New Yamaha C6

Bought today, delivered tomorrow. This is going to be a long 24 hours! I sat down and played a few notes and knew I was buying it. Anyone have opinions on the C6? I'd love to hear 'em, positive or negative.

Congrats!! I can't wait to buy my new grand. I'm enjoying the process of trying so many different pianos. The Yamaha C6 is a great piano.

Congratulations. The C6 is my favorite in the conservatory ranage (C1 - C7).

Check out this thread if you hadn't.

Is the Yamaha C6 an unusual piano

The negative... can't think of any. Enjoy your awesome piano, and practice a lot.

I have been very impressed with Yamaha's products over the past year or so, a clear improvement over previous years. There will probably be a point when the Yamaha C series is considered a tier 1 piano. As a tech, there are few pianos I'd rather work on.

Congratulations! What a wonderful piano. Don't forget to take pictures of the delivery and post. How incredibly exciting.

I have had my C6 since 2005 and I am very pleased with it. Even after all these years, it is in great condition; it's a very reliable instrument

thanks all. I have to wait til tomorrow! Was supposed to be Saturday but there was a delay.

So, now I'm wondering if I should have gotten a C6X, which the salesman told me "incorporates some of the Bosendorfer DNA". But I got a good price on the C6 (I think? It's new, but a floor model, @32K). And I think it's a great piano either way. I had played a few by that time, including the C7, and when I sat down at this 6 and started playing, my eyes closed involuntarily and it felt like I was home. I looked at the salesman, and he just got up to start the paperwork.

Good job! You got a good deal I would say.

Yes, the CX series represents serious changes. The difference is significant. When you play one, the CFX DNA is all too apparent (I'm guessing CF4/CF6/CFX had a direct transfusion from Boesendorfer). However, the price is also much higher. So if you haven't tried a C6X, then don't. The CX and is a quantum leap from a C. So you really don't want to try the C6X because if you do, you'll melt into a puddle and hand over your checkbook to the salesman.

This blog is possibly the most balanced review of a Yamaha I've read: http://www.scopereviews.com/piano1.html. As another Yamaha owner now on my second Yamaha grand piano, what he says is, pretty much on target.

The CX series has directly addressed the negative concerns in this blog. Namely this, "As what of the tone? Ah...well...the tone. The sound of the Yamaha might best be described as easy to like, but somewhat harder to love. Like all other Asian pianos, this one is bright sounding, with a short decay time, especially in the treble. Some think these Japanese pianos sound like laser beams out of a science fiction movie."

"I find myself pedaling more on a Japanese piano, in an effort to sustain the tone, which sometimes decays just a little too quickly for my tastes. I am reminded of videos I've seen of Horowitz playing his Steinway, and not using any pedal at all for long stretches of time. Try that on a Yamaha!"

This is no longer the case. I was rather dismay months ago when I asked my teacher if she was using the pedal on her Steinway when she said, "no! I'm just finger pedaling." What? My Yamaha doesn't have that much resonance. With the C3X, I can match my teacher's Steinway in resonance when finger pedaling. A huge difference.

No kidding. That's like the price of a C3X. He'd be in for a shock how much the C6X costs.

Some good information there, but I found much of it bordering on silly. At least he didn't give the usual one sided thoughts many piano do about their own pianos.

Looks like Sandy hadn't taken out your Internet. Hope it doesn't mess things up too much.

Clever salesman.

I don't agree with this statement. For example, the wholesale cost of the C3X is $2,500 more than the C3. That's not "much higher" on a $28,000 instrument.

I paid the SAME price for the C3X as the C3, in other words the dealer absorbed the difference. In this economy, it's not like new pianos are flying out the door.

He got the C6 for $32,000. He could not possibly get a C6X for close to that. I think it would be much higher. I am pretty sure the regular C will start to see a pretty deep discount soon also.

My point was that the CX series, is not "much higher" priced than the C series. There will be exceptions, such as floor models, as indicated by the deal being discussed in this thread. (I suspect that many dealers will be anxious to move the C series inventory, to make way for the new CX series instruments, and consequently offer discounts. This is a fairly standard business practice, I believe.

It is doing Yamaha a disservice to say that the CX series is "much higher" priced. I don't believe that it is. Higher? Possibly, although not in my experience. Much higher? No.

For what it's worth, the Yamaha C7 is my favorite Ivory II piano sample set. It's interesting to see that the C6 sells for $32,000.

I know this is silly but I can't help myself. Here is my living room floor with the post-its.

[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/markvancleve/8138584322[/img]


and if the posting doesn't work here's the link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markvancleve/8138584322/

For what it's worth, the 32 was because it had been sitting around a while and had some minor shopwear on the case, which they're touching up. Also he's got X-line pianos he wants to put on his floor. The list on it was 39K... I just looked up list on a C6X and it was 45K in dollars - that was in the UK, though, US sellers don't seem to list prices. So it's possible that the new X line is a modest bump.

Cool. I did the same thing, starring at three caster cups in the room with no piano on them for days, waiting and waiting.

WOW! That's v-e-r-y exciting! Many, many happy hours of playing to you.

You must be a "Yamaha fan"? For that kind of money - maybe just a few dollars more - you could have gotten a Steinway from the vintage years (late 1920s - early 1930s).

Also - a member posted something about getting a DampChaser. I wrestled with this for a few years and found that there was never a person who was on the fence about it --- they either liked it or they didn't.

Then, I had the opportunity to meet Franz Mohr and he was very emphatic: "Absolutely not! You make the ROOM comfortable. If the ROOM is comfortable, the piano is happy!", was his reply. Either spend the money on a humidifier for the house that attached to the furnace, get a humidifier for the room, OR - a simple trick told to me by my tuner - get an aquarium (whether or not you put fish in it is up to you!). Then, get a decent hygrometer for the room and keep the humidity around 42% . . .

