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Hi All,

So after studying for awhile I gather there are at least 3 classes of vertical pianos, those $8K and below, $8 - 15K and those above $15. Or so.

I'm in the $6 - 8K market. After looking at many of the decal pianos, I can spot the same one with 3 different names on it, and the price may vary $2500.

So within this market, does $2000 really mean anything as far as quality, workmanship or tone go?

Dave

Which piano have you seen with three different names?

So I'm thinking the only way to make a logical choice is to play each of the candidates and not worry about decal I may end up with.

What really bothers me most (and the wife is a stickler on this one) is that the salesman will tell me all about "we have our own factory" and fill me with fluff. So their making decals for everyone else or your full of doo-doo.

The safest thing I can do is just play them and listen to them, do other research, talk to the forum and ask the salesman respectfully to back off. If I pick yours, you get a sale.

Dave

A couple of years back, I visited a dealer to see Bechstein & Ibach.
In stark contrast he also stocked a shed-load of some bottom tier Chinese brand. Can't rememeber what it was but he had more than a dozen of these Chinese uprights.
So I was interested to try a few and he pointed me to one which he said was noticably better than the rest, on a par with Yamaha for sound. He was right. Good fortune had thrown together an under £2k piano that sounded like a £4k+ piano.

Good luck in your search.

AD, was that better Chinese brand Brodmann?

They were ALL the same brand, point being that even a duff Chinese upright manufacturer occasionally gets lucky and makes a better sounding instrument purely by chance.
Play lots of cheapies, you might find a jewel among the rocks.
I don't think the brand would have been Brodmann, not in the UK back in 2004.

If I had tried enough of Brand X's models to realize that I found one where the manufacturer "gets lucky and makes a better sounding instrument purely by chance" I'm not so sure that the luck and chance would convince me to buy the instrument. Better-sounding - and for how long? - is only one element of the equation.

Regards,

If you question about a $2k difference between one Chinese stencil and another is getting you more durability or performance, I would say no.

Do you absolutely not have room for a baby grand?

If not, then the highly regarded Yamaha U1 is certainly in your budget and worth paying more for over the Chinese units.

Absolutely no room for a grand. It's going in a 4th bedroom (my new usic room). What bothers me even more is that even though this 110 year old I'm playing now has sloppy keys and by most repairman's standards is junk, I don't think I am going to be able to match the sound quality out of it with anything in the $6K range.

Dave

"I don't think I am going to be able to match the sound quality out of it with anything in the $6K range."
What is it you are playing on now?
Many folks are enamoured with the booming bass and overall volume of some old uprights. What they fail to recognize is the sustain, dynamic range, repetition and consistency of touch that a new or newer instrument can offer.

Like I said, everything about the old Schaff Bro 55" upright is probably shot, but not the tone. Agree with everything else said.

Consider the Wm. Knabe WKV52. Under $7k. Full featured cabinet, big warm sound. Quality built by Samick in Korea.

Hey Craigen,

Just played a Knabe WKV-131 Saturday at a local shop. The listed price is WAY out of my range, however the $7400 price he offered it to me brought it back as a possibility. I like the action and certainly the tone far more than the Young Changs I looked at last month. Also looked and played a Kohler $ Cambell KC-131, which I'm told is one of the "best for the buck" out there in the $6K price range.