Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Medium Grand or Upright

Well, I am still on my quest to look for a piano. I originally planned on an upright for space reasons, but I am thinking that with a bit of rearranging in my living room, I could fit a medium sized grand in here. My budget is $10,000 or less. Should I stick with the list of uprights many of you kindly gave me or branch out to look at some grands? If so, what are some decent ones that might fit into my price bracket? I haven't played in 4 years, but I used to be pretty good and need a piano with a warm sound and responsive action. Thoughts?

Hi Karen,

Being a piano music major, I'm sure you know some of the advantages and disadvantages of both a grand and an upright. I have two nice uprights, and I play them on occasion, but I love my grand pianos and play them the most. There is just something about playing the grand that more appealing to me...

If you can find the room for a baby grand and find a decent one within your price range, that would be my advice… but I’m not you and it is your decision.

Best of luck to you!

Rick

Same budget will buy "more" of an upright, rather than entry level grand. $10k new will get you closer to 5ft rather than a "medium sized grand". Used will get you larger at that budget.

However a grand will ofter a better "grand action", better sound projection, add an aesthetic to the room, and pleasure looking over the piano instead of at a wall that an upright can't match. I say most definitely "look, play, and listen" before making up your mind.

Had the same budget, and here are some models that you can score new for under $10K that I looked at a few years ago:
Yamaha GB1K: Piano I chose, see my comments in a recent thread.
Kawai GM-10: Decent piano, more mellow than Yamaha, I found Yamaha action nicer.
Cable Nelson: Made by Yamaha. Laminated soundboard unlike above solid ones. Did not particularly like this piano.

Although above are Japanese companies, their entry level is typically made in Indonesia.

Tried some lesser Chinese brands that I did not like. However read some positive comments on Baldwin, Hailun, and Brodmann.

Plenty of commentary on the various options in this price range if you search ...

I think when budget is a consideration used is the best value in pianos. Just a quick look at Craig's List turned up a decent 5'8" grand "Shiny lack Yamaha G2, Great condition, just tuned. Full warranty." from a local dealer for $6,100. It's a buyers market for sure. If you just want a piano to have one in the house an upright is fine for occasional use. If you plan on actually playing it in an effort to to get back to "pretty good" and beyond, my experience is that an upright will only slow down your progress.

Oh, get a grand if you can, you'll never regret it! You should be able to get a good one in your price range on the used market, though it may take some time. I found that a lot of pianos described as "excellent condition" were rather disappointing. (Private sellers often think "excellent" means it looks ok and all the notes play.)

I would look for American Baldwins (often a great value and great pianos), Kawai, Yamaha--those are probably the most common good-quality grands likely to be in that range. You may find others, though.

Good luck with your search!

A grand, of course. The range of tone/color is so much broader on a grand.

Definitely a grand.

No need to think even for a split of a second.

What about a '94 Baldwin R for $6500? If I were looking it would catch my eye.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/4262658699.html

Thank you so much! This information is very helpful!

This is great! Thank you! I haven't found that good of a deal on our Craigs list, but will keep looking!

Thank you! I will do that! Incidently, I was looking on the Chicago Craigs list last week -during that really cold spell and saw a guy who had a Black Baldwin Baby grand IN HIS GARAGE!!! Really???

I am going to check that one out! THanks so much!

I love my Grand for sure and for your budget, you should be able to find it new. It is the Young Chang Y185 6-1 but there is also the Weber line up which normally is more expensive but still you should be able to find a 5-7 or so in that price range brand new or go used market if you prefer that.
If you can fit the grand, I say go for it. Nothing wrong with the upright but the action of the grand to me is sweet and also for me, mentally it placed me in a different state...just sitting there in front of it was a different experience
Good luck!

Thank you! I am leaning more and more towards a grand and if we get rid of one piece of furniture, we should be ok!

hahaha then do it for sure! Is not like you will really be getting rid of furniture but getting a new one which will also be an amazing musical instrument..a win win situation in my book. It took me a while and a lot of playing and testing to buy mine so I know the pains but it is very rewarding.

It's not as hard to fit a grand as people sometimes think. At first my husband thought I was crazy to say we could get one in our 15-foot-wide rowhouse. It looks and sounds great! He now loves it as much as I do. Having a good instrument really inspires you to play more.

If you are still not sure how it will fit into the room, some stores have a paper template in the shape of a grand. Lay it down on the floor, and check for space.

Now that you mention it, I had a 4-11" first in my room so I used a computer program (free and simple really) to create my room and look for placement option and different 3d angles to see how a bigger one would look.
This is one of the renderings I did which made me go with the 6-1 and I am glad I did.
The end result was pretty close to the rendering.



Sweet Home 3D

Exactly! And who needs stinkin furniture anyway, right? I sent a note to that Craigslist Baldwin baby grand owner, but no response yet. Maybe it is already sold. But at least I know now, that I have room and that maybe i can find a nice grand for cheaper than a new upright!

That is what i think too. Do you have a photo you could share of your piano in your rowhouse?