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Interesting comment Dave F. My teacher, as you know is on his second S6, and he does have it voiced down a lot. So maybe there's a pattern here. But I know he won't give up the S6 for let's say a Steinway because he likes that particular tone of it.

As a contrasting story, when I was checking out an S400 ('90s), I didn't find it to be bright or have action issues, but the piano showed signs of heavy heavy use (worn down ebony keys). I thought it aged particularly well actually. It sounded great (consistent with a new S4). It wasn't a rebuild.

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df,

Teacher uses the S6 for recordings so he was very picky about it being a particular level of quality at all times. And even new, he's always constantly voicing the hammers down. I know what you mean about comparing it to the Hamburger. My ears are so attuned to the difference now that I now realize why I didn't pick an S4. But teacher does get a great sustained sound out of it. I think he likes it because it's like a signature sound for him.

You're 'Mr. Voicings' yourself so I can see why you'd lean to the D. I think Steinway is more suited for harmonic texture in Jazz, while the Yammie S6/S4 is great for playing the piano like a horn.

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The Yamaha S-series are very nice pianos indeed!

Real ebony sharps seem to have a bit of a comeback also on some much less expensive pianos, for example all Brodmann 6' grands up have them.

Not to be misconstrued as a 'reason' to choose a particular piano of course.....

But it does feel nice to 'walk on wood'....if offered as an extra bonus "for free"....

Norbert

Yamaha upgraded the C1 & C2 recently with the ivorite keytops, WPC sharps, and vertically laminated bridges (and a couple other things I forget ATM) to make them similar to the C3 and higher grands. Look for these changes on these models with a serial # of 6.2 mil or newer.

Dave,
On balance, 3-4 hours a day is not common in home use. A similar sized new Steinway B would need significant voicing and action work at 10 years of this kind of use IMO. Of course your 2 yo S&S D is at its peak and will stay there longer in that it is a foot longer and you play it easier to get the same effect.

IMO the Yamaha S6 is a tremendous piano and will reguire no more or no less voicing or regulating or rebuilding than most other models in its size or catagory.

In a parallel thread, opinions were tossed up that the CFIIIS is an attempt to clone the Steinway D.

Is the S6 (or C6) an attempt to clone the Steinway B?

IMO in the S6 they got come aspects better.

A B is still a B.

How much is the S4 and the S6 going for these days (street price) ?

Jerry

Piedmont Piano in Oakland has a very nice S6 you can try. My recollection is that the MSRP used to be in the $60's - some few months ago I noticed that S6 MSRP is now stated as something like $86k - wow! What an increase! So just precisely what the actual "street" price is is anybody's guess. I would certainly never pay anything close to the $66k they have posted on the price tag.

I would guess that one could purchase a Shigeru Kawai SK-6 for way, way less than the S6 - and in my estimation the Shigeru is far superior.

That's exactly what we hear from many of our own customers.

It's nothing 'against' Yamaha, but there seems to be indeed a signature sound that appears to prevail in virtually all their models.

Just check the treble in any of their pianos and see if you would agree.

May everyone make a choice that suits him/her best!

Norbert

Really Norbert?
And just how "many" customers come in to your store that own, or have owned an S6?

These are people that don't *own* them but *try* them.

High end customers do shop around....thanks God!

Perhaps we are guilty of often attracting the "non-Yamaha crowd" - who knows....

P.S. You didn't quote my last, most important sentence I wrote, so may I do it for you?

"May everyone make a choice that suits him/her best!"

Thank you!

Norbert

May I suggest Hailun or Brodman ?
Far superior than any Yammie S series as I've been told

After all, Brodman is now in the same tier as Yamaha.

The Yamaha S6 is the official piano of

Algonquin Hotel Oak Room (which bought its S6 recently) - legendary ritzy cabaret room

The Rubin Museum of Tibetan Art - major Manhattan cultural destination

Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space - NYC

Christ and St. Stephen's Church - popular Manhattan chamber venue

You can visit an S4 in residence at the Neue Galerie in the Café Sabarsky, on Fifth Avenue. It actually supplanted a Bosendorfer, about a year and a half ago, at the behest of the curators.

The S-Series is bangeroo -- achieving its own sound on its own terms.

As you've "been told"?
Yes well, be certain to listen to all you've been told! Don't dare think for yourself.

Methinks koiloco was doing his best Norbert imitation with tongue firmly in cheek ......