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

kekeke.... better practice more for the coming piano party ,,,,,,, hiakhiakhiak

What piano party?!!!!!

Am I invited??!!!!

Nothing yet lah...don't panic! heheheh

The piano arrived firmly strapped to a wooden pallet that was slightly bigger than the piano's footprint. The finish was protected by a few layers of the plastic sticky wrap. The pallet was used as a sort of skid when the piano was slowly slid down a couple of flights of stairs to my flat.

Of course, the piano was originally shipped to Singapore in a wooden crate. But that was removed when the piano was first put into the showroom and prepped for me to test before delivery.

Hi, I would like to know anyone owned a K25? I am now making a decision between K25 and the new K3 (another S$600 more).

Its best if you are able to play both pianos in the same showroom. I seem to recall that Robert Piano's Millenia Walk showroom has both of them. If they aren't in tune then request that they be fixed and then go back another day. That's assuming that you are going to be buying from Robert Piano.

If you have to choose without playing both pianos then the K3 might be a better choice. It (and the other models in the new K-series) has a new scale design, and the new Millenium III action.

Thanks, Digitus. Thats' a fast reply, which i never expct it as this is the first time i post in.
Actually I know nothing about piano, it is because i am buying one for my 6 yr old daughter who just start learning one month ago. Besides i have another 2 daughter (3 yr and 3 mth old), that is why i am considering a new piano instead of a used piano. Any advise?

Oh, I see. In that case I don't think that you can go wrong with either piano. Perhaps the K3 could still have the edge in terms of action.

And welcome to the forum!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone and their pianos

Greetings and well wishes to all people too ...

Hello folks, I'm new to Piano World and the instrument. Thought I would revive this thread since this is probably the most happening SG thread that I could find =D

I'm an adult beginner as well, and I'm currently learning on a Yamaha digital piano. However, I'm interested in getting an upright. Can anyone give me a rough idea how much a used U1 or U3 goes for?

Also any tips on what I should look out for when getting a used piano? Thanks in advance. =)

I think around the range of S$4.5-5K would be reasonable.

wow, this thread still going strong!

was away from thread becos too much work pile up and no time to surf in office. so anyone tried anything nice recently?

have the threadstarter bought already? still going through the whole thread which i miss out.

Fretless, Thanks for up-ing the thread!!
What model digPiano are you playing now? Some models are quite good - ~CLP120 upwards
My clp-69 is not so good as its keys aren't weighted - more like spring.

used U1 price may range +- of $1000 depending on the year and condition.
Generally:
New Jap, ~$9000
New Indo, ~$6000

as a rough guide..........
Used Jap U1, 10years, superb condition, ~$5000
Used Jap U1, 20years, good condition, ~$4200
Used Jap U1, 30years, moderate condition, ~$2800

For U3, i'm not so sure, but adding $600 to the U1 used might be reasonable.

So... have you visited any piano shop yet? Have any piano "entice" your hearing sense yet... hehehe? Whats your budget? $3000-4500 might be a good beginning.... If you shop around, you'll get a picture of which shop offers the best value-for-money product... know what i mean?
Go for tip-top condition and bargain abit, so that the end result is a piano "song" to play and "song" to own, and "song" to hear(most important).

Go for it!!!

Hey hey =D

I'm playing a Yamaha CP33 stage piano. Pretty new, I just bought it 3 weeks ago. But cos of the layout of my study/music room, my speakers are on my side when playing the piano. Quite annoying to have the sound of the instrument coming from one side.

All in all I find the CP33 pretty nice with graded weighted keys, pretty decent grand piano samples, but still doesn't feel like playing a real thing of cos Oh ya, somehow got this lil short buzz that comes out after every note, quite irritating

I just came back from piano window shopping actually. Went to Robert Piano, Yamaha, Renner and Asia Piano. A new U3 at $11K is out of my budget for sure. So was the sweet Kawai K8! I'm trying to stay below $4.5K.

Currently leaning towards Asia Piano, maybe next weekend I'll go down to their warehouse to put my unskilled fingers on some keys

Anyhow, Leonard was recommending I get this 18yo Kawai KS5F over the U3. Does anyone have any opinions on the Kawai? Would be much appreciated! It's going for a fair bit below a U3 pricewise as well.

