Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Adult Beginner in Singapore: Buying First Piano

Sounds like i'll have to take a trip downtown...
to test drive the K8, but my dream remains. the next one have to be a GP, hiak hiak haik . Do Robert's take trade in?

I have this fear to overcome actually. I very scared the sale person overlook at me while i struggle alone to play a pop piece. Sounds like the Roberts are experts. I'll have to wear a P-plate on my neck to self declare "Adult beginner" playing , stay clear, please stay outside temporary or put on your ipod.

I went to bishan cristofori. There's a expert there. When he "demo", nobody else dare to match up .... all becomes mice hehehe But the bedok sales are very much better, they let you browse in peace, see the engine, take it for a spin. and so on. am i advertising again?

Do you have this experience? When i go to small piano shops to play-play-test-test with what i have like marriage d'amour or coup de coeur, they all ask if i'm a teacher ??? My jaw drop. Ahh, like this low standard anyhow also can become teacher huh? I think they are joking or insinuating. Maybe what they are trying to say is "what are you waiting for"? Buy one piano quick and get out of here .... joking lah.

already 2 purchases made since start of this thread.

great singapore purchass is on!

hi digitus,

on the comparisons between the older and newer series, i'm not sure why the older ones are costing more. discounted price of k30 was at least 10% more than the promotional price of k3 and the same goes for k60 and k6. i got the quote a few weeks back when the k8 wasn't in yet.
it was the sound quality difference between k30 and k3 that justify the higher price of older one. the actions between the two was that obvious to me.

however i think you mentioned k80 is cheaper compare to k8 now

"the actions between the two was that obvious to me."

sorry, meant to type not obvious to me.

Hey snoopycar,

If I was you I'd just grow a thicker skin. Really! After all, you are the one paying money for the piano heh heh.

I haven't touched a piano in 23 years and I can't play for nuts. But there are some basic things I can do myself to assess touch and tone that don't require me to blaze away on the keyboard. Heck, I even brought along some sheet music and stumbled through a couple of pieces.

After (or even before) basic investigation I actually want to have an expert demonstrator show what is possible on the instrument.

I can't comment on the pricing of anything other than the K-8 and K80E because I don't have any pricing older than one week! But yes, the price I was quoted for the K80E was less than for the K-8. I assume (maybe wrongly) that the K-8 replaces the K80E at the price point that competes against the Yamaha U5 (and now YUS5).

Yes they do!

Digitus, are you Artemov??

2 purchase? Sorry i got lost. Which is the other recently purchase piano?

Yes, thicker skin is slowly growing - especially if i'm only secretly browsing, kaykay.. shhh, don't tell Roberts i'm coming. Actually, piano "window shopping" is an experience, as far as for me. I used to press a few key to listen for sustain.. too nervious to play anything. My girlfriend says, kalapak, like this how you're going to be a concert pianist? gotta get more "free" exposure, have to break the barrier of inferior complex... bla bla bla.. but come to think of it, it true. So i started "free" out door training by visiting as many shops as possible. Twice, little pretty girl stand beside me to watch... :0 "wow this old uncle can play or what"?? too young, no HP no... hehehe

Digitus, i also started playing in around ~'85
Now, i still have get even grade 3 !!! and still learning scale - just can't get my Dbminor 3 ocatve right yet... more drills tonight. You made the right choice coming back, somemore with a new piano man.... Welcome back to piano world... did you suddenly became romantic? need to express you feelings -- ?? ;]

yup, 2 purchases that i counted, juzzjazz & digitus. and both from robert piano.

now artemov is anxious
well, if you can wait, take your time.

like my case when i buy my new dslr camera, it's like should i wait till i get the PERFECT camera that will come out in 6-12 months or can i afford to waste all those good shooting opportunities that i'll miss without THAT camera.

translate that into piano, i could easily learn around 6 short pieces and 1 serious sonata during that time. I've got a permanent job too. i'm not asking you to splurge your live savings. now there are many good pianos at really affordable prices. you won't need a BB or Steinway D to play fur elise. i'm still practising my rach and chopin on my 30yr old kawai and have no problem.
just personnally a slightly, more improved actions compare to my existing one would be a bit more perfect and that's why i'm still in this piano forum.

normally when i buy my camera lens, i go to my regular forum and join a mass order to get really good price. before you shoot me down that this is a piano (ahem , very expensive one leh) that you are buying, let me tell you that lens aren't cheap either. the nikon vr 300mm for my birdshooting is ard us$4.4k. that excess money came when i forgo expensive and overpriced german models and now happily i have 2 nice hobbies, one started when my mum moved in a piano into our home when i was 5 and i hated it, and the other when i was in my teens. i'm still growing older by the day and more hobbies are starting to come into picture. i'm not a professional in either "hobbies", like i said but these hobbies have served me well throughout all these years and will continue to do so.

