I am considering purchase of a new Essex EUP123 (Ebony gloss,48 1/2)and would like your input as to quality/value and price of this Essex model.

My 13 year old son has been taking lessons for 4+ years and practices/plays a couple hours a day. We currently have an old Yamaha spinet and think he would benefit from an upgrade. He has tried out new Yamaha and Kawai consoles and several studios (48"). The consoles don't impress him, but he has liked a Yamaha U1(grey market), new Kawai K2 or K3, Bergmann E121 and ESPECIALLY ESSEX EUP123.

We have ruled out the Yamaha because of cost of a new U1 and we don't want a used grey market piano. The Kawai K3 is $4,600 and Bergmann E121 $3,350.

I have the Larry Fine book and the supplement. Since this Essex model is relatively new, information on it is not included in the most recent supplement. I believe it is made in China by Pearl River with Steinway design. The Steinway dealer is offering a price of $4,500. Is the Essex EUP123 worth this amount? If not, would the Bergmann E121 be a "good" piano - it's cost
is very reasonable at $3,350.

My son definitely liked the Essex best, and thought the Bergmann was good. The Kawai pianos were not in tune at the dealer and so it was hard to evaluate them.

Your thoughts please ...

Hello Duffy,

Just depending on how much you are looking to spend, the Essex is a great! piano for the price the dealer is offering you. The piano is Designed by steinway and was designed by steinway top to bottom prior to Steinway selecting pearl river to manufacture the piano. Ask the dealer about the Steinway Promise. the essex would be the better investmant. What makes the essex a great piano regardless of where it is built, is infact Steinway. Its all in the Design. It is however a mass produced piano built similar to the yamaha or kawai. the next step up would be the Boston from Steinway. hope this helps

By the Way Good decision on the grey market

If it helps, I was actually looking at the Essex EUP123 in the Jacob Bros. store in Philadelphia. They're primarily a Steinway family dealer, so I'm not sure how accurate their promotions were, but I thought it was worth noting that they were selling the EUP123 for 5,990$--and they were shocked and appalled to hear that someone might be selling one somewhere for less. (Apparently those steinway family pianos are supposed to be marked on a fixed price across the country).

I actually thought the essex compared fairly well to the same sized Boston, and at least by their prices it seemed to be a good deal. I also looked at it in comparison with the U1 which you've already noted was too expensive, and while I preferred the U1 for dynamic range, voicing, and attack, I think the Essex seemed better suited in some ways for classical music. According to the dealer at least, the new line of essex is a significant improvement over the prototype so maybe that's where some of the disagreement here is coming from. I was actually deadset on DISLIKING essex as much as possible going into the store, and was reasonably impressed by what I saw. I'd think it would be a fine piano for a serious thirteen year old. My parents bought me a baby grand about that age when I was starting to seriously think about a career in music, and while it was really a pretty mediocre one, being able to choose the piano that most impressed me made a big difference when it came to practicing. (That may be another reason to get an Essex. . . It has a pretty mellow tone, and if you're going to have a kid playing more than several hours a day, a brighter piano like the Yamaha U1 might well drive you bonkers after a while. If he's interested in popular music rather than classical however, I'd take the advice of others on the post and look at the other Yamaha pianos seriously).

If anyone out there actually owns an Essex, however, I'd like to hear from them too because I'm considering it myself. II do know that in comparing the Boston and Essex models to Kawai and Young Chang or Pearl River pianos, they are VERY different instruments. I didn't like the Pearl River pianos at all, even the new ones which are supposed to be such an improvement over the ones that Larry Fine disses.