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PianoGuy

The Conservatoire is a blinder!

You'll love it!

PianoGuy

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 Disklavier unit and no manual, so it was difficult to understand but could be operated if yo...

PianoGuy

I've always liked EKA strings, but they're not cheap.

PianoGuy

I've read one or two questionable reviews about the Kemble Concerto. Do you feel that (other than the style) this is a better all round instrument to the Oxford Contemporary? We found the Oxford resonance to be very strong / bright given the size of the piano. It outshone the K2. Is the Concerto as...

PianoGuy

Thanks PG. It is a lovely piano though, apparantly built by Petrof with their internal mechanisms, etc. The cabinet is different though. The resolution is excellent. The overall build quality does appear very good. The only other new Welmar i can find is at http://www.marksonpianos.com/specials/Wel...

PianoGuy

We are looking to buy a new piano and have been looking at the likes of the Kawai K2, Yamaha P114 and Kemble Concerto. We have found a lovely sounding and looking new Welmar 120 upright which appears very keenly priced - £500 or so pounds more than the above. My concern is I cannot find m...

PianoGuy

The action looks like either an Isermann or a Morgenstern & Kotrade.

PianoGuy

Well, after an informative conversation with Jeff Shackell today, we took the plunge and (after trying several other new & used uprights) went for a three year old Yamaha P121 (from Jeff via Pianoforte). It's currently a little 'bright' but it will be prepared and voiced by Jeff to soften it a ...

PianoGuy

ennjaydee wrote:What do members think about capability of U1 for ".. grade 8 and beyond"?

Should be absolutely fine.

PianoGuy

Just had a couple of texts with Mr S. Happy new year!! Pianoforte will sell you exactly what you want on any level. If you want a cheap s/h U1 they will supply one, but if you want a beautifully sorted example, (either new or s/h) with the technical work done by Mr Shackell's company, they'll oblige...

PianoGuy

do you ever get the impression that yamaha are taking the p*&s with their list prices. No. They're good enough to warrant them if prepared perfectly. It's only the commonplace discounts that make you think they're a cheap brand. Kawai's prices are exactly comparable, and in general the pianos n...

PianoGuy

I can easily see that a second-hand piano would potentially need quite a bit of TLC before being 'presentable' but the fact that a new one needs attention comes as quite a surprise (to me and many other noobs I expect). It shouldn't do really. Think how complicated it is. You'd never dream of buyin...

PianoGuy

I have read that Jeffrey Shackell and Chris Venables prep their pianos very well I've had experience of both of those, as well as some others. In my opinion Jeff is an absolutely outstanding technician; nothing is too much trouble and he takes great care to make sure the piano sounds how YOU want i...

PianoGuy

joseph wrote:PG, I think thats the YUS1 at that price. The U1 is about a grand less. Isnt it?

I'll double check but I don't think so.
List price was 6,499. Knock off Darling's VAT reduction then add 10% for the Yam price rise and I think 7,139 is about right!

PianoGuy

Then suddenly, to our surprise, I noticed that Dawsons are currently offering a new U1 for GPB3,999 on their web site. A telephone call confirmed the price but there are none in stock right now. I'm waiting for a call-back on Friday (Jan 2) with a price including delivery and dates. So, after all t...

PianoGuy

Good day to you, Ma.Cecilia!

Yes, the model is still available in the UK, but it's very expensive here. List price is now £7.139. Not sure whether you'll see similar price rises in the Philippines, but prices here have just risen by 10%.

PianoGuy

Well I finally got my act together and bought a really nice K2. I first asked for advice here in June, guess it took me a while. It should be delivered next week or so and that will be the end of the very old Hsinghai. Goodness! The last time I saw one of those I laughed at the dreadful constructio...

PianoGuy

Chalk and cheese.

If you like one, you're unlikely to like the other.

I prefer the C3, but only if it's prepared properly by a caring and competent dealer, otherwise they can be average to average-plus. Set up well they're gorgeous.

PianoGuy

Broadwood used to give her the things regularly. The newest were placed in Buck house and the older ones rotated down the line via Sandringham, Windsor Castle, Balmoral etc. The final resting place was the Royal Yacht Britannia, and one can assume that the ones retired from there ended up overboard....

PianoGuy

Has anybody else noticed the striking resemblance between the approach to composition outlined above and the entire keyboard output of Clementi? Are they by any chance related? I think we should be told. At least Clementi had the redeeming attribute of being a damn' good piano maker, whereas Einaud...

PianoGuy

I know Kemble are now owned by Yamaha but I cannot associate "Class" with the name (it took a very long time for people to take Skoda seriously). The pianos Kemble used to make (presumably when independent) were shocking, at least the ones played by me. It's true to say that Kemble were a...

PianoGuy

I bet you like Kemble. Now what's the difference? A great big slice of class imo. :lol: ( not too much more I admit but I know what I would rather admit to owning). I think there are far more people out there who'd disagree. Virtually everybody in the music world has heard of Yamaha and only a tiny...

PianoGuy

Personally I'd sell and get a Slient U1. Gabor and Pianodisc systems are OK where no silent option is available or for a retrofit to an older piano, but the Yamaha Silent system is seamlessly integrated. It uses light interruption rather than microswitches and needs no setting up. The other problem ...

PianoGuy

What about a nicely prepared Pearl River 125 or Kawai K3- you'll get either under 4kl Both good suggestions, although I think the Pearl River UP-125M1 is actually a Yamaha-Pearl River offering. You see, you like the product, just not the brand! Nicht ein Yamahfan I think even a non-Yamahafan will a...

PianoGuy

Its nice to see a parent with a positive attitude to the future of their offspring. I have to say I agree! Myself I would go for the Vogel 122 or bigger as they have a sweet sound compared to a Yamaha If you go down the road of the S/H Yam as you tuners says there are a lot of long term problems wi...

