Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Yamaha C3X worth it?

I have been trying to find information about whether or not I should buy this piano over any other.

I have heard great things about the new CX series like "Yamaha never used to make great pianos but now they do".

Is the CX series really such a big leap forward? What is the difference between the original conservatoire classic C3 and its new counterpart? Did the acquisition of Bosendorfer allow Yamaha to incorporate any new technology into their own pianos?

There are a couple of youtube videos showcasing what it sounds like but of course such a thing really needs to be witnessed in person and I'm unable because of my location to visit a store without considerable travel expenses.

If anyone has any experience with how the C3X compares to the old C3, or just if you have played on the C3X and found it to be a good or bad piano I would be very interested in knowing your opinions.

I've played most of the C's and Cx's, my impression was the Cx's were warmer, a little more character in the tone. The C's are a little louder. I can't remember if I noticed much difference with the action, but I'm assuming there were some improvements. I did like the Cx's more.

Go and play a C3X, you'll want one.

Yamaha's C3 has evolved over the years many, many times. Originally, it was an inch shorter. This current iteration coincides with several massive price increase due to world factors like currency values. Accompanying this iteration is a facelift (that I happen to like) and marketing push to try to transform Yamaha's C-series perception as a sturdy, reliable, predictable teaching instrument, also suitable for bright, pop recording, qualities that always placed them in the "value" category...into the "luxury" category that befits its new, higher cost.

It is a lovely instrument. I do not wish to dismiss the efforts of Yamaha's R&D department when they did make changes to the support braces and soundboard. I think they also selected a different type of hammer that brings out more of the tonal changes. It's not a tidal shift. To the best of my knowledge, the source of the change comes from the CF project, a series of lovely, hand-built, performance grade & luxury instruments, not from cross-pollination from Bösendorfer.

Do I think they are an improvement? Yes, although some of the ones I've played were still loud enough to shatter glass. Do I think they are worth the cost? A resounding no.

I like the C3X. I don't think it's substantially different to the C3 but there are differences. I don't know what they do technically, but how it translates to the player is that the C3X seems to sing more, be more responsive and I think they spend more time regulating the action, because it feels way smoother.

I don't know if you could get those qualities by having a technician do a major regulation and voicing on a standard C3, I've just no idea but I suspect that you'd get some of the way there.

Like I said, they're not worlds apart, and it still sounds like a Yamaha (that's a positive thing, Yamahas have excellent tone). Whether it's worth it or not is for you to decide.

I think and have always thought that Yamaha pianos are excellent instruments and are competitively priced. The price hikes of recent years did change my opinion on that a little to be honest, but with the C3X they seem to have managed to match the product to the price.

Incidentally the C3s made before, say, 1990 (perhaps a bit earlier) are really not like the latest models. They have different scaling and are not nearly as precise. In the UK though, in those days, they were in a lower price category (even allowing for inflation) than the latest models. The C3 in 1990 was retalling at around £7,500 here, which in today's money translates to about £14,000 or so but there is quite a difference between a '90 model and a '14 model.

I agree.

CX Series improvements over the C series grand pianos:

- Soundboard spruce now sourced from the same source as Bosendorfer instruments
- Hammer felts sourced from the same source as Bosendorfer instruments
- Hammer felts made using the proprietary "Royal George" process and techniques
- New music wire (strings) creates more color and nuance
- More substantial under support beams in the bracing and rim results more projection and power.

There's a side-by-side review I wrote of the old and the new coming in the next Piano Buyer issue. It should be released very shortly, and I think you'll find it an interesting departure from the typical (and not often useful) listing of specs or marketing "talking points".

Thanks for the input guys. I will be buying a C3X soon (hopefully before Christmas!).

If the C3X you end up buying sounds like our C2X (now fully tuned, voiced, regulated, and prepped) my guess is you will be delighted, as we are with our C2X.

Keep in mind that everyone's auditory acuity is different, so make sure you thoroughly audition the actual instrument you intend to buy. These things still cost a lot of money.

PM me if you want the financial details of our C2X purchase.

One of the things I've hardly ever liked about Yamaha's in is there's very sharp attack when you play them, in other words they all seem to be too metallic and edgy sounding.

Now as Joe has said to me before that can just be how one is set-up and if it's properly voiced it can soundly completely different, I did play a 1991 G1 that I reckoned was Ok until you got to middle C then after that it just didn't sound soft enough to me, I know Yamaha's are not known for being mellow but there's bright and clear, and then there is bright and clear if you know what I'm on about.

