I agree with jazzpianist's experiences regarding the C6 and C7 v S6 grands. The same upgrades such as hammers, soundboard and strings are found on the S series grands (a shame and a puzzle why they're not given a mention in Mr Fine's tome).

I know this doesn't sound very professional, but the reason I left the Yamaha S series out of the "ratings" is quite simply that I couldn't decide where to put it. My feeling is that it belongs somewhere between Groups 2 and 3 in my new rating system. But when I attempted to put it in either group, it just didn't feel right. I consulted with others about it and couldn't find any agreement. So in the end I just left it out. Frankly, I'm surprised that this has caused such a commotion. The S series keeps a very low profile in the market; years go by without my hearing a thing about it. However, it is not completely left out of the book: I do discuss it in the Yamaha brand writeup, and prices for the S models are included in the Model & Pricing Guide.

I don't consider it mandatory that every brand or model be included in the ratings. For example, if a brand or model series is new and I'm not sure where to put it, I'd rather leave it unrated than feel uncomfortable about it. There are a couple of hybrid European/Asian piano brands that fit this description at the present time. Perhaps if I had known how much distress the omission of the S series would cause, I would have made a greater effort to take a stand.

Remember that the "ratings" are intended less as a judgment about the brands, and more as simply a reflection of the piano market as seen by the piano industry, for the benefit of those who are new to the field. That's not to deny that a certain amount of personal judgment on my part is necessary to discern this "reflection", but I would be the first to admit that reasonable people can differ in their perception of the market.

For the record, I have no problem with the S series, nor prejudice against Yamaha or Japanese pianos in general.

However, compare the handbuilt SU7 against another top hand built upright, say Steinway, Sauter, Bluthner and the SU7 then appears incredible value for money.

Wow! Chris Venables and Turandot - you certainly know what you're talking about. Thank you for all the info.

Just one thing, Chris: I always thought that the C7 was 7'6" but I see you say it's 7'5" Small matter but, hey, let's split hairs!

Anyway, I have a date with a Samick tonight so I must stop reading PW and get out of the door!

I would agree with Chris that the SU7 is a very nice piano and compares extremely well with other top quality uprights although I found in my case that I was able to source a new Sauter Masterclass 130 with some custom veneer work on the key rail for considerably LESS than an SU7 would have cost... at the price I paid, the SU7 was, by comparison, very expensive.... so shop around, depending on where you are as I'd argue that the Sauters probably represent even better value for money, which is not to do the SU7 down at all...

Happy hunting