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Some pics attached. I have a lot of thoughts that I will share later when I have some time. Note the price on the Bosendorfer 185 (and then adjust for 125 yen per U.S. dollar).
Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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Fancy looking store. More pictures?
Gary
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So, $80,000 for a Bosendorfer 185. Larry Fine puts that at $102,000 SMP. Maybe in Japan they don't negotiate?
Poetry is rhythm
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I do wonder what the "+" after the price means.
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Poetry is rhythm
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So, $80,000 for a Bosendorfer 185. Larry Fine puts that at $102,000 SMP. Maybe in Japan they don't negotiate? That price was not the only eye-opener. I looked at the final price for my C2X, and after all adjustments the "buy it in Japan and get it over to the U.S. anyway you can" price was under $19,000. The price difference were even larger with the bigger CX models. Maybe this is not surprising; When you add overseas shipping costs and reasonable dealer mark-ups it is going to cost more out of Japan. Some other observations: There seems to be some discussion in other threads about the relative value between the C2X and C3X. I played both side-by-side and other than a bit more low register in the C3X, the overall sound was very similar. Please keep in mind that these pianos were in a very large room so perhaps the differences would have been more discernible in a smaller room? The CF-series pianos were very nice, certainly way more expensive than the CX-series. But once again the differences were not easily perceptible. As for the Bosie, well, I think in ANY sized room anywhere in the world those differences will be easily discernible. At this point I have had the pleasure of playing on a half-dozen pianos in the $70K-$100K+ range. In all cases (even the Yamaha CF series) the Bosendorfer seems to be in a class of it's own. I should have brought Rich G. over here with me as my official piano tester.
Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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Fancy looking store. More pictures? I have a few more. I'll try to upload them later today. The wi-fi over here really sucks.
Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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So, $80,000 for a Bosendorfer 185. Larry Fine puts that at $102,000 SMP. Maybe in Japan they don't negotiate? That price was not the only eye-opener. I looked at the final price for my C2X, and after all adjustments the "buy it in Japan and get it over to the U.S. anyway you can" price was under $19,000. The price difference were even larger with the bigger CX models. Maybe this is not surprising; When you add overseas shipping costs and reasonable dealer mark-ups it is going to cost more out of Japan. Some other observations: There seems to be some discussion in other threads about the relative value between the C2X and C3X. I played both side-by-side and other than a bit more low register in the C3X, the overall sound was very similar. Please keep in mind that these pianos were in a very large room so perhaps the differences would have been more discernible in a smaller room? The CF-series pianos were very nice, certainly way more expensive than the CX-series. But once again the differences were not easily perceptible. As for the Bosie, well, I think in ANY sized room anywhere in the world those differences will be easily discernible. At this point I have had the pleasure of playing on a half-dozen pianos in the $70K-$100K+ range. In all cases (even the Yamaha CF series) the Bosendorfer seems to be in a class of it's own. I should have brought Rich G. over here with me as my official piano tester. This is very interesting Brian. I agree, the Bosie's I've tried are in a class of their own.
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Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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Brian, thanks for sharing and looking forward to hearing more! Looks like a beautiful showroom. So, $80,000 for a Bosendorfer 185. Larry Fine puts that at $102,000 SMP. Maybe in Japan they don't negotiate? I was asked not to share what I was quoted, but the prices I was offered on the new Bosendorfers that I checked out were much lower than what I'd expected from the Piano Buyer numbers. My guess is that it's related to the high dollar vs Euro right now? Based on my recent shopping experience, a Bosendorfer is less out of reach than folks on this forum seem to think!
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I must say that Yamaha stores in Japan are wonderful! I remember I've visited over ten of them over the past two decades. The one in Osaka is outstanding. I went there last month and the selection room is absolutely a paradise for piano lovers. The prices are nice too.
Apart from pianos, they got some little piano things like notepads, picture frames, tote bags, files and many more. The designs are special.
If you're going to visit Japan, don't forget to consider a Yamaha factory tour in Hamamatsu. Some of their guides can speak English. I visited their old factory in 2007 and then their new factory in 2012 (or 2013, can't remember exactly). The new factory is even more interesting. It's fantastic! It's not far away from Osaka or Nagoya.
