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fj_s,

if Wilh. Steinberg makes better piano than Yamaha/Kawai, $2k for 7 yr old not too bad hor.. but still must see the model and condition lah..

I think he said it's $2k out of his budget. Not sure what his budget is though. ;-)

And yes, must see model and condition.

If it were $2k and only 7 years old, and regularly tuned, it would be a ridiculously good deal... ;-)

ya ya..i know it's beyond his budget..i was jus commenting that the first deal was quite good based on fj_s comment..not saying he should choose the first one..

anyway, jnchoy, if this is your first call, should look ard for more option..

My budget is below $5K.. so the wilh. steinberg piano asking is about $7K. Didn't know that Steinrich is out of production already. Thanks so much for the information if not i would have been conned..

I went to take a look at the wilh. steinberg piano yesterday. last tuned was a year ago. However, the keys sound out of tuned so i couldn't really appreciate the sound made by the piano. Forgot to look at the serial number.. but remember from the card the owner shown been, the piano had been tuned about 7 times.. so i suppose now is the 8th year. Some strings looked "black" when i check the interior - i'm not sure if that is consider as rusty or just dirty.. Urmm.. how huh?

I think the price is negotiable but i dun want to buy back a piano with rusty strings.. In addition, i'm not sure if it's wise to spend more than $5K on a first piano and I'm still a beginner. My hubby say wait until i can play until "chu shen lu mo" than invest on a better piano. I agree with him but I was thinking nice to have a good piano right at the beginning.. maybe can motivate me better?

Or should i buy those more than 20 years Yamaha or Kawai piano from used piano shops?

7k add another $300 can buy k3 liao, new one somemore, no need to worried so many things..

Hi Nikkie, I went to look at K3 before and I was totally pissed off by the service at Robert piano both in Centrepoint and the one at Millenia Walk. I think they look at people with their nose up high. I will never buy a Kawai!

Actually my hubby like the sound of Kohler & Campbell and wilh steinberg piano when we tried at Chiu's piano. The new steinberg is $16K!! Way beyond my budget (which is why i thought of a 2nd hand). The Kohler & Campbell piano is around $7.5K. But I am concern if it's a good piano as i read review saying that Yamaha U1 is a better piano. But I dun quite fancy Yamaha piano sound leh..

i guess Robert Piano has different service standard..jus luck..

i've a few link tat rate pianos, but not sure how trust worthy they are. Just for info..

http://www.serve.com/marbeth/piano_brands.html
http://www.thepianoreview.com/piano-ratings.html
http://pianoshop.co.uk/info/ratings.php

Perhaps u may still want to look around for more comparison.

Hope it helps.

Pertaining to certain specimens of Homo sapiens i.e. THAT particular one, it's the aftermath of plastic surgery gone horribly wrong!

Didn't you see the triple eyelids as well ... I mean at the navel?

very curious lei..which one, man or woman?? millenia walk one??

a. Black strings sound like a warning sign. Usually shouldn't happen unless the owner didn't really take care of the piano.

b. For $5000 you can buy a good china/korean piano, a used U3 from a reputable store, or a very very good digital. This includes a high end Yamaha or Kawai with wooden keys.

A digital can be silent and never goes out of tune, but the touch is different (less connection to the sound, plus the sound doesn't quite envelope you). In terms of touch sensitivity, it won't be as good, but it has other good features going for it. If you can get a good upright, I would always recommend it, but if not, a digital is quite good too.

c. I've gotten great service at Robert Piano at every branch I've been to. (Millenia Walk, Parkway, Centrepoint) I got to try every piano, no pressure sell, rare bad mouthing of other pianos (limited to factual feature comparison usually), and I could play as long as I want on every piano. I would probably recommend people to go back there. Perhaps YMMV.

fj_s, maybe u look pro so they don't dare to raise their nose..or u wear coat tat day??? ha ha...

Actually from the descriptions of various forumers it seems that the service at Robert Piano is random and depends on the mood of the sales person that day. Perhaps I am lucky to be there every time when they are in a good mood.

(Though apparently Chopin is a favourite of many of the sales people, so playing that puts them in a good mood. For example, at Centrepoint, one of the sales people was commenting to her colleague that Chopin's Etude Op10/3 was her favourite work.)

Most of the employees apparently worked there for quite a while, and it's not very commission based also, so they also quite bo chap, but it means that if you like pianos and are polite, they will respond positively.

