Buying a piano. No idea whatsoever please help

[ooniebubble]

I have played the piano for many years. I am ok at it. My young dd is now starting to get much better and has paid enough interest that I think it’s time we move on from the digital one we’re currently using and buy an acoustic one. Obviously using dd as an excuse to purchase my dream piano

Problem is I have no idea what I’m doing. Dd piano teacher says no baby grands they’re rubbish, I had my heart set on one in the corner of our large sitting room. Now alas is it upright all the way or is a grand a little too extravagant expensive. He also said it’s better to buy a new piano.

Is this true? Can I buy a refurbished one from a store or is this also too dodgy? Thanks for any advice.

[growlingbear]

It is better to buy new. They never improve with age.
Some baby grands are good. I can 100% vouch for this company. Fantastic UK firm with acoustics that are second to none (unless you include Steinway etc) They are incredibly reasonable for the quality. We looked everywhere and the acoustics of their pianos beat every one else's hands down. Our tuner was very impressed and so are any professional musician friends. They all remark on it which they never did with the old one. They sell other brands now too it seems, but their own pianos are fantastic for the price.

[ooniebubble]

Thanks @growlingbear I’ll take a look. And no I can’t afford a Steinway unfortunately

[growlingbear]

Just had a little look. Their baby grands start at 8k. Though we tried one and ended up with an upright of theirs for about 3k which sounds out of this world.

[Oakmaiden]

Buying from a store can be a bit hit and miss (although far better than buying from free ads etc) - however, I bought a used piano from a shop which sold both new and second hand pianos, and when it became obvious it was unsuitable they let me swap it for a different one.

I ended up with an overstrung, and it has a beautiful sound.

[IncrediblySadToo]

We bought the Kawai k500 from Here and it’s great

He does cheaper ones and second hand too. But DC (13) is Grade 6 & plays really well, so we thought she would benefit from having this one.

[ooniebubble]

Budget maybe about £8k can probably go higher but ideally stick to that. Teacher said Yamaha u3 upright.
I’m looking at the grands though and thinking ahhh stuff the budget.

[IncrediblySadToo]

She tried out loads and both Ben & our piano teacher agreed this one was the best for her (there were lots more that were more expensive than this one, it wasn’t a sales pitch!) is your Ouano teacher not helping you beyond telling your DD not to get a Grand? I wouldn’t have bought one without our piano teacher as I have no clue to what to look/listen for, other than it sounding good when she played it & her liking it.

[barneymcgroo]

We bought ours through a long-trusted piano tuner - he knew of someone selling something decent. Worth asking around?

[Sgtmajormummy]

One piece of advice: GET A SILENT MODEL! It will save your (and any siblings’) sanity in the early years when they’re practising hard and in later years when they want to be on the piano at unsociable times.

We bought our 1970s upright Yamaha Hamamatsu (so made in the Japan, not China) through a small ad but asked the teacher to inspect it before we committed to buying. €1900 plus specialist delivery and tuning. That’s our home piano and we have a Casio electric piano for silent use.
When DC1 went to University he needed a piano. We found a piano restorer/craftsman who had several models in our price range of

[ooniebubble]

@IncrediblySadToo he’s away for the summer and we’re about to move house so wanted to fit the piano in before she’s back at school he’s very very fussy though hence my OP as not sure if Yamaha u3 is his go to model as he mentioned many of his other students have purchased them.

I can play things like Liszt etc so can work my way around a piano and I know what I like but that doesn’t mean it’s the better piano to buy,. Plus I didn’t realise new is better either. @Sgtmajormummy actually piano teacher did mention the Yamaha silent one.
Clearly I need to get myself into a store ASAP.

[growlingbear]

Oh, I misremembered the price. It was more like £6k. But that's well within your budget.

[unicorncupcake]

OMG with your budget and the space to buy one I would go baby grand all the way... we are looking at moving house in a couple of years and the rule is that we have to have a room big enough for a baby grand! Also the teacher sounds a bit bossy! Go and play some and see which ones you like surely? You’re clearly a good player if you can play Liszt etc, so go to a few showrooms and trust your instincts. The Yamaha showrooms in London are lovely.

[CoteDAzur]

"It is better to buy new. They never improve with age."

That is NOT true! A piano is not like a car. It will not lose value every year of its existence.

In fact, it's much better to but many good brands second hand, not because they "improve with age" but because back in the day they were built in Europe with higher quality expectations, and now most are put together somewhere in Southeast Asia. I've never heard of "Venables Pianos" but you can buy a second hand Seiler or Hoffmann piano built in Europe that sounds MUCH better than a brand new one for about 4-5K. These are high quality pianos with a great touch and excellent sound.

[MeltingSugs]

In terms of 'new' pianos, I quite fancy a Feurich. There are some lovely second hand pianos but it does depend why you are looking for. Often you never know how well they have been looked after, and you need someone who is very knowledgable in that domain that you can trust to give you decent advice.

I've never heard of Venables either. Equally, I know Yamahas are quite popular but I have never been a fan of them. Different strokes and all that.

[ooniebubble]

So I will go to Yamaha. Where else is worth going to try pianos? Have taken note of the stores on here too.

[ooniebubble]

www.chrisvenables.co.uk/yamaha-gb1k-baby-grand-piano/ anyone played one of these. I know it’s in the banned baby grand category but I’m definitely playing some when I visit these stores!

[WildRosie]

I expect a skilled pianist could make a mediocre instrument sound good whilst a less competent musician would make a Steinway B sound like Les Dawson had tuned it.

I have a Yamaha Arius YDP161. I've only been learning for just over a year and it still suits me. I love musical instruments, even though my playing repertoire is very limited for now. A Wurlitzer Electric Piano is on my 'would like' list.