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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,035
4000 Post Club Member
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4000 Post Club Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,035 |
LarryK I applaud your quest to find a piano that will ‘blow you away’. Given our individual price constraints, I hope that is the path each of us will take. To have a piano that you love to play is so inspiring for practice and enjoyment in playing —- what ever your skill level
Happy hunting Thanks. It’s nice to know that expensive pianos do not reserve their charms for advanced players. Of course, advanced players can more easily show the beauty of more refined pianos than lesser players. I wish there was some possibility that an expensive piano would go up in value, but, alas, that won’t happen. My French violin doubled in value in the fifteen or twenty years that I owned it, which was a nice thing to have happen. Because of piano depreciation it means you can buy a fabulous used piano at an equally wonderful discounted price as Rick did when he bought his C7. Universities rotate their performance pianos on a regular basis.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia PX-330 My piano’s voice is beautiful!
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,376
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,376 |
Because of piano depreciation it means you can buy a fabulous used piano at an equally wonderful discounted price as Rick did when he bought his C7. Universities rotate their performance pianos on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, not. We're fortunate that our primary performance piano here is only 5 years old, but most university concert pianos I've played in recent years are over 15 years old, sometimes over 30 years old, and sometimes even more (with some parts replaced or partial or full rebuilding, with highly mixed results).
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,623
2000 Post Club Member
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2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,623 |
LarryK I applaud your quest to find a piano that will ‘blow you away’. Given our individual price constraints, I hope that is the path each of us will take. To have a piano that you love to play is so inspiring for practice and enjoyment in playing —- what ever your skill level
Happy hunting Thanks. It’s nice to know that expensive pianos do not reserve their charms for advanced players. Of course, advanced players can more easily show the beauty of more refined pianos than lesser players. I wish there was some possibility that an expensive piano would go up in value, but, alas, that won’t happen. My French violin doubled in value in the fifteen or twenty years that I owned it, which was a nice thing to have happen. Because of piano depreciation it means you can buy a fabulous used piano at an equally wonderful discounted price as Rick did when he bought his C7. Universities rotate their performance pianos on a regular basis. From seeing a few pianos in practice rooms at a music school, I don't think I would ever buy one. I believe those pianos get a lot of playing wear, and their fair share of abuse. Not everybody can buy used. Some people have to buy new so that other people can buy used.
Last edited by LarryK; 11/18/19 04:52 PM.
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,035
4000 Post Club Member
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4000 Post Club Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 4,035 |
Because of piano depreciation it means you can buy a fabulous used piano at an equally wonderful discounted price as Rick did when he bought his C7. Universities rotate their performance pianos on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, not. We're fortunate that our primary performance piano here is only 5 years old, but most university concert pianos I've played in recent years are over 15 years old, sometimes over 30 years old, and sometimes even more (with some parts replaced or partial or full rebuilding, with highly mixed results). Glad you corrected me. I guess I confused universities with European concert halls that I was told replace their concert grands every few years. Our university bought 2 really nice used grands recently. One was a 2016 Schimmel C189 and the other was a 2016 Steinway B. So maybe universities buy up nice used performance pianos instead of sell them. Oh well.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia PX-330 My piano’s voice is beautiful!
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 13,760
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Glad you corrected me. I guess I confused universities with European concert halls that I was told replace their concert grands every few years. Our university bought 2 really nice used grands recently. One was a 2016 Schimmel C189 and the other was a 2016 Steinway B. So maybe universities buy up nice used performance pianos instead of sell them. Oh well. j&j, I understood exactly what you were saying. I think the distinction/point should be made that even very high-end, very expensive pianos have limitations, in that they can be worn out in a relatively short period of time, depending on their purpose, location, and how hard/often they are played. Getting back to the auto comparison, I believe they change out the engines in the NASCAR race cars after every race, and sometimes during the race. Not sure this changes anything regarding "what do you get when you pay more". I guess it depends on who "you" actually is, and how much you actually pay...  Rick
Piano enthusiast and amateur musician: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". Yamaha C7. YouTube Channel
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 6,217
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The University piano practice rooms used to be looked after by a supervisor when I was there .On the whole music students were "different"to other students.Deliberate abuse of a piano just never happened .Every piano was cared for by the supervisor.At least in when I was there. There were Steinway and Yamaha grands. Also quite a few Steinways uprights. In the university concert hall there was a Steinways concert grand.(or semi concert ?)That one was really a wonderful piano.