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Brian, thanks for sharing and looking forward to hearing more! Looks like a beautiful showroom. So, $80,000 for a Bosendorfer 185. Larry Fine puts that at $102,000 SMP. Maybe in Japan they don't negotiate? I was asked not to share what I was quoted, but the prices I was offered on the new Bosendorfers that I checked out were much lower than what I'd expected from the Piano Buyer numbers. My guess is that it's related to the high dollar vs Euro right now? Based on my recent shopping experience, a Bosendorfer is less out of reach than folks on this forum seem to think! Oh boy, do NOT mention that! I just might go out and do something stupid...
Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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thanks for sharing! i would love to spend a night (or nights) in the store if they allow!
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You are welcome! Of course it is a store that contains a single brand of acoustic piano, yet given the different levels of performance (plus the Bosie!) I think a lot of folks on this forum should give it a look whenever in the greater Tokyo area.
Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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Brian, thanks for sharing and looking forward to hearing more! Looks like a beautiful showroom. So, $80,000 for a Bosendorfer 185. Larry Fine puts that at $102,000 SMP. Maybe in Japan they don't negotiate? I was asked not to share what I was quoted, but the prices I was offered on the new Bosendorfers that I checked out were much lower than what I'd expected from the Piano Buyer numbers. My guess is that it's related to the high dollar vs Euro right now? Based on my recent shopping experience, a Bosendorfer is less out of reach than folks on this forum seem to think! Yep, same experience here and even without any negotiation the price was EXTREMELY lower than the SMP. I think a 225 or a 200 are two excellent home instruments for any level of playing. :-)
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I was asked not to share what I was quoted, but the prices I was offered on the new Bosendorfers that I checked out were much lower than what I'd expected from the Piano Buyer numbers. My guess is that it's related to the high dollar vs Euro right now? Based on my recent shopping experience, a Bosendorfer is less out of reach than folks on this forum seem to think! Oh boy, do NOT mention that! I just might go out and do something stupid... Haha! They're still expensive pianos, just not as much as the SMP would suggest. Throw some dollars at your C2X in tech work if you feel any urge to upgrade
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That reminds me of visiting a store in Tokyo called (if I remember right) "Yamaha Piano World" in 1987, in the Shinjuku area. They had fabulous looking models with patterns inside the lids and other fancy decorations. Some were over a million yen. They were celebrating their 100th anniversary with some special models.
What do snowflakes and Chickerings have in common? There are no two exactly alike!
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I was asked not to share what I was quoted, but the prices I was offered on the new Bosendorfers that I checked out were much lower than what I'd expected from the Piano Buyer numbers. My guess is that it's related to the high dollar vs Euro right now? Based on my recent shopping experience, a Bosendorfer is less out of reach than folks on this forum seem to think! Oh boy, do NOT mention that! I just might go out and do something stupid... Haha! They're still expensive pianos, just not as much as the SMP would suggest. Throw some dollars at your C2X in tech work if you feel any urge to upgrade Seriously we are quite thrilled with our piano, but it is interesting to note that if you walked into that store and had room for a 185 cm piano (and money to spend) you would have a clear choice. The Bosie 185 is roughly double the price of the C3X. IMHO the performance of the 185 is nowhere near double (whatever that really means) that of the C3X, which is a fantastic piano for the money. But if you had the coin for it, and wanted the best piano performance from all those on that large sales floor, I can easily understand why someone would make that choice. I've had the wonderful opportunity to play two different Bosendorfers in the past 2 months. Even someone like myself with limited technical and aural piano skills can recognize what sets this brand apart from others.
Yamaha C2X | Yamaha M500-F Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others." Curriculum: Faber Developing Artist (Book 3) Current: German Dance in D Major (Haydn) (OF); Melody (Schumann) (OF)
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Seriously we are quite thrilled with our piano, but it is interesting to note that if you walked into that store and had room for a 185 cm piano (and money to spend) you would have a clear choice. The Bosendorfers definitely have a sensitive touch! I know the store you went to didn't have Schimmels, but I was rather impressed by the new ones and would have picked a K195 over the more expensive 185CS. (That's when I got sticker shock over how much a nice piano costs!) But so glad I flew to California and got Bo instead! Last night I was playing the Schubert "piano test piece" (Op 90, No 3) and it felt so natural and effortless to play, just like that 225 in Seattle, and it sings. (Okay, I'll shut up now, still in honeymoon phase now that Bo has been beautifully voiced!) Yay for having a piano that you love!!
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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