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MarkGoodwinPianos

If you have less than £2500 I would buy second hand
You can get a professional grade piano for the price of an entry level piano that way.

MarkGoodwinPianos

Hello Loner Thanks for an interesting topic and welcome to the forum. There are no doubt some brilliant bargains on the private market but it can be difficult to sniff them out sometimes. Yes take a technician with you before agreeing a price and I also agree with DJ Smith that you should also take ...

MarkGoodwinPianos

It sounds like you're on quite a journey to find the right piano so do keep visiting piano shops near and far, small and large. I'm certain something will grab as being "the one" if you keep at it.

No piano is ever too good for any student.

MarkGoodwinPianos

My usual practise is to welcome a customer into my showroom, show them what is available and then I leave them alone for 20 minutes and disappear to my little office which is about 30 metres away. After that, I just pop my head in to see if any questions have popped up. Some customers are different ...

MarkGoodwinPianos

If you have the cash available I'd find out who is the best piano teacher in your area and see if they have a weekly slot available for you. And then, put the work in to reach the targets that your teacher will set for you each week. Aim to exceed your teacher's expectations. Good luck, it sounds li...

MarkGoodwinPianos

But then I tried an old U3, which was in a completely different league. Same price as a B3, but a much nicer sound.

That's interesting.
It sounds like you need to try a few that are 10-15 years younger (expect to pay about £3000 - £3500)

MarkGoodwinPianos

Focus more on playing the piano
Less on polishing it

MarkGoodwinPianos

Old pianos that sell cheaply at auction which suffer from keys not working properly are USUALLY not worth spending any money on. Can you upload any photos here showing the inside of the piano?

MarkGoodwinPianos

If you upload photos showing the inside and outside of the piano a rough valuation should be possible.

MarkGoodwinPianos

My general advice is - High quality 2nd hand is better than lower quality brand new - German is better than Japanese but Japanese is better than Chinese & Indonesian - Stay above 120cm in height. Preferably 130cm and above if you have the space. The depth of tone in a 130cm+ piano will beat the ...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Not sure what you mean by a "price thing"? I didn't say cheap, I said good

Thanks for the name of Mr Pannell. I've also received a PM from a different tuner in the Canterbury area so it's good that I now have some options.

Many thanks.

MarkGoodwinPianos

YOUR KEYBOARD IS BROKEN!!

(seriously though, congratulations on your decision to restore the piano)

MarkGoodwinPianos

Ah yes I tried Lewis, sorry I should have said that.
Any more good names?

MarkGoodwinPianos

I'm looking for a good technician in the Canterbury area.
If you know someone qualified and reliable please let me know.
Many thanks

MarkGoodwinPianos

i know of 2 well respected piano tutors who where virtually given the grand piano for free to try promote the brand to their pupils,smart ploy not really as the students where of conservertoire standard.and the 2 techs where kept busy attending to the niggles that a low quality grand piano produces...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Wessel, Nickel & Gross Course from September 19th till 21st, 2011 10:00am at the University of York Department of Music, Heslington YO10 5DD York, U.K. WNG is offering a 2,5 day course that covers how to set-up, utilize, and install its products. Please note that there are only 10 openings per c...

MarkGoodwinPianos

There was a discussion about this a while back on here and the K3 came out the clear winner. Here is the topic
http://www.piano-tuners.org/piano-forum ... f=3&t=6521

But as Chris says it comes down to personal preference. Go for the one you have the most fun playing

MarkGoodwinPianos

Oooh how exciting.
I'm going to bow out of offering any advice as I don't have any experience at that price level for digitals but I'll be keeping an eye on this topic to see what you end up with. Hopefully someone will be along soon with some good advice

MarkGoodwinPianos

What's your approximate budget please?
That's always a good place to start

MarkGoodwinPianos

A few thoughts:

- It might be worth £1500 on a city centre showroom but I'd say you're unlikely to find a private buyer willing to pay anywhere close to that
- Will you regret it forever more if you sell it?
- Did you get a piano teacher? If not, try that for a few months.

MarkGoodwinPianos

Denis Matthews, eh? Impressive!! I so wish I could play without music, but like Cascade, i need the music. I was playing Golliwog's Cakewalk when my teacher closed the music. 'Why did you stop???' she shrieked. 'Why did you close the music???' I shrieked back. 'You weren't looking at it,' she said....

MarkGoodwinPianos

Colin Nicholson wrote:we could choose from several Model D's to play!!!! Had free lunch, and a curry & few beers in the evening.... good day!

Makes me wish I was a piano tech!

MarkGoodwinPianos

Thanks again Barrie.
I'll print this so that the advice isn't wasted. Very good of you to share this info with me.
Cheers

MarkGoodwinPianos

Thanks Barrie.
Always happy to be corrected

I have a very bright 1995 Yamaha E108 that needs some sweetening. I didn't think it could be changed to that extent. Good news!

MarkGoodwinPianos

Once you've learned a piece by heart, the score becomes a negative presence.
I feel like playing from memory you can give the piece a different delivery every time whereas playing from the score I feel restricted to playing it very strictly.

MarkGoodwinPianos

In my opinion there is too much brightness in many of the new Yamaha pianos. I know that voicing can help with this but only to a degree. An overly bright piano will stay bright even after voicing it down.

