Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum 1964 HAMAHA or 2010 Young Chang?

Hello, I am looking to buy a used upright piano. There are two options now.

Option 1: 1964 Yamaha, wood color, $1,300 (piano) + $200 (delivery). The sound and feel of keys are still great. It looks well maintained but the design looks old.

Option 2: 2010 Young Chang, ivory color, $700 (piano) + $600 (delivery). It is pretty because it is newer and it has a beautiful ivory color. It looks not well maintained because it looks bit dirty with food remains, which can be easily cleaned though. The seams between keys are not quite even. The sound and feel of keys are not bad.

Which one should I choose? I will go look at a Kawai this afternoon and will post its information once I have it. I think I will pick one from the three.

From the description, I would like the Yamaha, although its old age could be a concern.

Have you checked that there are no cracks in the soundboard, and the bass bridge and treble bridge?

Have you taken photos of the pianos?

Thank you for the response. Here are some pictures.

yellow_yamaha_and_white_young_chang

Thank you for the response. Here are some pictures. https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0M5Uzl7VJJQZgv

Have you played them both? When buying any used piano, condition as far as wear and tear is everything. You don’t want to buy any piano that will need expensive repairs to keep it playable and you certainly don’t want a piano that’s not a pleasure to play. Play them both and if you enjoy playing both get both checked by your own piano technician. Which one I would pick is pretty irrelevant. Best Wishes for a happy piano adventure!

Both the Yamaha and the YC look like basic continental console models, (no legs/toe blocks), as far as I could tell... so they are similar in that regard.

Based on my own personal experience, I would be inclined to choose the Yamaha, despite the age difference. But that is just me, and not you. What matters here is what YOU like the best.

I also agree that it would be worth another $100 or so to have the one you select inspected by a qualified piano technician before purchase, even if being sold by a dealer or tech.

Good luck to you, and welcome to Piano World!

Rick

I'll put my hands up and say I don't like Young Chang pianos, at all. However, when comparing a piano that is 60 years old (almost) with one that is only 10 years old, I'd say that I'd be inclined to go for the newer, more modern piano - if these were the only two pianos in the world. The Yamaha may have been originally better but of course 1964 is a very long time ago.....

Why is "delivery" for the Young Chang going to cost $600 ? Do you know the specific model number of the YC? Should be inside on the plate - and is different than the serial number.

The Ivory finish may look nice (once cleaned up), but the piano will be more difficult to sell in the future because of it.

Are you sure the YC is from 2010? That piano looks older than 10 years in the pictures, at least quickly scanning through them.
I'm not particularly excited by either prospect for the price. If your budget is $1,500 or less, I would consider what's out there in the digital piano realm for comparison, particularly if you don't have the funds to regularly maintain the pianos. That budget would get you a high-end digital "slab" piano or a slightly better than entry-level console style one.

I would choose the Yamaha over the YC based on your description and the photos. It sounds like the YC was treated rather poorly. Kawai also makes a nice upright.

Where are you located that you have only two options, each of which seems to have issues? Are there not more and better choices for you to consider?

Regards,

That's my question, as well. My choice is neither, lol.

Thank you for the wishes. Yes, I played them. I actually enjoyed both of them.

Thank you all for giving the suggestions. Since I can only post every 5 minutes, I will post my third option here before responding your questions.

Option 3: 2009 Kawai K3, $1,800 (piano) + $200 (delivery). It has a small dent on the side, but still looks pretty overall. One key is slightly out of tuned. The sound is loud and sharp and is sharper than the other two pianos.
Picures: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0MGrq0zwPwPeu
Video: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0eV7IrcibxRCJpQWJgaFFkknA#San_Jose

BTW, here is the video for the YC. The sound seems softer. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0DmQczbDqQ-Ly7U-5tH4fcOmQ#San_Francisco_-_Portola

Hey,

You can see that there are a number of people willing to offer some opinion and insight. The more information you can provide the better advice you will receive. There might be other options in your area if you are willing to divulge your location. Someone may scour the "for sales" for you and pick out another that you should try.

I'm no expert, just a hobbyist player. What I have learned from the experts here is that current condition really is what matters even if one piano was significantly better than the other initially. But some pianos are of poorer build quality from the get go that even moderate use will have then really beaten up after 20 years. A 1964 Yamaha is not something that has been discussed a lot here from my memory either. The continental styles are not as robustly made either from what I have learned here.

This is where your budget starts to play into your options. If $1500 is maxed out, all in including maintenance, there is definitely some validity to the argument that a new or newer digital piano might offer you more bang for the buck. And no maintenance either. If you don't have the ability to pay $150-200 a year for tuning the digital; again points in favor of the digital. Also what use are you proposing, beginner, intermediate, off to college in a year or so and want to take it with you, late night practice in an apartment building? So a lot of ideas to bounce around. Enjoy your search and keep us informed.

NEW INFO:

The Kawai K3 is a much better candidate if it checks out.

The K3 is a far better piano, but that case damage is fairly obvious. Both pianos badly need tuning, at least.

Honestly, the Kawai would be your best choice of the three although you would need to have it tuned and voiced.

Check out the Yamaha P515 digital as well, or the Kawai ES8, Roland FP60 or 90, all of these might be better options than these pianos.

The 2009 Kawai K-3 would be nice, if it is still within your budget. And it has a Millennium III Action.

How is the wear on the hammer surfaces. They have some grooves?

They appear to be in the photos, if you zoom in. Nothing that a light bit of filing and voicing couldn’t ameliorate. But the buyer would want to budget for a few extra hours of tech work, besides tuning), with someone experienced in this sort of work.

@Carey: The YC is farther from my home and it is on the second floor, so the delivery is more expensive. Its model number is E-102.
@terminaldegree: The inspection tag on the YC piano says it was built in 2010. Thanks for the suggestion on extra hours of tech works on the Kawai.
@BruceD @ebonykawai: I am located in San Francisco Bay Area. There are many more options, but they are either beyond my budget or have lower quality than these three. Also, visiting the piano owners is a time-consuming thing.
@supersport: I learned one year piano long time ago. Because I now moved in a house, I would like to pick up what I have learned. However, I have a busy job, so I won’t spend much time on playing piano and don’t want to invest too much on it.
@3am_stargazing: Yes, there are grooves. The previous owner played it a lot at home.

Updates: I thank all of you for your helpful suggestions! After I negotiated with the Kawai owner who has to get the piano sold quickly, the price was reduced to $1,600. I have just accepted the offer, because you guys in the forum all agreed this is a good piano. I am so excited that I will have a real piano again!