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Jordan Kitt's is one of the places I looked for a piano and was indeed pummeled with a lot of advertising for this. They gave me 9.99% interest. I liked their Boston 118s the best. They also had Yamaha which I am also intersted in. Any recommendations on Yamaha models? I was in and out of the store so didn't have too much time.

The Boston is nice. If you do go Yamaha look at the T118, P22, and U1.

By the way, pianopuzzled, did you see any of the new brands they are going to be carrying in the future when you visited? Or, are they waiting to liquidate everything first?

Yamaha's S-Series pianos are sold at similar or higher price points. Its Conservatory Line runs through quite a range, too. High-quality, not cheap. Additionally, Yamaha is the other brand which can continue in the "C&A" realm with JKM. It can supply concert halls, recording studios, special events, besides selling broadly to consumers.

Indeed, that appears to be the reason. Here's something I read in Music Inc.:

"Jordan Kitts executives said they believe acquiring the Yamaha piano brand played a large part in losing Steinway at its D.C.-area stores."

“Some months ago, Jordan Kitts Music had an opportunity to replace its mid-level Japanese piano offering, Kawai, with Yamaha after a competitor left the market,” said P.J. Ottenritter, Jordan Kitts’ vice president of sales and marketing. “At the urging of our sales associates and music educators, this substitution was made, and Jordan Kitts was subsequently informed by Steinway that they would be seeking other representation in metropolitan Washington.”

I have been thinking about getting a Steinway here. I am told by a friend of mine in the piano industry that for any large company to support five big stores like Jordan Kitts has in the DC area without Steinway in this economy is going to be quite difficult.

Yes - unless you are a Yamaha dealer.

It becomes a sad state in the world when "music educators" recommend Yamaha over Kawai. It seems that marketing hype has overtaken mindful evaluation.

I really don't care how anyone rants on me, as a performing pianist and teacher, I consider the Kawai to be well superior to Yamaha.

If I were in the Kitts' sales area, I would direct my students and parents, who are in search of a piano, to the dealership which is now selling Kawai. They might also find Steinway, Boston, and Essex.

How mindful you are recommending "Boston" and "Essex"! LOL!

I don't know if this was directed at me, but, I will reply.

I did not recommend them, I mentioned that the shopper might find them to try.

Why?

Hi un-named "Coorinator" as the "Director of (US) Yamaha Artist Services, Inc.",

I am happy to answer your question as to "Why?"

Yahama pianos have a big sound, but, it is without substance and depth. The core of the tonal voice is missing and it is mere surface bluster. In my experience, I have yet to find a Yamaha which I can dig into and find it's true sound. A C7 doesn't have the guts to respond to Brahms op. 118.

On a larger Kawai, I can dig in and the piano responds with depth and color, and not just surface fluff. In the same price range, I suggest that shoppers look at Kawai and not at Yamaha. RX-7 or C7, it all holds true even with the smaller grands.

I am not the least bit hesitant to critique the product you represent. I speak my mind as a pianist.

I have to say that I agree with Marty about Yamahas. I had been wanting to jump in on this debate, but had been unable to put my feelings about Yamahas into words. Marty has spared me this task by verbalizing what I had thought about Yamahas. I know they have their devoted fans--indeed, that is how I learned about them, by playing a relatively new one that belongs to friends who love it--but I simply do not like how they sound. I am less familiar with Kawais, so don't feel qualified to compare them to Yamahas.

I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, I don't think that what Marty in Minnesota states is accepted as a common denominator when people discuss Yamaha pianos. I for one think that the grands from the C series are awesome pianos with depth and expression. Furthermore, they are long-lived, stable, and have a predictable aging history (no major nasty surprises). They are more brilliant than the Kawais but, in terms of most recent production (I played a new C3 recently), nicely so, not in the sense of the old cliche that says Yamahas are piercing and bright. In terms of quality, Yamaha and Kawai seem to be on a par with Kawai having a slight advantage in the innovation department with their Millenium action and the Shigeru line. However, with Yamaha and Kawai it comes down to individual taste in my view.

Back OT, I don't think Kitts really is that into selling their pianos. I had to laugh at the "double digit" discount---they are offering only 10% and trying to make that sound like a big deal. But as we know, it's certainly possible to negotiate more than this, it's just that it won't be offered without considerable effort on the part of a highly motivated buyer if at all. My 2 cents.

You don't have anything concrete to say how "bad" Yamaha is so you resort to using vague words that have no meaning to anyone other than yourself. That demonstrates the emptiness, lack of substance and depth of your post It's obviously full of sour grapes and loser mentality.

To put it simply:

A large chain Jordan Kitt would rather dump Steinway to get Yamaha. Isn't it clear enough who is the winner? :P

how do you know it's not Steinway dumping Jordan Kitts?

Technically it's Steinway "canceled" the contract but that's a result of JK getting Yamaha. I don't believe JK didn't know they would lose Steinway if they get Yamaha. They still went ahead and got Yamaha. So effectively it is the same as they dumped Steinway to get Yamaha.

Kawai may have the edge over Yamaha on innovation with their Millenium action. But Yamaha still has the edge on execution of the design where it counts most - on the showroom floor and in the home. Yamaha actions are always flawless in my experience - as good as it gets. Kawai, not so much, often presenting with the odd clicking key or sticking pedal etc. No big deal but this is where Yamaha gets it's reputation. Their pianos are well made and well prepped. And they sound fine to me. I think Marty is maybe a little over the top on his assessment of the Yamaha sound but, hey, his opinion is as valid as anyone else's as this is a purely subjective matter.

I've been to Steinway dealers who also carry Yamaha. Do we really know all the details here?