Piano help

[Mn753]

Hello!
I have a question for any piano parents.
We have a nice old piano that is a tone below concert pitch (tuned regularly but not able to get it any higher).
Dd 7 is having lessons and teacher thinks this might be a problem as Dd has good sense of pitch /might develop perfect pitch so we could do with changing the piano.

Looking at affordable 2nd hand pianos at concert pitch, although I really hate any that sound 'honky tonk' even if correct pitch.

Or do we suck it up, sell a kidney and buy a new, or newish decent one? My Dh and I both play (not professionally but keen) so it will get used even if she and younger sister don't keep it up. Although we are a musical family so I'm guessing they'll have some involvement.

Any brands to recommend /avoid? We only have space for an upright I think.

Thanks so much.

@Fifthtimelucky

Yamahas are too bright for my taste. I second someone else's recommendation of a Kemble. I bought a new one about 20 years ago and was very happy with it.

Even though they had by then been owned by Yamaha for a while, the pianos didn't sound as bright as Yamahas. They are no longer made in the UK though, so not sure if that has changed.

Yes my favourite Bruce Forsyth quote ‘messrs Steinway and son would like you all to know this piano’s a Yamaha’

Some Kembles are brighter in tone than others. One of our local piano suppliers told us that they deliberately get the mellower Kembles to contrast with the Yamahas. We're very happy with our Kemble, which came from that shop.

If you decide to go down the Yamaha route, we bought got a U1 second hand seven years ago from markgoodwinpianos.co.uk/

It was all done remotely, so particularly good option at the moment. They looked at the room the piano was going into and recommended a suitable one for acoustics from their range. They had a free return guarantee and arranged for tuning etc.

And their prices were very competitive. Though I see it’s all more expensive now.

@BrigitsBigKnickers

I have a Yamaha digital piano with weighted keys ( bought in lockdown when I couldn't get my acoustic piano tuned.) It's pretty much like playing a real piano and never goes out of tune! I suppose it depends on what his teacher says but they are fairly reasonable in price and can be practised with ear phones and have a volume control! The Yamaha's can also connect to an app which has some cool features and if he gets into composing can be plugged into a computer.

Would you mind linking to the exact model? I have been looking but feeling confused about the different options.

Yamaha’s being overly bright is a bit outdated to be honest. That said, they are generally bombproof and well suited to centrally heated homes. I have a YUS 1 with a silent system fitted.

Also look at Kawai. I can’t comment on the Chinese makes (Pearl River, Young Chang) but I wouldn’t discount them out of hand as they are far and away the biggest piano manufacturers.

Thanks all, yes currently thinking a kawai 200 could be a good fit. Will go and have a play when the shops reopen.