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sussexpianos

I guess both grands are good, but you need to decide on the tone you want and the touch. Both have different tone and touch. Quality will be the same on both. Just for a small bit of info, Trinity College of London is a well respected music & arts college and nearly all the pianos are Kawai. But...

sussexpianos

it will have to be quite recent as the K models have only been out a couple of years

sussexpianos

well at least they are doing their best by making pianos more distinctive. If I had a modern look home and wanted something different, I would consider it.

sussexpianos

The Kawai K-8 is an great, fantastic piano and worth every penny. It is tons better than a U3. The current rrp on a K8 is £7000, about 10,500 euros. It is the flagship of Kawai, the case is more educational look but the insides are what counts. The grand would be OK but the good Kawai grands are the...

sussexpianos

you then have the problem that if you sell a piano and you have it toned (its only one way as to make them harder is not ideal), you loose what the piano is renouned for and people will be expecting a different sound. Yamaha have a bright clear, open sound and poeple who like that sound will be expe...

sussexpianos

retrofit a steinway? are you mad? There are acoustic kits in America for grands to silent them a bit. just google it. I would not recommend fitting a silent system to a grand, like fitting cheap alloys to a Model T Ford. I have only fitted silent systems to uprights. The setoff is adjusted so it wil...

sussexpianos

stick it on ebay. The problem is that its not a well know maker, but someone will like it as its English ( there are a few people out there who won't buy Asian pianos)
price? as much as you can get. £1500 ish

sussexpianos

my friend ( a piano remover) stacked up 15 uprights and grands on top of each other ( he also has a crane) and set light to them for his party.
I didn't see it but it should have looked good.
Unfortunately one of them was a customers in long term storage. woops. she got a replacment.

sussexpianos

yes it is, I restored it a year ago but I was soo busy, I forgot to take the after photos, and the one I did before that, I lost the photos.
My friend has one of these lying in his lock up. Needs a full restoration but will look great.

sussexpianos

the amount of time I spend with customers who have seen the piano site, saw their piano maker and think its a 5 star! when its not. Like all manufactures, they have models which are priced to build quality. I would say the Yamaha 109 utter rubbish but the U1 excellent. So how can you rate a company?...

sussexpianos

these are some photos

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sussexpiano/Work

sussexpianos

what do you expect? I work in the piano industry !!

sussexpianos

i like them myself:)

sussexpianos

I have rebuilt a few of these. Look out for cracks in the wrestplank.
The cases have always been very nice walnut with turned legs. The actions are fragile with very different setup, like an old Pleyel, where the checking is done through the hammer shank. very interesting but a pain to do.
good luck

sussexpianos

The August forster piano is a good well made instrument. They suffered a bit after the war but they are still being made and still in the family. New, they are expensive, but well made. The only way to tell is to play it as there are good ones and bad ones, but generaly they are good. Zimmerman were...

sussexpianos

Abel do a light weight set of grand hammers for older pianos. If you have these bored to pattern, then you will have a new set of hammers to be proud off. David Fry Piano Services (just google it) can supply you these hammers. Just need to send off patterns ( 1st and last hammer of each section and ...

sussexpianos

I get asked to put book holders on new pianos all the time. The polyester does crack around the hole but I put little red washers (balance felts) to hide them. I do not know why they don't put them on new pianos. Gill's way is a good idea.Another way, but you need to be good with carpentry, is to ma...

sussexpianos

LOL :lol: these have made me chuckle this morning :) we could all write a book, what should we call it? "How to anoy a tuner?" Gill, I like the comment about tea & coffee. Its a real treat when the customer brings out a filtered coffee with expensive looking sugar lumps (not square but...

sussexpianos

After reading some notes from the forum, I would like to present my top 10 nightmares for a tuner/technician and welcome others to post theirs. 1) Finding the piano to tune is an old Eavestaff with the tuning pins underneath the keyboard. Deep heat for my back! 2) Being in a rush and breaking a stee...

sussexpianos

I had an NS-15 once, very nice piano, went to a good pianist who was on a budget. The NS-15 would be a lot cheaper than a U1 but the same size, 121cm.
Go with what you like! And make sure they prep it.

sussexpianos

pass the lighter fluid!
I luv the smell of burning celluloid in the morning!

sussexpianos

on first looks, its a typical upright made around the 1900's. and dam, oblong pins! I hate those! I would guess 1890 to 1900

sussexpianos

A lot of pianos I tune are below concert pitch. I will raise the pitch slightly but not too much as it might result in tuning the piano twice.Its up to the customer to have their piano tuned regulary so the piano stays on concert pitch.Humididty plays a major factor in how a piano stays in tune, oth...

sussexpianos

If you can find one, try a kawai K6 or K8. I have not tried the K8 but the K6 was awsome!! Another alternative is the Samick WSU 131 which I like for its rounded but rich sound.
swings and roundabouts!