like good lens, only very "good" piano also got good resale value and that's what most people in this island take note of. fyi some really good, discontinued lens sell for more than its original price in the 2nd hand market. for most general pianos, this concept cannot apply as generally newer models just keep getting better and better while your old piano, if not kept in best of conditions, will have problem in time to come. certain rare europeans may defy this concept and that's also a risk you must be willing to take.

this reselling is useful when you realise your tools no longer meets your requirements and you can upgrade easier without considerable loss of money or time. knowing when to sell is very important here.

since so many people are getting from one shop, may as well meet up to get a good bargain.

Oh ya, i for got about justjazz, sorry...

Digitus, can reveal how much is the price of the K8, final comsumer figure, not the RSRP. Thanks. or PM me if not so convenient...

Now, back to Monday blues

Heh heh...no I'm not! Really really....

Shame on you for even thinking it!

And I'm sure you are enjoying every minute of the struggle!

As for myself, some people say its part of the mid-life crisis. :p But it has more to do with the fact that I really needed to get a better work/life balance. I decided to consider buying a piano after a I nearly quit my job because of a particularly heavy period on the road. (I use Singapore Airlines like a very expensive bus service!)

So I fished out some old sheet music and my old copy of Hanon. The first week with just the first 5 exercises in Hanon was filled with frustration and aching forearms! When I saw how much progress I was making I decided to bite the financial bullet and get a piano. So here I am 1.5 weeks later with a K-8 on the way, spending 2.5 times more than my initial budget for a used piano. :p

Actually I struggle a lot on the keyboard, because I have grand ambitions with the repertoire, but I am disadvantaged by small hands (for a pianist) and slim fingers. So I stopped taking exams after Grade 5, but continued with lessons up to about Grade 8 level, playing purely for pleasure.

There, end of grandmother story!

snoopycar, just PM'd you.

I think artemov is thinking of waiting until early next year when Pianoman brings in Brodmann pianos. I had considered waiting too, but the itch had grown too strong.

Spot on!

That's one reason that got me interested in Kawai, after I tried a 15 year-old BS-3A in Pianoman. Since this purchase is likely to last me a lifetime (unless I win the lottery!) I decided to stretch my budget for the best I could afford, with an action that is good and also able to better withstand the high humidity in Singapore. Yamaha also uses composites in their action, but I like the Kawai tone a lot more.

Spoken like a true Singaporean. Quick, before I pay up the balance!

Ya, cheaper leh... budget tight... the other shop selling 1k less leh... my friend introduce one leh, cheaper leh - i cash & carry, no need warranty, i tune myself... don't count GST leh..
Got installment boh? Courts also have leh.

Later he will ask me go fly kite!!

Wow carbon reinforce action - hi tech, cutting edge technology(faster repetition).. drool

Why can't they deliver sooner? 20th Nov a lucky day? hmmm is it your birthday present? Every boy thinks of a good reason to buy toys..

"Great" 8, GREAT!! lucky no. i'm striving for that too. my target is by 75 years old.

That right, we're here to enjoy piano music, for pleasure, leisure, entertainment(nope neigbour don't complaint), no need to stress. no need teacher, DIY.

Happy shopping guys

u mean besides robert piano, there someone else selling the k8?

They have a tie-in with Citibank's time payment scheme. There may be tie-ups with other credit card vendors as well.

20th November because I'm travelling on biz this week, test piano in showroom on 18th, deliver on 20th. 19th delivery not possible because of other personal commitments.

is there any discounts for showroom pieces?

For sure you'll get the discount off list price, but whether you'll get any more off for showroom units is something you'll have to ask Mr Chiu (if you are in the Millenia Walk showroom). All pricing decisions are referred back to him, as far as I can tell.

Apparently so. Probably a parallel imports with no manufacturer warranty. But that usually isn't a major factor because Kawai's QC levels are very high. I recall seeing an advertisement in Section 72 (Musical Instruments) of the ST Classifieds about a shop in IMM importing Yamaha, Kawai, etc.

One reason I bought from RP is Mr Chiu himself. He's a master tech with more years than my age (which is approaching the magical half-century mark).

Oh sorry, I was referring to RP about the instalment plan thing. I didn't see Mendo's question about the 'other' shop until now. :p