Again, congratulations and best wishes!

there's are reasons the C7 is the most popular piano in recording studios. here's a sample of mine:

https://www.box.com/s/0lia1ms5c3ri0l735409

to me the tone is very clean & clear, with plenty of sustain throughout without pedal. with pedal, the overtones are very pure when i let the instrument 'ring out'.

that said i agree with the C6 reviewer's assessment that the tone is "easy to like, but somewhat harder to love". but that is no longer the case with with the newer models that i've played (C3X, C6X and CF) - the tone is much fuller and colorful. however, i don't know if in a recording studio where it may be used primarily as an ensemble instrument, if that's a good thing or not.

Thanks for the link to your piano, sounds wonderful !! Yep the C7 is what makes Ivory II worth every penny. There's no way I can afford a real C7 so samples is the next best thing.

Love the sound of this piano. So rich and full, with brilliant upper end. Sounds like my C5 on steroids, lol.

Interesting. For $8k more you could have an immaculate seven year old 7' Bosendorfer, with a full three year warranty, and all of the Bosendorfer DNA.

http://www.pianoworld.com/classified/search2.php

Mychal

True I suppose, or as someone else pointed out a golden age Steinway refurb. So the implicit question Why would anyone make the choice I made? Truth be told I sat down in front of a Bosendorfer 9 footer and was not moved. Very possible my taste needs to develop further before I'll be ready for Bosendorfer.

Steinway? I played a few, and some were extremely nice but also extremely out of my price range - you have to understand that, during the act of piano buying, the amount of money you have mentally budgeted for the purchase tends to increase. Does that happen to others? So yes there were very nice Steinways in the 40's, but at that point I was thinking OK that's way WAY more than I'm spending here. Understand, I went to the piano store thinking 'just play a few pianos, talk to a salesman, maybe find out about rent-to-own, hey what's the worst that could happen?' As it turns out, you could sit down in front of a C6 that was being priced to Get Out Of My Store, because a bunch of CX pianos wanted the floor space.

Also the C6 sounded very wonderful to me, and I think that's really key, whatever the make and model are. I have a fair amount of roll-off in my high frequency hearing. Yamahas can 'cut through the mix' as jazz and pop guys say, well, they also cut through tinnitus as it turns out.

Yamaha makes nice pianos, and you are probably going to love having this one for many years. My parents, who are both professional pianists, have had a Yamaha grand similar to the one you bought for about forty years. It has been played a lot, and you can tell, but it's still a cool piano. Congratulations on your new piano - it's an awesome instrument to have in your home!

Mychal

It's the same case with me. I went into a store with maybe a C2 in mind, a little bit bigger, a little nicer than my little GC1, maybe a $10K uplift? Before you know it, the sales person wants me to try the C3 also. Well, of course, I like the C3 more than the C2, but that's another $7,000. Still, yeah I like it, so as I play some more, the sales person just mentions that for a small increase you could go to the C5, which is soooo much better than the C3. He goes into a long thing about the virtues of the C5, then, as I'm just trying a C5, he goes, well might as well try this C6, and this very special C6XA over here. Yeah, I tried the C6XA, which is incredible, but now, we're talking $49K, something like that. And wouldn't you know it, he said if you really like that C6XA, for not much more, you could have a Boesendorfer. He makes me play the 170, 185, 200, 214, 225, and even asked me to try the Imperial. The 225 was insane, and the Imperial was astondingly so. It was like that 225 times 10. Man, I thought I died and went to heaven, flooded with that gorgeous sound. Look, I remind him, I came here to try a C2, which by now is soooo inferior to any Boesendorfer or the Yamaha C6XA.

Yeah, I went to the store looking at a C2, and if I could spend another $40K, I could have bought a Boesendorfer 185. Instead, I got the C3X, probably spend a good $8-10K more than I should, and got off that train of if only you spend another....

There is always a better piano out there if for just another ....

There's no doubt that piano retailers have stock that is priced in increments like that to test your real limits (they know that most people can be talked into something a lot more expensive than they first suggest). Funny thing for me was that the C5 just doesn't work for me. I prefer the C3, I find the C5 lacking something in the middle register - and that was true of the 5 or 6 C5s I've played. Even the salesman said for the way I play when I improvise, using a lot of closely voiced chords, the C3 sounded a lot better. The C6 was great though. So for me, the jump in price between the C3 to a C6 would be rather more than I could stomach. Not that I can afford either at the moment. I'm hoping some good fortune comes my way at some stage.

Yeah, but wasn't it fun trying all those different pianos? I think it's cool how they're all different, and hearing how they sound and feel. And you don't have to buy any of them - just tell him you're going to think about it, and come back another day.

Mychal

Same here. While the salesman went on and on about the virtues of the C5, I actually like the C3 more. The C5 has cleaner bass fundamentals, but the C3 is better on the whole to me. When I went to the C6, I heard a major improvement over the C3. I think the salesman is only thinking from the perspective of his commission when recommending the C5 over the C3. I told him that I didn't like the C5, and he told me he has customers and even tuners who thinks the C5 is way better. Oh well, I'm no expert, so I left it at that.

Yes, especially the Boesendorfer 225 and the Imperial. That was a great experience.

They are tremendous pianos. Since I'm a professional pianist and music director, I've been able to play a lot of pianos over the years. I can remember most of the Bosendorfers I have played, because they are so remarkable. It's not just the gorgeous sound, or the great Renner action. It's the overall build quality, since they're handmade like a Rolls Royce. Superb workmanship - incredible quality throughout the instrument.

Mychal