sussexpianos

I agree

If you can afford the K3, get it, its a great piano, Mahogany is nice

sussexpianos

poly is a modern finish and does not like spray cans of polish. The best way is to use T-cut and water. It acts like liquid sandpaper and removes very light scratches. You can also get cutting compound from car suppliers which comes in many different grades. Light scratches are common and nothing to...

sussexpianos

I agree with all that is said above. some dealers advertise low prices but charge for prep work. If you say to the dealer that you want the piano regulated and tuned to concert pitch as a family member is a concert pianist, that might shock the dealer into doing a good job.

sussexpianos

Can you get a piano into your flat? Also consider that the delivery costs can be expensive and its also a time bomb, its going to cost getting it out. Can the floor take the weight? If its purpose built, then it will be OK, but if converted, might need to take a look. A silent piano would be the bes...

sussexpianos

You will get the info from the importers Reid Pianos. their website is http://uk.jreidpianos.com

sussexpianos

I have always been very pro Kawai, and their current line up is simple and works well. Its a pitty they dropped the KX which was cheap and a good seller and produced to compete against cheaper Yams. Kawai are very loyal to their dealers and do their best to keep, ( as PG put it) silly boys discounti...

sussexpianos

mm, debug?

sussexpianos

do they want a recording as well, why not send them a feature length video! What next? Tuning by fax machine?? How about an invention to tune all 220 wrest pins at the same time?? wow, I could tune 30 pianos a day!! Almost as silly as 1 day course to learn piano tuning! I have been told this did hap...

sussexpianos

Have a look at the Kawai RX-1G 164cm, or the RX-2G 178cm. They have the carbon actions which are not in the Boston pianos! If your not into names, try the Samick NSG 158 or NSG 175, cheaper but with very high build quality using CNC build process. Some traders offer silly money for pianos because so...

sussexpianos

The U1 is a good piano. having the silent option is more expensive but very handy. At least the warranty is 2 years, most electronics is only 1. I have had very old silent models and they have all been fine. there are a number of technicians who can repair these if they go wrong.I would not worry. A...

sussexpianos

Hi all. OK, The smell is more likely to be the old Lindseed oil used when polishing high finishes like black and instead of coming out of the polish,has traveled through the wood and makes the inside smell of seed oil which smells like the oils used in curry. Add the fact they used fruit wood like p...

sussexpianos

well, It is a shame that many people do not take advice from tuners who know a good piano when they see one. A high % of pianos are sold on looks rather than its touch/sound etc. And yes, its does hack me off! :x I have sold a few pianos just from a photograph because "it has pretty legs" ...

sussexpianos

plastic is for wimps

sussexpianos

Try a Yamaha agent near you, they may have a shop display one that you could hire one.But I don't think many dealers will have one.
As PianoGuy said, and I agree 100%, get a real one! You can always get the silent model if you need Midi and line out.

sussexpianos

is there a large piano market in oz?

Always wondered. Two friends of mine( tuners from college) went traveling around but couldn't find much work.

sussexpianos

never come across one of those. did it work?

sussexpianos

I cannot seem to fit the piano through the holes in the new postale charge leaflet! may have to go special delivery. Some the the richiest looking houses with flashy cars and have the biggest TV's I have seen, have old straight strungs which sometimes, just soemtimes, I wonder if its worth tuning. T...

sussexpianos

Im restoring an old German grand and it has 88 keys but 89 sets of strings. Why would a maker put an extra 3 strings at the end of the treble ? There is no lever or hammer for these strings.
Has anyone come across this before? very odd.

sussexpianos

I've never heard of this maker. Are they comparable to any other makes?

sussexpianos

well Geminoz, If you have the transport, I'll give you some pianos, will save me money having them smashed up!
don't have any pink or whites ones though

and some are overstrungs!!whole sale!

sussexpianos

The van should have transport hooks on the side, either a few round hooks or a strip. You can either rope it in if your good with knots or buy a rachet style strap froma diy place. You can also put a blanket under the castors which stop it from rolling. Don't forget to put some pillows/blankets behi...

sussexpianos

mmm, speckled pink, have not done one of them. I can do marble effect which looks different. Always fancied doing a green satin one!! Got a 20 year old Eylisian upright begging for a change in colour!! Last time I had a square piano in the workshop, was asked to rip out the sounboard and make it int...

sussexpianos

or get some glue and stick the felt back on the rod.

sussexpianos

I like sprayed ones

Painted looks diy

Why not paint it in UV paint and hang some uv lights around, make it stand out and make it into a drinks cabinet.
dell boy style

sussexpianos

well, everyone's different! :lol: I hate people polyestering old Bechsteins, Bluthners etc!!! They look treadful. The music desks have no style because the polyester is soo thick you cannot see the frete work. I presume its because these pianos go off the Poland and other countries to be rebuilt on ...

sussexpianos

stop encouraging the guy! brimsmead are good pianos but when you say its been painted, sounds awful, and dosn't play, well, don't sound very good. There comes a point in a pianos life when its time to retire. Gone are the days I used to work hours on spring & loops, hours trying to regulate the ...

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Tuners Nightmares. My top 10

whats this? an 89 note grand piano??