!

Nice to see you on here again!

PM me and let me know how you got on with your piano choice!

PG (rank & file)

PianoGuy

You won't get many positive comments about any American spinet on these pages. All UK technicians (me included) think they're dreadful. The build quality in a 1957 model will be significantly better than in '70s and '80s models however. Best ask this question on a US-based forum I think!

PianoGuy

Post number 10,000!

Yippee!

PianoGuy

Hey, thanks for the pointer athomik! Had no idea you could still buy all that junk! If it's who I think it is selling this piano, I have had experience with only one of his examples which seemed quite decent for the price paid. It was a Japanese imported MX100A with Japanese firmware in the Disklavi...

PianoGuy

Most are decent quality English babies, closely based on the wonderful little Blüthner 4'11" "Style 4" model. Welmar were made by Whelpdale, Maxwell & Codd Ltd who were the Blüthner importers up until 2003. They were originally trading as Blüthner & Co., London until shortly b...

PianoGuy

Blank floppies are still available from Maplin, but recorded Yamaha ones are difficult to find anywhere. If you're buying one of these, treat it purely as a U1 with MIDI facilities and a built-in recorder. Don't expect to find discs for it, and pay no more than you would for a standard U1.

PianoGuy

Link?!!

PianoGuy

Here ya go!!

PianoGuy

mdw wrote: Teak can be amost imposible to sell for a dealer as it screams 70s.

Ah yes!

I forgot to mention that! I was assuming all would be in teak (except the School Danemanns which were all light oak) so add fifty quid for mahogany finish!

PianoGuy

Pianos are as cheap now as they have ever been, ask a local tuner/ dealer and they may be able to help with something that's not a great seller but is too good to scrap. Absolutely. I don't know what national prices are like, but in my area, some very decent '70s/'80s pianos with unfashionable case...

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