I would like to try a new C3X to see whether I'd change my view of Yamaha, which is why I am currently looking at Kawai as they are more mellow and characterful sounding, to me anyway. Didn't reckon I'd even look at a Kawai but there you are.

I probably wouldn't pay £25,000 for one though, especially as I want a wood finish and everybody charges you a fortune for anything other than black or white which is scandaless to me, like I say if you like it's tone go ahead, but you may also like Schimmel and Grotrain-Steinwaig in that Price range, I know my dealer was selling a Schimmel K189 from 2009 for £20,000 which is comparable to the C3X, probably better in some respects but the C3X looks to have improved a lot in 20 years.

I would encourage you to try one of the new models, as it might completely change your mind. As I wrote in my Piano Buyer review:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/spring14/54.html

Whatever changes they made to these models has fundamentally changed their character. People who really love the classic "Yamaha sound" will be in for a surprise they might not like, while others who always disliked them may change their mind!

Will do buddy, I have admired Yamaha in many ways for what they've managed to do but I always get the feeling, and you can disagree with us if you want and I won't argue with you that most yamaha's are basically very similar to each other, and your Yamaha is pretty pretty much like mine, in other words there's not much variety with them and you always get the sense your buying sort of a mass-produced, humdrum piano, made mostly by robots in a factory all to the same spec.

Alright that was not really what I was saying of course they're not mass-produced in the same way phones, TVs and appliances are but given there seems to be more of them kicking about than anything else and they're always on the mid-lower price bracket of the market gives you a horrible feeling when your considering one, put a C3 into google and you'll come up with loads of results, put say a Kawai or a Schimmel in and you won't come up with nearly as many, Ok there's less of them around but given how many folk want to sell their Yamaha's makes you wonder whether it's worth considering, they are good pianos thus a lot of folk buy them but why? They may be reliable, durable and well-made but is that at the expense of character? Maybe if what your saying about the new ones is accurate then I might really look at one.

Gee whiz, I would call that quality...

And by the way; the workers in Hamamatsu are dedicated, skilled workers whose only goal is to produce the best quality product for the money. Hardly robots...

Pretty simple, really. Give the CX series a try. Some folks will love it (as we do), others will not.

The new CX series is done with an incredible amount of hands on work according to the latest PB. The extreme opposite of mass produced. And their concert grand is probably the second most used for classical concerts around the world.

Since they are so costly compared to lower tier Yamahas they had better be a major improvement or they will quickly go out of business.

I know about the CF concert hand made pianos.

I wasn't really saying that they were mass produced, just that's what you get the sense about when shopping about for pianos.

Personally, I don't like yamaha's tone at all, I prefer the German, British and European sounding tone. Although having heard some of the newer cx series, I may go try one out, I have heard one or 2 Yamaha's I've liked but I find they're just not for me, though they are good pianos.

I played C3x in the showroom and it is absolutely an excellent instrument. You won't go wrong with your decision, congratulations in advance !

I went all out last Christmas and bought a C3X Disklavier and it really is a beautiful piano. I previously had a GC1 and it is a massive improvement in my opinion. Shop around and you can get good deals from Yamaha dealers if you hang in there long enough.

Here is what I find a joke these days, the fact that most of the major manufacturers charge you an arm and a leg for a finish other than Black or White, especially when you consider that nearly all the older used pianos you see are mahogany, rosewood or burl walnut, yes there is plenty of ebony and white older ones about aswell, but C'mon is mahogany or something else really that much more expensive than it was 20 years ago, with them planting new trees all the time and making most furniture from these sorts of woods (the biggest laugh is a piano isn't all mahogany through and through or whatever it's just a veneer outside coating over some other hardwood), you'd reckon they would be abit more reasonable about the difference in price, I mean a black C3X is what £20,000 or there abouts, but a mahogany C3X is something like £24-25,000.

I know they're made in much smaller quantities and that a wood finish doesn't blend all that well with a lot of modern décor but some of us still have traditional furniture and interior décor, why should we need to pay an extra 5k or so just for a veneer, abit more maybe but seriously that's ridiculous, notice I'm leaving out Bubinga and others as those are rare and exotic woods you'd expect to pay more for. Just my take.