PianoGuy

"A used Yamaha for around 2k will do..." Well it might, but it depends whether you want something as a bit-better-than-a-starter piano, or something that will last for longer. Forsyths are the Schimmel importers, so will naturally be plugging them, and certainly they're a worthy piano marq...

PianoGuy

musicinme wrote:
Thought the British love the Chappell or Kemble.

Chappell as a brand hasn't been marketed here since the '90s, and there's only one model of Kemble grand which is not widely stocked. It's identical to a Yamaha anyway!

PianoGuy

I think a Brodmann or Perzina might be a better instrument, and a U1 thats in top notch condition for the same money would be better still. The Renner version of the Perzina 129 would beat the lot of them *including* the U1, but it's not far off new U1 money! It could even give a new U1 a run for i...

PianoGuy

Just tuned a 1985 Commie Blüthner model M.

Nicely regulated by a local dealer and a new set of bass strings in a Renner equipped instrument. Really not bad at all, and a snip of the price of a new one.

There are the odd bargains around, but get that tuner in to take a look at it!!!

PianoGuy

Hence, a tech is very ill advised( unless well paid) to go into a witness box for fear of being made to look an incompetent mug by a disinterested judge. That's their job after all. Indeed it is. A judge *has* to be disinterested to give a fair opinion. The trouble is they're not technicians. Some ...

PianoGuy

I have a feeling that a nice hard recession will clear a lot of the dead wood and muppets away back to what ever trades.... etc .... And for those techs who know what they are doing there will be a whole load of crap U1s and 3s that need a lot of work that the box shifters cant do !!! Hey ho every ...

PianoGuy

That's a good price. The prices for kawais might go up in january but it hasn't been confirmed yet. Yamaha will be going up and so will many others. The price increase is because the pound is very strong and exchange rate for the yen is about 40 percent down. The year of cheap new (and secondhand i...

PianoGuy

I think you should name and shame. Why not say the name of the offending trader? How else are others not going to fall into the same trap? There is nothing wrong with naming a dealer who gives bad service. I think this forum is here to help for exactly this kind of situation. Am I wrong, is it in s...

PianoGuy

Trouble is, there are two major problems with cases like this: "Reconditioned" is a word which means duck all. The piano must have been sold with a verbal (witnessed) or documented statement of what repair has been done to it. The price paid is not a factor which is admissible in Court. Th...

PianoGuy

IMHO he should say something along the lines of "Forgive me Father for I have sinned".

Am I warm?

PianoGuy

nobody could believe how we got it to sound Evidence that any basically sound piano can be made to sound great with the efforts of a good technician? I couldn't possibly say... Well, anybody getting a good result from a London Bechstein is fairly clever. It's basically a Rogers. They suffer badly f...

PianoGuy

Returning to one of my original questions, do you think it's better to go for the bigger sound board but budget range B3, or a smaller but higher quality P114? I mean these models generally rather than the silent versions. Is the P series indeed higher quality, or are you just paying extra for a 'm...

PianoGuy

It's a standard "one size fits all" key. Check whether you need a key that is barrelled (hole in the end) or solid by looking up the keyhole and checking whether there's a visible shaft to locate in the end of the key. From recollection, Rogers keys are solid. Once you've determined what y...

PianoGuy

If the floating bridge is degrading you will find that the Treble stays in tune but the Bass drops The 129 has a free edge to the soundboard as well as a suspended bridge. The soundboard also has a reverse crown- the theory being that sound radiates out the back of the piano. I've never known any a...

PianoGuy

Be brave and look 2nd hand, find yourself a local tuner and tell them what you're looking for, then they can look over it for you and to help maintain it. Try before you buy. Good luck, Jan Unlikely to find a Silent Piano secondhand, and sadly most tuners don't have a clue about electronics. Buy a ...

PianoGuy

It's only 'floating' at the bottom!

No it should not be unstable. After seven tunings it should be fine. What do Dawsons say about it?

PianoGuy

Really sorry to hear your story Debbie. It's amazing how different pianos of identical spec can be. A visit to the Steinway showroom to try a few of any given model will show that it even applies to the big names. Even more so. The higher the proportion of handbuilding in an instrument, the greater...

PianoGuy

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm a little surprised that silent pianos seemed to get a slightly negative spin in just a few replies. I've often read the advice, buy the best piano you can afford'. Surely you're not suggesting that a digital is better than a silent? *I'm* not!! Silents are a superb com...

PianoGuy

Good on yer!

Don't back down. If the one you liked in the shop is still there and is in the right colour etc, just get the dealer to exchange it.

PianoGuy

Take the bottom panel off.

Knight serial numbers are stamped on the soundboard in the bottom right hand quarter.

PianoGuy

It's the oldest trick in the book to prepare a piano beautifully in the showroom and sell "identical" ones from it, often straight out the box with inedequate prep or regulation.

Don't stand for it.
All pianos are individuals.

PianoGuy

Thanks for all the replies on this. The piano is a different one from the one that we played in the shop - it was delivered new. A very bad idea not to buy the one you've heard and approved. Get the dealer either to replace it with the one that you liked or refund. End of. It's not the item you agr...

PianoGuy

If there's no "europe" on it, it's made by Pearl River and stands a good chance of being a good piano.

Ditto questions to those above. Was it the piano you tried and liked in the showroom?

PianoGuy

On the front nameboard above the keys!

The Irmler logo may have a little "europe" label beneath!

PianoGuy

debbie wrote:
The question is - is this the level of quality that we must expect for a +/-£4K piano? I feel that we've made a really big mistake here and am not sure what to do next. Any advice?

Thanks,

Debbie

Is it an Irmler or Irmler Europe?

It will be labelled on the fall.

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