MarkGoodwinPianos

I'm just saying that a 70s/80s/90s U3 has many years of top quality service left in it so there is no need to be mining fresh raw materials from the ground and shipping them all over the world for processing. I choose not to stock U3s from the 1960s or early 1970s but I'm sure for many musical famil...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Hi Chris, I'm seeing an RRP of £4200. If individual dealers are offering better prices that's up to them. But for the sake of price comparison I compare the latest RRP of both models because it let's us see the exact difference in the prices set by Yamaha. I was only quoting the opinion of PianoGuy ...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Hi Chris, It's good that different folk have different opinions. How boring it would be if we all agreed on everything. My opinion is that a used U1 is more satisfying to play than a new P114. The extra 7cm in height and the larger soundboard surface area makes a big difference to my ears but it's f...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Nice to hear from you Chris and thanks for contributing. I misused the term "outsourced" sorry. I just meant that they have moved production to cheaper parts of the world instead of at the Japanese factory where all of their highest quality pianos are still being made today. I remember wha...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Sorry nobody has replied here yet.
I have a nice quality Roland digital piano. I gave £400 for it in part-exchange when someone bought a piano from me.

If you like I can post the model number here so you can research it?
Thanks
Mark

MarkGoodwinPianos

Next thing you know they'll be selling solar powered torches!!

MarkGoodwinPianos

I like how the google ads are showing an advert for log cabins!

MarkGoodwinPianos

Thanks. Be more sensitive in future. You have a general air of disrespect towards me. It isn't justified as you don't know me. Cheers.

MarkGoodwinPianos

Sounds fun. Are you going Bill?

MarkGoodwinPianos

You are being very rude. I provide excellent service, excellent pianos, at sensible prices and I make my customers very happy.

Please adjust your tone, you are being very disrespectful

MarkGoodwinPianos

...if the laws of physics could be changed.

You could get rid of friction.
You could change the angle and strength of gravity
You can invent a material with special properties that has so far not been invented

What would you do?
How would it improve the current piano design?

MarkGoodwinPianos

Yes that would be a terrible business model!!
Only a fool would attempt something similar

MarkGoodwinPianos

Not sure why you are concerned about me sleeping at night.
Please stay respectful and don't take things to a personal level when we are simply discussing market forces.

MarkGoodwinPianos

Just found out the main music shop in town has just closed and I quote from the shop door " due to economic factors and the rise in internet trading". They had been there since 71 :( The sign may as well have said: "Our business model was outdated, we didn't adapt to the changing dem...

MarkGoodwinPianos

There are plenty of 8ft Bechstein grands from around 1900 within your budget. Some in better condition than others but £3500 should get you a nice one. A Bechstein would be much more sellable again in future. You'd take a big hit trying to sell an Estonian whereas a Bechstein will hold it's value mu...

MarkGoodwinPianos

The Yamaha B3 is from Yamaha's most cheaply made line of pianos. They outsource the manufacturing work to Indonesia where labour is very very cheap. The B series is the cheapest and most inferior of Yamaha's current acoustic pianos The P series is their medium quality range The U series is their hig...

MarkGoodwinPianos

Anyway im of to polish my halo and tune a few pianos. Youve got to love the start of the new year as a tuner, a month of tuning all day long in schools and its recession proof!!!! I was saying yesterday I might have to go into piano teaching in order to get some sort of predictable income. Relying ...

MarkGoodwinPianos

[quote="sussex]I am a great supporter of local farm shops, the bacon is thicker, dry cured and not pumped full of water[/quote] Excellent! We can agree on something 100%. Smashing :) @MDW: When asked to support piano recitals, I usually place an advert. I'm hardly ever asked though it has to be...

MarkGoodwinPianos

I don't think buying local is THE most important factor. It should be lower down the list behind quality, condition, guarantee and price. If buying local leaves you £1000 worse off it's no wonder people buy from dealers further afield. I wonder if those who advocate buying pianos locally do all of t...

MarkGoodwinPianos

I sold a Steinway Model B for £12,000 about 5 years ago to a chap who had never had a piano lesson but he was building a house from scratch to his own designs and he needed a Steinway to fill a particular hole.

MarkGoodwinPianos

I've just had another thought. People often warn against buying by email/phone. In general that is good advice because you should really sit and play any piano before considering buying it. However, if you buy without visiting the shop you automatically get 14 days to try the piano out and if you de...

MarkGoodwinPianos

You might think I'm biased but I think the U1 is a brilliant option at around the £2500 mark. Mine are just slightly outside your budget but my price includes delivery, 1st tuning, 5 year guarantee and I also give a 14 day moneyback guarantee (100% refund, no return delivery fee) in case you don't l...

MarkGoodwinPianos

The B series is the cheapest series, made in Indonesia for beginners The P series are the next level up, made in various places. The U series is the highest quality out of those 3 series. Made in Japan and built to last many decades of top level playing. Yes £3500 seems high for a 2nd hand small upr...

MarkGoodwinPianos

No need for sarcasm Bill, it was just a question. I'm interested to know why you don't want to share your life's work on the internet that's all. Does it have monetary value? If so, fair enough but it ruins topics when the final conclusions of the discussions are taken away to private emails. Just m...

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