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Hello,

I'm an adult piano beginner.
I am now 22 and have had some piano learning experience when I was very young, but that was very shallow and short period. Right now I'm so retarded that still can't do C major scale fluently on the left hand, though it is fine when done in a low speed.

3 years ago, I began to re-play the piano after stopped playing for 10 years+++. At that time I bought a new digital piano, the Casio PX130 which was not expensive. I didn't go to study with any teacher and played by my own pleasure in that period. Due to my study at college, I didn't have such enough time to play and there was no an exact progression; I can play some pieces from memory, from first to last room, i.e. Bach's prelude no.1, Mozart's Sonata No.15 the first movement, Beethoven's Fur Elise, though all is technically incorrect, false in rhythm. And I still can't do any scales there.

3 months ago, I recognized that I should take a serious piano course because I didn't want to waste time more by playing alone without any supervision. I want to play some advanced piece as an amateur player. So I took the course and everything just went fine. My teacher said that I had a small progression, and that's a good first step.

The thing is that I still recognized the difference between my digital piano and an acoustic upright at my teacher's house. So I went to many piano sellers, both used and new. My piano has nothing come close to any of the wood models. After doing some search, a used Yamaha U3 series was very fascinating. But when I went to test U3, the used version, the brand new version and also the used U3 at my teacher's house, they were all different. I also played some of the higher yamaha models, they were all superior to the U3.

So I would like to know what model shall suite me. Should I buy new or used? Do I progress more with an acoustic piano than my digital piano? I do not have enough space for a grand or baby grand, so just discussing about an upright.

Thank you very much

Hello Tidal,

For sure, a decent acoustic piano brings much more than any digital piano to help you improve, especially in terms of control of the keyboard and dynamics. You won't regret it. And as you figured out, even similar models can offer different feel of touch and sound color. If you are unsure about doing the right choice for you, go test several models in your budget with your teacher or someone that is knowledgeable in acoustic pianos. Take your time to test many.

One thing that you have learned is that acoustic pianos vary in how they sound, from time to time, and often from sample to sample of even the same model.

every piano, even of the same model sounds different because no two pieces of wood are the same. Keep looking until you hear the sound that just makes you know you want that one

Don't get too flustered with C major scale. It is overrated. There are dozens of other ones which are far more enjoyable. Pick another one, not THE hardest.

If you are taking lessons, I would not worry about your present skills--they will improve once you have a piano to play on. Take your time and try as many brands as you can in your area. You did not mention your budget. Yamaha and Kawai each make a number of different uprights that might suit your needs, but they differ in quality according to size and price. The larger, most expensive ones usually sound and feel the best, but some posters here have said they preferred a smaller or less-expensive model to the more expensive, so it is a matter of personal taste. Used pianos can save you a lot of money, but they should be checked out by a qualified piano technician (not one that works for the dealership.) If you can find one, expect to pay for their time, but it can help you avoid a big mistake or they can at least tell you how much it might cost to fix any problems the piano has. This is especially important if you are buying from a private party. PianoMart and Craigslist have many pianos for sale that you might consider. Use the search on this site to see the posts others have made on questions similar to yours. There is a lot of advice here, most of it helpful. Good luck!

Thank you everyone for your generous comments.

I forget talking about budget. It is set around 6000-7000 USD (200,000 TBH and yes, I live in Thailand), which should not be exceeded. There are not so many choices here. A used market is full of Yamaha, while brand new Petrof, Kawai and Yamaha upper models are available, they are all over my budget.

U3 series do vary in price, indicated by variable manufactured year. The highest price point of the U3 is under my budget.

Here is what one professional musician in Bangkok selected:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6rajilVM4E

I had a very nice yamaha full size keyboard and I thought i would enjoy it when i bought it. I didn't want to spend the $ on an acoustic and thought a nice keyboard would do the work. however, after playing for few months, I just didnt feel satisfied with the sound and touch. I was frustrated with it and i found myself not really spending much, if any, time on it. i later sold it as it just had become a piece of furniture in my home. I thought I just didn't like playing piano that much.

about 5 years after I sold my digital keyboard, I thought i would really want an acoustic. my husband teased me that i was just buying another piece of furniture. he kept saying "it's gonna be just like your keyboard and you're going to just play it in the first month and then let it sit there. don't waste $."

I went through a long piano search (new, used, upright, small grand). I finally found "my piano". I have been having it for almost 3 months now and I found myself playing it more and more every day. My husband was really surprised that I would actually spend so much time on it.

There's nothing wrong with a digital piano. My point is - I have realized you have to find the piano (or any instrument) that *YOU* LOVE. My friend was happy with his digital keyboard and it just doesn't work for me. so everyone is differnt and you just need to find one that you fall in love with. a good instrument is REALLY IMPORTANT. It makes you WANT to play *MORE*.

Good luck to your search!

You have to spend some time playing them... I got a killer used Kimball for 2k -- Sohmer can be a deal too,

This may be true, but I can tell if I like something in a few chords and a scale or two. I think it depends more on the experience of the pianist. If you have limited experience or haven't started playing yet, then you may want to bring a pianist friend, teacher, or technician with you to help you assess the instrument and see if you like the sound it makes.

Morodiene, I sent you a PM.

With a few chords and scales, you can definitely tell what you don't want - and if you think it's a possible, then you need to play through a few repertoire pieces on it. Keep copious notes - otherwise you'll be confused.

The last time I went to the shop, I played some Mozart pieces that are currently studied. I realized the difference from model to model; touching response, control and sound. I prefer some models which have good control and not too heavily weighted. The number model I prefer is so confusing that I mess it up. From my memory, it's about Yamaha US50 or UX50. Never mind.

Does anyone know about Yamaha upper model, but not the recent YUS5, which is totally over my budget.

Thank you.