Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kawai GX-1/2/3 vs Estonia 168/190

There are no import duties or taxes from Estonia, EU to Denmark, EU. There is the local 20% VAT of Estonia but that is already included in the $24000 price. Mr. Laul even send me the prices of transport from Tallinn to Copenhagen with three different courier companies. It was only about $250.

It seems like I get the best deal with Estonia, quality vs price. The question is whether I like the sound and feel of them. I will have to try them.

A few things to consider:

1 - Are the prices you mention for the Kawais list prices or actual sales prices? Once you are decided about which piano you want a negotiation of the price is fully in order, I guess that is also the case in Denmark.

2 - I would never recommend to buy a piano (of whatever make) you have not extensively played and liked before buying.

3 - About voicing down: Yes, sure, this can be done. However as others pointed out there is a basic character of tone in each piano which is not easy to change. And if you soften the hammers substantially that may have other effects as well (on dynamics, attack behaviour, etc.) that may or may not be wanted. Moreover softened hammers will harden again over time, bringing back the brightness you wanted to avoid in the first place. Hence: Another reason to follow no. 2.

4 - If you import a piano from a foreign country with no dealer around for this brand: What about issues of guarantee, servicing, parts etc. At least you should talk to a piano technician whom you trust and make sure that you can get all the service you need locally.

How much for the 190?

I would certainly go to Estonia to pick your piano. Tallinn is a delightful place to visit—it's the most intact medieval Capitol in Europe, I believe. I was there last year, but unfortunately the piano factory closes for the summer, so I couldn't visit it.

When we were visiting a medieval abbey near the city wall, the old lady taking admission made a point of telling us we were welcome to sing in the basement chapel, so my sister and I harmonized a verse of the crusaders' hymn.

A few weeks ago I played a beautiful Estonia concert grand, about 10 years old, for sale for $30,000 at one of the piano stores in Salt Lake City. Of course, there are hidden costs—I would have to buy a house to put it in!

I am beginning to regret having quoted Estonia prices in this thread. Of course, the prices of the two pianos is very relevant when discussing the best option. But I do not want to put Estonia in a difficult position with regards to their factory prices vs us prices. The price I got was from a year ago and I might have misunderstood it or forgotten important hidden costs.

Don't regret - prices are relevant to the discussion and we understand everything is a ballpark price. Furthermore, the additional information helps everyone and, I think, the industry as well. If you want to buy a new Ford pickup truck (a popular automobile around here), you can just look it up and get a genaral idea. Why should pianos be any different?
That's part of the power of the Piano Buyer book - he lists the prices pianos usually sell for.

The Piano Buyer SMP price is $39,608. So yes, I'd say $24,000 is a good price.

One other thought - the factory doesn't really matter to the US market. Piano prices vary by region, even within the same state in the USA. A different continent? Of course the prices will be different.