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

Yo Snoopy,
Thanks for the recommendation to your si-fu.
another 1 of robert piano branch is at paragon,i got their name card.haha

tata

I agree with snoopy... dont worry about maintenance issue. Petrof, Kawai, Yamaha or etc are well-known established piano companies. Choose the one you like. Neither one will require more or less unless the piano is not kept in the correct humidity or there is large fluctuation of humidity thru-out 365 days or the piano have been many-many-many years not maintain . Sometime is also the tuner, non experience or maybe a lousy one that doesn't know how to set the pins. Thus, a little hard bang to the keys the tuning will go off.
On the other hand, also watch out for dealers too. If they carry the brand they tell you wonders but speak of other brand are like junk. You know.. hard sell mah... Good luck....
Regards

Zzzzzzz

I am still wating for my buyer...

Hi Piano_kk,

Don't sell lah...
enjoy the piano for a little longer.

Hire a pianist and play you your favorite song while you relax at the sofa sipping a lipton tea.... then you won't want to sell anymore

Hi. I came across this forum some time ago but didn't have time to sit down and read the posts. Just a question, which I know many people have asked.
What is the difference between a brand new Kawai piano and a brand new Yamaha Piano?

I used to own a China-made Hsinghai and am thinking of getting a Japanese piano, with many friends buying either a Kawai or Yamaha..

Hi supabertbert,

I suppose for similar price between the 2 brands, the tone timbre is different. It's like Van Houten or Cadbury chocolate. Too sweet, too bitter, nuts, rasin... I like both. Both are quality pianos. Both are good choice. some like the yamaha clear bright tone(not the metalic bright), some like the kawai mellow tone.
Again, both have good key touch - can't go wrong.

Are you looking to brand new or pre-owned?

Hi All! been quite some time since i've last visited here... this is really an active forum.. seeing so many members joining!! so happy to read all ur msgs...

but i'm also sad!! ordered a Yamaha dGX 620 3 weeks ago from a retailer... delivery time was supposed to be 2 weeks but they called me later to inform that it was OUT-of-stock!!!! becos Yamaha sold quite all exisiting stocks overseas.. and worst thing, the next shipment is scheduled only in 5 weeks time!! not only this, it might be even longer than 5 weeks... wait wait wait... hiaz.... long wait.....

luckily my piano school allow me to go practice during weekdays.. but yet to have much chance to go down other than lesson time...

Arr.... so many weeks arrr... This model must be in hot DEMAND !!! Time to "poke" some pizza hut voucher from the dealer as "pacifier fees"!!!

snoopycar,
thanks for the advice.
I'm still not sure which I want to take up, brand new or used..as budget is (and always has been!) a very big consideration.

1) I don't want to spend so much on something that i may only tinker on for a few times a week but if I can get a new piano for a good price, why not?

2) I don't want a compromise in quality eg a very old 2nd-hand Yamaha U1 which someone wanted to sell me, which sounded "honky-tonk" and metallic.

I know I might be fussy but I want the best value for my very limited money. Isnt that what all customers want?

best rgds

Hi,

It's not fussy, it's good sense. Get the most out of the dollar. You have made a good choice to hold on your purchase till you hear other better sounding pianos. Interestingly, i have yet to hear a honky-tonk U1:D ... Did someone stick thumb tacks into the hammer??

Have you tried a pre-owned Kawai? Or refurbish Yamahas? They can sound mellow if the hammers were replaced with a softer types. So keep your option open on 2nd hand pianos. Not all are bad, plenty are still value for money. You just got to choose it right.

I'm sure $1600~2600 can buy a good satisfying piano - tall, shinny, beautiful tone. The internal parts have to be in good condition, not worn out till you can hear part clutters.
Feel free to PM me if you need 2nd opinion.

happy searching...

I've been playing on my Yamaha P70 (digital) for quite a few months already, and I'm starting to get dissatisfied with the quality of the sound and touch.

Having a budget of 3000SGD, what choices do I have, that can perform much better than my current P70? I need it to practise for my ABRSM exams, and at the same time, for some casual pop music playing. I'm also helping one of the starters to choose a good acoustic piano. any recommendations? not considering 2nd hand pianos.. because I do not have the expertise to choose one without the insiginificant malfunctioning parts. thank you!

I saw a 2nd hand yamaha LU-90, very new, few years old. $1600 neg. Would you like to have the contacts? Very low cost beginner to imtermediate model. Can take exam, of course.

hmm, i mentioned i'm not considering 2nd hand pianos .. sorry there.

hehe, yes, i was testing you..

SGD3k.. let me think.. Would you like to consider chinese brands? Pearl river, hailun, ruben & sons, Wend&lung ? How about Atlas? How about indonesia made budget yamaha? must be 121cm Exam models right? choices are not many, gotta hunt around.

Well, if one doen't have the expertise to chk out used piano, one could pay someone's expertise to do so - cheap of course. But in fact, choosing a used piano is not difficult. Just need to have a check list and know what to look out for.

Even a new piano can be a sour-plum, same goes for a used piano. It's not guessing. Even for new piano, it's good to have some knowledge. Open the top lid, chk the hammers alignment by slowly pressing the key till the hammer reach the strings. If the new piano isn't aligned well, it'll give trouble after some time. Look out for workmanship...

i understand, sometime when we introduce piano for others, we don't want to get into trouble by introducing a "troublesome" piano. kenna(get) blame for nothing.. New piano are safer in this case.

cheers

hmm, are MIC pianos credible? I asked my piano teacher, and she recommended me to go for the more credible Yamaha line. she said tuners mention the hammers and strings will degrade over time, but usually yamaha pianos are the ones that will maintain the standard.

Nope, it doesn't have to be exam-model standard..

Hi savvyguy,
I think you don't have much choice with the SGD3K budget for new piano. Even can't do for a Yamaha entry level piano.

really? how much does an entry level yamaha cost?

complicating matters...
Price reference ;>
http://www.yamaha.com.sg/662.html

Better range yamaha have better, more lasting hammers(resilience) which is more lasting than normal low cost hammers. Low cost hammer gets flatten easily, which usually yields harsh sound.

Yah, i do come across strings that tends show sign of rust at the bottom bass strings area. I wonder is it due to low cost strings....

If you ask, what good(bang for the bucks) piano can 3k buy? Theres many options. But if you ask what new pianos can 3k buy, then options becomes limited.

I know 3k can buy a brand new MIC 115cm piano. I also know ~3.4K might buy a very good 2nd hand U1. The used U1 might fetch a good resale value. The 3K MIC piano might not fetch good price if you some time later decide to change piano.

Come to think of it, 3k is quite a sum of money. Use it wisely lor. psst, 3k can even get a used grand piano !! :-D

How about a samick??

hmm, but from what my teacher has said.. it really puts me off from buying a 2nd hand.. since the parts in the piano will degrade over time, and some are replaced with the oem parts, that makes it a lousier piano than it originally is. 3.4k for a used U1? that's really cheap.. must be a super old set?

savvyguy,

You may want to find out if there is any dealer out there who offers rent-to-own or instalment plan.