Anyway they probably have one of the better product lineups around (i.e. wide range catering to a wide array of budgets), so they probably rely on that to sell more than anything else. Hence, I wouldn't write off Robert (they sell a good product at a decent, but not fantastic price) so quickly just because of that. In fact, if I ever have enough space, I might buy a grand from there. (The RX1 and RX2 are very nice indeed.)

jnchoy,

Your hubby is an important stakeholder. Remember, he's the one having to listen (possibly to nasty, repetitive scales, and dissonant chords) while the others practice! So it's useful to have a tone that he likes.

For example, some people get very annoyed with bright tones. Others find the rumbling of a low bass very disturbing.

While you're at it, you may also consider saving $200+ and buying him a good set of noise canceling earphones.

went to someones place to service piano, and was glancing through the bookshelf and a saw an erotic massage illustrate book .. you know who you are ... kerkerker...
no big deal right? everybody must have one right ??

Hi fj_s/Nikkie, I wouldn't want to talk about my experience at Robert piano. Very tiring to even think about it. Perhaps i should not wear t-shirt and jean shirt and also to look like i will definitely spend my money there. Anyway, i prefer to talk about good service - Chiu Piano very good. Forgot that guy name.. was it william. So good. I went there like 3 times and he happily still explain to me patiently on the piano.. at one point i almost just want to spend $16K on the wilh. steinbach piano.. haha.. even thought of schimmel.. lucky managed to get myself back to the real world. Yamaha good also. They leave you to play and if you ask question they will answer in a very non-judgemental tone. Of course, they will just say their piano is the best lar.

Today talked to my new piano teacher.. apparently she had a Asahi that she used for 20 over years and she still got a degree in piano. So I was thinking actually any piano that has been established for some years would be good enough for me.

Maybe i should be more open-minded to look at new China or Korean piano that is below $5K range - any recommendation? Tot of those 20++years Yamaha piano but not sure on how long more the piano can "survive"..

If u see our Q&A earlier on (abt 2pgs b4 this), U can see fj_s comments on the Weber (bought over by Korean Brand but made in China).

I've tried PearlRiver, don really like it.

I've been to Chiu's Piano, ya they're nice pple. Tried the China made brand. Not too bad, but price still not good enough. Plus i didn't do much research on those brand.

My tot is if i'm buying China made brand, not only it must be cheap, but sound must be comparable (to me lah) to Yamaha or Kawai (Kiasu mindset, cheap n good).

So eventually, whether it's service, the piano look, the touch, the sound, I think I get a good deal.

Don't want to name it here, already mentioned many times before, else pple think why i keep promoting for them.

Maybe u want to try out yourself.

Cina brand hv a price point to attain. Its economically priced ~3k. Generally have good german strings, nice parts. But my experience is it need to be worked on(reprep) to make to nice to play on, which i mean smooth to press, no double strikes, proper damper lift timing.... prepare to pay tech 4~10hrs of work
End result is very nice tonal timbre, buttery key touch, good n cheap. Try my pearlriver 118(a sample of what i can do) and you will know what i mean. <- is this subtle advertising? paisay..

your teacher hv Asahi for > 20yrs!! Nice to know.
So now you know it's not necessary to have a kawai or yamaha exam model to start learning jay chow ... hehehe

First, a good tech can do a lot to bring a cheaper piano up to scratch. This is particularly true for the newer Chinese pianos (as opposed to the older ones made say 10+ years ago that can't hold a tuning no matter what the tech does.) Good voicing and good regulation on a cheaper piano can make it better than an expensive piano that has not received as much care.

That being said, it also means you pay slightly more for maintenance (but the total may still come up to be worth it.)

Second, a 10-yr old Yamaha/Kawai would still have many years (say 20+) left in them if well taken care of. So don't worry too much about that either. The main thing is to (again) get a good relationship with a good tech.

Third, remember, it's the pianist, not the piano that makes the most difference! Chopin wrote many compositions on a not-very-good upright piano, for example.

Actually, not only China pianos need to be worked on. It seems that the double strike problem is very common and also exist in other pianos (for example, another forumer once owned a Kawai K8 which also had double strike problems).

It seems like in Singapore, the dealers rarely prep the pianos before they send it over to your house. So, effectively, is whether your dealer do a good job, have the technicial abilities and willingness to put in the effort to help you prep the pianos and ensure everything is in place or not, and not so much on what brand you are getting.

But, of coz the more your pay for the piano, the greater their profit margin and hence the more willing they are to entertain your "im chim" request. Right?


Likewise:-
Is just like a chicken rice in coffeeshop is $3. You want, you buy. You complain too oily, then don't eat lah.

But in a highclass hotel restuarant. You order chicken rice. You may pay $30++ (service charge lah). You complain too oily, service very good, take it back and serve you another plate.

But the chicken that is served to you, might have just came from the same country, fed the same way what...