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Hi
Does anybody have any experience (or heard of anything) about Yamaha pianos made in Taiwan, specifically a U3 piano of about 20 years old? I would appreciate any comments or feedback that anyone may have before I ask a technician to check it out. The piano has been played very little, based on the signs on the hammers and the bass bridge seems to be in good condition (no cracks) when I inspected it. Thank you.

All Yamaha U3 s are made in the Hamamatsu factory in Japan.
Maybe it was an older one refurbished in Taiwan though I have never even heard of any piano facilities in Taiwan though they might exist. Maybe the same factory that makes Louie Vuton purses.

"Maybe the same factory that makes Louie Vuton purses."

Aren't you the comedian?

Junque from 20 years ago? you got the wrong country or wrong model #? Grey market junque or a jeans factory...

Well, when the T series Yamies came out, the cabinetry was being made in Taiwan, then added to the assembly of the piano in the USA.

I think the assembly will now be in Indonesia for the T116.

U3 was always made in Japan.

I hope that helps,

Thank you for all your input and feedback. There is indeed a yamaha factory in Taiwan but of course I did not know if they actually made U3. I think that a letter T in front of the serial number indicates that the cabinet was probably made in Taiwan but now I know that it cannot be a U3

<http://www.yamahamusic.com.tw/index.htm>

I found out that Yamaha does make the cabinets for the T116 and the T121 in Taiwan.I always thought that the T stood for Thomaston,Georgia where these pianos are assembled. Learn something new in this forum everyday

I believe the "T" does stand for Thomaston, but only on certain models like P22, and only at the end of a model number. My P22 is a "P22T", made in Thomaston, and also has a serial number that starts with T and a six-digit number. I don't think any model that STARTS with a T has anything to do with Thomaston.

The below Yamaha site page shows the serial numbers that have T:
http://yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/Text_WithCatMenu_XC/0,,CNTID%25253D12173%252526CTID%25253D410010,00.html

i have seen taiwan made yamaha ,they have the T before the serial nos,the factory is in taoyuan,app 2hrs car ride from taipei,
they are not as good as original made in japan ofcourse,

Does somebody know if u3's are made in Taiwan?

As has been stated previously, U series pianos are made in Hamamatsu, Japan.

This question is often coming up, so please let me offer my take on this issue.

There always seems to be an underlying assumption of "quality" when such question is asked, a question which would not be sufficiently answered if one would leave out or ignore the progress and advancement of the piano industry in many other parts of the world today.

The Yamaha U3 may have been been made in Japan but today, as far as piano making is concerned, bears this no particular siginificance as to the piano's quality, especially its "musical" quality.

"Made in" is a rapidly disappearing appendix to any product in today's world and the only thing of interest is the actual quality-value-price relationship of such product.

Volkswagen made very good and totally reliable cars in the 50's and 60's but today I would prefer any 'made in Korea' new car to the simple reliability an old beetle.

Yamahas have basically not been changed, let alone "improved" for the last 20 years, so while the U3 was a good piano and was indeed "made in Japan", there is tones of other pianos either equal or even better on the market today - brand new.

This may or may not be of concern to you.

But could be for many others.

Happy choosing your future piano!

Norbert

I can't I get a clear answer. Yes or No. Also related to the serial numbers of Yamaha piano's.

Does the U-series have one kind of consecutive serial numbers? Yes or No. Correct me if i'm wrong but do I understand from this forum that there are two type of serial numbers used for the U1 and U3 series?

Clear answer to your first question: NO.

Can somebody give me a clear answer to my second question? Because someone offered me a U3 piano from...Taiwan he said, with the serial number 6.43x.xxx from 2006?

Stating something repeatedly does not make it true. I live in Taiwan. There is of course a Yamaha factory here near Taipei in Taoyuan county. I have seen many pianos with Taiwan Yamaha U1 stenciled onto the plate in black letters. I am pretty sure they make other models here too.

A few questions for you all.

thx1138, how do you say it's a Yamaha factory? Does they have the 'Yamaha' name, on the buildings and the lorries?
Are you sure it's Yamaha that manufactures pianos? Or it's motorbike? Brooomm... Brooomm...
Do they manufacture a full piano or just piano parts? Have you seen any pianos put in crates and being sent in to the lorries or whatever transportation they use.

What do you mean so? Did you see the 'word' Yamaha in any parts of the pianos? Why should Yamaha stencil pianos when they have been a giant in this industry?
I myself would be convinced if that factory manufactures digital pianos, keyboards or any electronic devices for the Yamahas..

I am not picking anyone, but I am really curious. I have never heard that Yamaha is from Taiwan before!

I too am curious and google.com and the internet are good for curious people. As you may know Taiwan was a Japanese colony for the first half of the 20th century. Using google I discovered this web page about Yamaha's Taiwan factory. http://www.yamahakhs.com/ IMHO while Made in Japan is good, Made in Taiwan is a a close second.

Yes, the word Yamaha is on the outside of the piano, and when you lift the lid, as I stated, it is stenciled onto the plate. I would like a taller U2 or U3. If I find out more I will post in a few weeks and maybe even a photo. The pianos I am thinking of are at least 20 years old. But the factory is still active as you can see at http://www.yamahakhs.com/

Thanks for the link.

However, I don't find any relevant info stating that Yamaha is made in Taiwan. It's just a site of Yamaha in Taiwan. Malaysia has their own one as well, the one that tells you what happens in Malaysia that's related to Yamaha, any sales, events, products info etc.

Nonetheless, your C3 there is halved of our price here. I guess it's because of the mark-up in Malaysia so does the transport fees and duties that make it so expensive. The halved price shouldn't be a Taiwan product.
I stand firm on my point that the real C series starts from C3, and no way Yamaha would let C3 manufacture in other places other than Hamamatsu, Japan.

I can read Chinese, both Traditional and Simplified one, very well.

"The new Gallery Collection and Professional Gallery Collection are based on designs from the top-selling models and finishes from the previous line. The model M460 replaces the M450, the M560 replaces the M500 and the P660 replaces the P600. Many of the components are exactly the same as the previous series, and all are of equal or better quality than the earlier line.

These models are produced in Yamaha's Taiwan factory, which has a significant history in the company's expansion in the piano industry. Taiwan Yamaha was the first Yamaha piano factory outside of Japan and has been producing upright pianos since 1969. Its highly skilled and experienced labor force uses advanced Yamaha-designed machinery and adheres to the Company's superior quality control standards. It boasts extensive experience in building wood grain, designer cabinets for markets around the globe."

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/PressReleaseDetailPF/0,,CNTID%25253D563068%252526CTID%25253D551576,00.html

I am saying I saw uprights that say Yamaha on the front and inside say "Taiwan Yamaha U1". This is getting annoying. You can choose to believe me or not, if you can't figure out how to use Google, I can't be bothered to upload a photo. In the above Yamaha link they confirm that "Taiwan Yamaha was the first Yamaha piano factory outside of Japan and has been producing upright pianos since 1969." It is possible that since 1969 Yamaha made U1's only in Japan and stamped "Taiwan Yamaha" on them. Yamaha does state that the new M460, M560 and P660 are made at their Taiwan factory. If anyone finds out the other models that "Yamaha's Taiwan factory, which has a significant history in the company's expansion in the piano industry" has churned out over the last 39 years I am interested.