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,614
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Given our individual price constraints, I hope that is the path each of us will take. To have a piano that you love to play is so inspiring for practice and enjoyment in playing —- what ever your skill level To me, that's where it's at. And to answer the original question: IMHO there's no direct relationship between 'high price' and "being blown away" In fact, many high priced pianos can be - and often are - very disappointing. Case of "emperor without clothes?" You judge. Remember the sometimes considerable price difference AMONG high priced pianos themselves will not be indicative of which piano you personally will end up liking best. Rest assured in this business you certainly don't always "get what you pay for" even though most commission based salesmen want you to believe that. As a result outright disappointment can and is often the end result. The piano you as player, will " connect with" is something slightly different. It's not just infatuation but real love. Something you can feel when playing it. Less dramatic perhaps, but much more 'real' Your inner voice will make this choice: it may very well be a piano you least expected to be. Perhaps you found it by coincidence somewhere and didn't follow the normal roads of "logic". This fact, IMHO gives unique power to buyers and pianists alike, something the industry doesn't exactly seem to encourage you to explore. Fact is you don't have to follow what someone else or the industry is telling you or wants you to believe. Your heart will know and it will always be honest with you. Never forget, you have the voice and the "power" within.
Last edited by Norbert; 11/18/19 09:06 PM.
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 619
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JazzyMac, you don't have to be skilled to enjoy a nice piano. I bought a Yamaha U1, I had only been taking for a year. It sounded a bit like a tin sound if there is such a thing. I turned it in within the first month and bought the YUS 5. I am on my 6th year of lessons. I may never be able to play what the piano is capable of, however it is truly a joy to play. This will be my life time piano, I'm 59 and this is good enough for me. I consider it for me a high end compared to what I could have paid for a piano, others may consider it a low end. What is important is if you like it. I had a $600 keyboard when I started and about 6 months later bought a Clavinova which I still have and play. I like to use the headphones, my husband appreciates it. If it dies I would get another one.
Deb "A goal properly set is halfway reached." Zig Ziglar
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 619
500 Post Club Member
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500 Post Club Member
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Posts: 619 |
Larry, not at all. No different than an average golfer getting a high end set of clubs to play. Do what you enjoy, you certainly don;t have to be good at something to get a high end product. The way I play I am not deserving of a YUS 5, but it's fun and brings me hours of enjoyment. I know people who have great fishing boats, but are not very skilled at fishing. Have fun and enjoy life!
Deb "A goal properly set is halfway reached." Zig Ziglar
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 Re: Pianos - what do you get when you pay more?
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,623
2000 Post Club Member
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2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,623 |
Larry, not at all. No different than an average golfer getting a high end set of clubs to play. Do what you enjoy, you certainly don;t have to be good at something to get a high end product. The way I play I am not deserving of a YUS 5, but it's fun and brings me hours of enjoyment. I know people who have great fishing boats, but are not very skilled at fishing. Have fun and enjoy life! Thanks, I agree. As long as I enjoy the thing and use it, I don’t have a problem with buying a high end product. I used to buy Leica cameras and lenses. Did I have the photographic skills of Henri Cartier-Bresson? No, but I used my gear and I appreciated the quality of German manufacturing. I’ve never regretted the money I’ve spent on high end instruments. I play my guitars every day, on a rotation, and I played my violin every day when I owned it. It would be the same for the piano. It would be something I enjoyed every day, just like you.
Last edited by LarryK; 11/18/19 09:51 PM.
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