Hello everyone! I am new to the piano forum but have been looking at it for some time. I am a music teacher constantly keeping my eye out for pianos for my pupils so that they have something worth practicing on. I went to a couple of piano stores shopping for a student and was looking at Yamaha grand pianos. I started narrowing my search to a Yamaha C2 however when I went to the next store the sales person said that their Kemble KC173 was made by Yamaha. Is this true? He then proceeded to say that the Kemble KC173 was a better piano. When I asked what made it a better piano he said that it was prepped for European voicing and hence that made it more valuable than the Yamaha C2. Does anyone know anything about the Kemble KC173 versus the Yamaha C2? What are your thoughts on this? Also what should they both be going for price wise? I look forward to any and all input on these questions.

Hi Roxy,

I can't comment about the Kemble vs Yamaha grands, but I can confirm that there's a difference in sound and build quality for the uprights. When I bought my Kemble Empire I also played the corresponding Yamaha (which was less expensive even though the showroom was dropping Kemble and consequently had slashed their prices on the Kemble pianos). Anyway, the pianos were in the same showroom and were no more than 10 ft away from each other. To my ears the Yamaha sounded thin and shrill compared to the Kemble. My husband, who's an engineer, also pointed out that there was less bracing on the Yamaha soundboard and that it was generally not finished to as high a standard as the Kemble.

My tuner, who looks after many fine grands, always remarks on what an amazing sound my piano has for a small upright, especially the bass, which she describes as 'buttery'. And I'm very pleased with my piano, I've had it for two years, it has very stable tuning and I love the way it sounds. So from my own experience I'd recommend Kemble, with a couple of caveats: their pianos are built in England, so import costs ramp up the price, and there aren't many people who've heard of Kemble over here so in terms of resale you could lose value because of the unfamiliar name.

Having said that, I'd add the usual advice: buy the piano that sounds best to you and feels best under your fingers (and fits your budget, of course).

EDIT: Forgot to say that Kemble is a part of Yamaha Europe and builds Yamahas for the European market. You can check them out on their web site: Kemble pianos

You would get more info and input in the "piano area" of this web site.

Piano Area

I second the suggestion to post your query on the piano forum, where you're more likely to get a reply from someone who actually knows what they're talking about, rather than the likes of me.
I have never played a Kemble 173 so can't comment on whether it's a better piano than the C2 (which I have the honour of owning). It sounds plausible that they are similar, being produced by the same company, but then again I doubt if a 5'8" Bosendorfer is the same as my C2.
The suggestion that the K173 "was prepped for European voicing and hence that made it more valuable than the Yamaha C2" sounds strongly as if a four legged creature with horns on had just sullied the showroom floor.
Any posters who ask about price are usually told to buy a copy of Fine and DYOR.
Most importantly, having played both pianos what did you think of the differences in tone and touch?