Oh yeah, so far I kinda like the U3, YUS5, KS5F and K8. I can't stand the bass notes on a short scale piano

Hi All

I have been reading this thread with interest.
I too am looking to buy a piano in Singapore. It will be for my daughter who has just started lessons, and also for myself to play casually - I may take lessons later on to continue from where I left off 15 yrs ago. My budget is for S$7000 or less.

So far I have considered 2nd hand Yamaha U1 and UX1 (around 20 to 25 years old with 5 yr warranty), and and a few 2nd hand Kawais - one in particular being the Kawai NS35 (around 20 yrs old with 1 yr warranty). All going for approx $5000. Also considered a brand new U1 and K3.
The Yamahas sound a little too bright for my liking, but the Kawais sound better.

Anyone know where the Kawai NS35 sits in the Kawai range, is it comparable to a K5 or K8 equivalent? I believe it is a Jap import and is a 131cm model.

I have also looked at some pianos at Cristofori. There is a new JC-121 piano there that is apparently made by the Toyo factory in Japan, and goes for approx $5800 with 10yr warranty - so within my budget. Sound wise it sounded comparable to a Yamaha U1. Anyone on this forum tried this paino and what is your opinion on it as compared to the Yamaha U1/UX1 or Kawai K3 equivalents?

Does anyone have an opinion on the second-hand U1/UX1 versus Kawai NS35 vs the Cristofori JC-121 (new)?

Shanaada,
You can check out this piano shop at Peace Centre, where they have very good condition 2nd pianos:

http://www.renner.com.sg/usedpiano.html

I have been to few 2nd piano shops in Singapore , this one has one of the best conditioned ones.

To compare Yamaha and Kawai, they are both popular Jap pianos with just different sound characteristics. There have been lots of threads about the differences you can find in this forum. To sum up a bit, Yamaha sounds brighter while Kawai has fuller tone, you need to play to see which sound you prefer, if you are comparing models of about the same cost.

As for new JC-121, if you can get a good quality 2nd hand U1 or NS35, then you should go for the Jap, unless you prefer to own a new piano instead of used. And for the cost of JC-121, you can get a 2nd hand Yamaha U3 which is far better in sound. Most important thing is you must be able to discern the difference, if you can't, then choose the one you prefer.

Hello =D Glad to announce I just bought a piano last saturday Got myself an old Kawai US6LE from Asia Piano.

Delivery on wednesday, will post pics when I get it.

Anyway I recommend popping down to Asia Piano to take a look if you are considering used pianos. They're located a Singapore Shopping Center on the 3rd floor.

SPC001 & Fretless, thanks for the advice. I was leaning towards the 2nd hand models rather than the new Yamaha U1, Kawai K3 and Cristofori JC-122. Any savings would be passed on towards lessons

I prefer a more mellow tone piano.
The NS-35 caught my eye, and sounded OK tone-wise and not as bright as the Yamaha. Its condition was reasonably good.
There is not a lot of info available on the NS-35, so I don't know how this compares to say the KS5F or its modern-day equivalents , eg K5 (I think)?

Anyone know whether the NS-35 is comparable to the NS5F???

But nonetheless I still found the Kawai to be brighter than some of the European pianos I tried, eg W.Hoffman WH-120 and the Seiler and Steinway - just kicking tyres on the S&S.

The W.Hoffman (S$8999) in Cristofori looked like a possible choice but was just outside my initial budget. Also it is a 120cm model but I was hoping to get a full-sized upright, which is why I am more keen on the Kawais (new or used) rather than the W.Hoffman or Yamaha.

I saw the 2nd hand Yamahas at Asia Piano and the Kawai at Robert Piano. I gather from reading this thread that these 2 of the more trusted dealers in Singapore market?
I will look up Renner used pianos as well, thanks for the suggestions.

Kawai NS-35 is of 131cm height. It should be compared against the new model K-6 which is about the same height. K-5 is only of 125cm. NS-35 is an old model while K-6 is newer model with probably some improvement in areas. If possible, given the same price of both model, choose the tallest available model because the string is longer, thereby giving better sound. Also taller pianos tend to have better keyboard action due to the construction.

KS-5F is also a 131cm tall. Diff between NS-35 may be of different generation. You can try out to see which sounds or plays better.

For more mellow tone sound in Jap pianos, Kawai is the choice.