I just purchased my first piano (first real piano I've personally bought, I've been playing keys for years). It's a restored 1963 Yamaha U3 that I bought over the weekend at a piano sale. It's really a unique, gorgeous instrument and it appears to have been nicely restored (new hammers, felts, restrung, cleaned, etc.). I've never seen the particular finish that this piano has. It's a very dark, rich polished mahogany finish (looks black until you see it in the light). I'm pretty sure the piano was either refinished or the original finish was buffed out.

I verified the serial number with Yamaha today and they indicated that it would fall in the range of pianos produced in Japan in 1963. I'm not sure if it was produced for the US market or if it's a gray market piano.

Does anyone have an indication as to what a restored 1963 Yamaha U3 might be worth? I'm trying to determine if I paid too much. OK, I'm pretty sure that I did pay too much, but I'd like to determine how much I overpaid. The piano looks, plays and sounds great, so I'm not regretting my decision to buy it, but I am wondering where the price should fall for a piano like this. I'm new to the world of piano buying/valuation, so I kind of jumped in feet first without really thinking.

Thanks in advance for any insight you experienced folks can provide.

Hi - welcome. A restored U1 would need to be evaluated by a technician to evaluate what was restored. Restoration jobs vary so much, that with this age of piano, it would be impossible to ascertain by just a description.

That said, you've bought it, so it's too late to back-track anyway. The value of any item is really what the client is willing to pay for it.

So, forget what it's "worth". Enjoy your new piano.

My advice would be to forget all about your question! You have your piano now. Just move on and enjoy it. $1,000 either way divided over the years you have this piano will be irrelevant. I have a U3 from that era - late 60's in my case and after doing a bit of work on it myself, I'm very happy with it. People who play it also find it to be a very nice instrument. I won't tell you how much I paid because I don't think you should be buying into this question. Enjoy!

Maybe $40,000

Plus or minus $37,000

You can look up the serial number to determine whether or not it was built for the North American market: http://www.yamaha.com/ussub/pianos/SerialNumberlookup.aspx

How much your piano is worth is somewhat dependent on if it is a grey market, or not. Also, the quality of restoration work is important. In any case, I can't imagine a scenario where it'd be worth more than, perhaps $4,000-$5,000.

I'm not sure about other countries, but in Australia grey imports are not particularly lower in price than the authorised imports. It's more the case that certain dealers make a much better profit margin by importing greys. As far as I can tell, if the condition can be confirmed to be excellent by a technician, a grey will still fetch more or less the same price as a non-grey.

I can't speak for how it's viewed in other countries though.

I was thinking $3k to $4k due to the age, rebuilt or not... but I'm just speculating. I'd say your estimation is as good as any.

I also agree that the piano is now bought and paid for and I'd leave well enough alone. If you like the piano, you did not pay too much!

Rick

I have owned a grey market Yamaha G3 for several years now. It is currently in my home in WI, and something you'll want to be sure to do is regulate the humidity in the piano room. It sounds as though it is grey market as it was made for Japan. Since their humidity levels are much higher, in PA where the winters are cold and dry you will notice more than typical changes in your tuning and even perhaps some issues with screws coming loose (this happened to me anyways). So keeping stable humidity around the piano is really important. You can have a Dammp-Chaser installed and that will help a lot.

When I bought my piano, I was not aware of grey market and what it was. Still, it has been a good instrument for me once I was able to get it more stable. Be sure to have a technician come and check things out. He/she will be able to recommend any work that might be done.

As far as money is concerned, like another poster said a piano is worth what someone will pay for it. I would not be concerned, especially with grey market because those are generally sold at a fraction of the cost of a new one. I'm sure you will have years of enjoyment with your new (to you) piano!

From a dealer, with a warranty and a free tuning I'd say ~$5000.

In the UK if well sorted that piano might be worth around £3000 retail, maybe a tad more if it's a particularly good one - that converts to just under $5000. Here there doesn't seem to be any particular stigma about grey market imports. Pricing seems to be related to the age and quality, not the import status. For instance good mid '80s U3s (grey or otherwise) go for around £3750.

Thank you all for your insightful replies. I feel much better about the purchase now. I played the piano some last night and this morning and I'm quite satisfied with it. I also called a technician who is familiar with the piano and he confirmed that it looks to be restored nicely. I have decided to take the exact approach that many of you have suggested and just enjoy the piano, because it really is a unique and gorgeous instrument and it plays and sounds wonderful.

I had looked up the serial number on Yamaha's web site earlier yesterday. The serial number is in the range of pianos produced in Japan in 1963, but I can't be certain if it was produced for the US or Japanese market. If I look up the serial number on Yamaha's site, it actually brings up a P22 DAO model, which seems to indicate that there was some overlap in their serial numbering over the years, and might also indicate that this was not a US market piano. Either way, I think that 50 years is enough time for the wood to adjust to the North American climate! I don't see any issues with the wood in this instrument, and it resonates brilliantly.

Anyway, the piano is great, and based on your estimates in this thread, the price I paid might be close to in range for a well-restored U3. Given that it was a charity sale, I don't feel too bad about the price I paid anymore, and I feel that the uniqueness and history of this piano in combination with it's great looks, sound and playability actually might make it worth the price paid.

I'm just going to enjoy it and stop worrying over a few bucks.

This was my first post on here. It looks like this forum is composed of a number of helpful and knowledgeable people. I look forward to interacting with the forum.

As a follow-up, in case anyone is curious, the owner of the company that sold me the piano just called me in response to an e-mail I sent to him yesterday. He guarantees that the restoration performed on the piano I bought is considered an A+ restoration. That, in combination with the piano's unique finish/color, support the price. I tend to agree with him and I'm comfortable with the price I paid.

Now, off to enjoy the piano!

Good news - now for a photo?

And a recording??

I'll take some photos and post them over the weekend.

The recording might take some more time! The piano is in my living room and the recording studio is in the basement, so I'll need to rig up a portable recording setup. I plan to get an audio interface for my iPad soon, so that will allow me to record the real piano in the living room as opposed to the synthesized and sampled pianos in the studio.

OK, the piano technician just left a couple of hours ago and gave the piano glowing reviews and gave it its first tuning since it entered my house. He confirmed that all wearable parts in the piano had been replaced, and it's practically a new piano. Every is solid as a rock and the piano is sounding and playing great.

As promised, here are some photos if anyone is interested to see it:

Looks gorgeous! I'd say you have nothing to worry about.

Thank you, ando. Yes, all my original fears that I had after I first purchased the piano are gone. I have the opinions of two piano techs who both regard this as a new piano and feel that not only did I not pay too much, I may have gotten a bargain and a fairly unique piano to boot.

All my fears relieved, I'm loving this piano and couldn't be happier with it. I got very lucky.

Congratulations! It's gorgeous. I wish you many happy years playing it and look forward to hearing your recording!

Blimey, that looks really lovely! I'm very impressed.