Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Adult Beginner in Singapore: Buying First Piano

This happened a long time ago. The new Steinway gallery is on the ground floor of Palais Renaissance, facing Orchard Road. You can't miss it!

maybe not, likely the mpa does the piano prepping when we were asleep, in the middle of the nite..

This thread is growing cold.

Digitus used to hold piano parties - parties where we can soil his Sauter Omega with curry sauce and oat meal. But since he'd gotten a domestic helper to take his Omega out for walks, retreated to a life of solitude ...

Snoopycar now frequent Geylang ... ahem ... JB 5 foot ways tuning people's lives and minds.

Roxane is busy earning $$$.

WzKit continues to exercise his pinky like Schumann

And Robert (ah ah ah HAH-CHIU!!! sorry, I've got an allergic nose so I'm sensitive to bullsh*t) needs a hearing test in the geriatric ward.

oh ya hor, i saw chiwahwah there too eating expansion durian .. hehe

Hi all. I currently have a Kawai K50-E from about 6 years ago and my tuner said that it seems like the wear-and-tear has taken quite a huge toll. The felt on the hammers are thinning away and the piano is getting gradually less and less refined. I'm doing my Diploma this year so I'm also hoping to get a better piano.

Because of space constraints (I live in an apartment where a grand piano would never fit in the elevator or the stairwell), it is not feasible for me to get a grand piano even though I would really like to get one. Anyway, they are also quite out of the price range because I'm looking for something, at the very least, comparable to the Yamaha C3.

Therefore, I'm looking for a great upright that matches my demands and needs. I've tried the Kawai K8AS and I must say the sound is absolutely stunning for an upright but I'm quite disappointed with the light touch and not very responsive touch. I've also tried an Albert Weber AW52 (made by Young Chang I think) which blew me off because of its responsiveness of the keyboard, unlike the Kawai. However, I'm a little skeptical about it because it has an extremely low price tag of $7000. I'm really tempted by its Renner action and hammers though. The sound's quite good but not as good as the Kawai. I've tried a few of Yamaha's YUS Range and I'm quite disappointed with the touch as well.

Can anyone recommend me some uprights (preferably about 52 inches tall) that I might be able to get locally? I know Steinways and the Bosendorfer 130 is good but I'll never be able to afford them as they retail for at least $70000.

Thanks in advance!

Ever tried some Sauters at Alvin's?

Norbert

Who's this Alvin everyone's talking about? Sorry I'm new here.

After a disappearance of almost 5 years, I'm finally back! And now with a Shigeru SK-6 to accompany my Sauter as well...

Don't you like the Sauter anymore?

Oh no, I love both! When I *was* first selecting my grand piano back in 2005, it was a close fight between Sauter and Shigeru. In the end the Sauter won out because of superior tone (to my ears), and I still feel that way. But I do think the touch of the Shigeru is more comfortable to play. So both have their strengths, and are ultimately very different pianos that suit very different kinds of music

What kind of music do you play on your Sauter, and what kind on the Shigeru?

Chopin, Debussy, Ravel and Mozart work very well on the Sauter's clear, sparkling, yet warm tone. For the Shigeru, its darker tone works particularly well for Rachmaninoff I think

Hi guys, my 1st post here. I'm totally new to piano playing but so looking forward to getting my 1st upright piano. Well budget is controlled as I'm a beginner hence seeking some input from the more experienced folks here.

My budget is 4K or less, cannot stretch anymore. Was crazily thinking of shelving out 9K for a new U1 but more level headed now haa.

I wonder if anyone had hands on experience with the Hailun uprights?
They certainly are within my budget bracket and had read some good reviews about them in the net. Thks in advance for your kind advices!

Regards,
V_blu

Thinking this is fair description.

For those interested: this was our last delivery of a new 6'1 Sauter grand few weeks ago:

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1982840/3.html

Norbert

Nice sounding Sauter. Mine is maturing quite nicely, very beautiful, pure treble with an incredible sustain

Why does this thread have 266 pages? Not that there's anything wrong with that...

It's a unique market. Singapore has a strong concentration of well-heeled and discriminating piano buyers, many of them semi-permanent foreign professionals with wallets and a love of classical music. A number of European makers who don't have much of a presence in the US now (like Sauter) have a bigger presence in Singagore. A large number of budget Chinese brands are available too, many of which are not sold in the US at all. Filling out the mix are the Japanese brands and the usual grey-market delicacies.

Even though the population of the island is only 5 mil, many piano shoppers from neighboring countries (like Malaysia) check in there when their limited local markets don't satisfy.

I thik it's more of a sub-forum than a thread, mostly locals in the know helping people not in the know. IMO one can learn a lot about trends from just lurking there.

@Turandot:

You've got it exactly right!

Have been referring back to this thread once every few months and I'm glad to see it has been "resuscitated" again! Never knew there were so many piano enthusiasts in Singapore.

My German piano is about 20+ years old and I've always loved it for its warm tone but it's been going a bit wonky of late(it's got this loud creaky sound whenever I hit a certain note) and I'm not sure if I should be refurbishing the insides(the soundboard?) or just consider getting a grand piano. I've started playing the piano quite a bit again of late so I'm seriously considering getting one, only budget-wise a bit tough cos most of the pianos I really like are beyond 30K 2nd hand piano wise, which pianos should I be looking at, does anyone know?

On a side note, I've tried out a few pianos previously and I think the brand new Grotrian has a lovely sound and touch.... but it's way beyond my budget of course..having said, if you guys are interested, the new Yamaha C3X(which has Bosendorfer hammer action or something, similar to the Steinway and Kawaii hybrid Boston I reckon) is worth giving a go.... i tried the C3 previously and always felt the keys felt plasticky.... but this one seems a bit different and it has a rounder tone as well.

Does anyone know where I can try for a 2nd hand grand other than Emmanuel and Sons?

Thanks!

You can try Asia Piano (@ Macpherson) and also Pristine Piano (at Jurong). Pristine Piano has restored Steinways, while Asia Piano would have an assortment of second-hand grand pianos depending on what is on hand.