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I am deciding between two used KAWAI KS-3F and had a hard time deciding which one to buy. One of them have a "Good" rating in terms of its tone as compared to "excellent" rating in terms of its touch, structure and tuning stability; whereas the other one have a "Good" rating in terms of its tuning stability as compared to "excellent" rating in terms of its tone, touch and structure. Would appreciate if anyone can highlight which would be a better choice? Thank you.

hi soarer,

where did you see the ratings from? the shop rated its own pianos? if so, i will definitely be questioning its independence.

Hi Gothique, the ratings were from christofori. Their sales person told me their own technicians rated the used pianos they import from Japan. You think I can trust their ratings?

Hi Soarer

We have bought a diapason from there before. overall good experience with them.

Personally tone is very important to me. So I will go for the one with the tone that I love.

As for tuning stability, I'm no technician so I can't comment. Personally i will just check that the piano is in reasonable tune, and that the internally the tuning pins, strings etc look OK then i might just go ahead with it.

good luck on your purchase!!

Hi Gothique,
Thanks for the reply!! Will go down this weekend to test on the piano again.

hi how does one rate the k5 upright?

What's an upright grand? What is the model?

hi,

could anyone please list me the name of shops in singapore that sells pianos, besides singapura plaza. I will be moving back next year and I need info on piano prices etc.

it would be great if any of you have the websites, price lists etc.

thanks
Amelia

Gothique... when I was there last year, if I am not mistaken, I spoke to a gentlemen by name of Mr. Chng.

hi Jay...

Thanks, I will get in touch with him after Christmas I think.

Hi Amelia,

There are lots of shops that sell pianos but I think website/shop doesn't give you the price list! Straits Times classifieds has a lot of adverts for pianos on Sat mornings, you should take a look and start from there.

Hi Digitus

Upright grand is just a upright that is higher than a certain height... to me I would only consider those 131 cm and above as upright grand but I guess you can see that Sweetz piano is 125cm but she also calls it upright grand. I'm not sure if there is any guideline for calling an upright an "Upright Grand", maybe someone else can enlighten!

Still searching for my piano! It's taking longer than I thought!

Yes, the owner is Mr Chng. He runs the shop with his wife. He is a nice guy. I went there recently and was looking at the back of a piano. He immediately try his best to shift the piano for me to see even though it's so heavy.

But I have to say the terms he offered wasn't ideal with warranty of 1 year and only 1 free tuning (from what I've read, pianos need a couple of tunings before they "settle down" in a new place). I didn't bargain coz I intend to visit other places first.

Don't worry, Digitus. Your K8 is an upright grand too

Hi Indigo,

Mr Chng sounds nice. After all the recommendations, I will definitely take a look after Christmas.

As for tuning,maybe it's better to get a good tuner and pay him rather than take free tuning from the shop.

True, especially if you already have a tuner whom you trust.

Hi! Soarer
I saw the used piano at christofori, they look good. But the only question is that all the used piano is re-conditioned. I not sure is there any issuse on that( meaning can it last). It is true that the piano sound good and the internal look good. Can anyone comment on re-condition piano.

Hi Scalar

FYI, Not all used pianos are re-con. There is a difference between reconditioned used piano and repair/touched up used piano.

I would consider Cristofori's used pianos as touched up or repaired. But maybe some pianos at E & Sons is considered reconditioned. Involves some complex stuff like changing all the strings. Personally I am also not very comfortable to buy reconditioned piano.

Hi Gothique:

The question I asked was a leading question. There is no such thing as an upright grand.

The term is used as a sales gimmick. Calling an upright an "upright grand" is not meaningful because the action of a modern upright is fundamentally different from that of a grand piano. Yes, the hammers still strike the strings, but the mechanics are not the same.

Classification of an upright as an "upright grand" because it is taller is also not meaningful.

A couple of manufacturers try to mimic a grand piano's faster repetition rate by using specially designed actions, but that's about as close to a grand piano that an upright can get, action-wise.

Heheh! Welcome to the club. In the end I just went for a new K-8 because I didn't have the time nor patience to trawl through the shops and classifieds to locate a decent second-hand piano. If you read some of the threads in the Piano Forum you'll see that some people have taken months and months to find an instrument they like!

Reconditioned or rebuilt pianos are not that much of a risk if the technician doing it is competent. Mr Kwan at E&S is good at his craft. Go visit his shop and talk to him, see what he's got.

Hi Digitus

Yeah I agree with you, an upright is an upright, regardless of whatever they call it! But I guess it's just a shortcut I use so that the shop knows I am looking for a taller upright.

are you talking about the variable touch piano from kawai? well same as you, I'm not sure how much they can mimic the grand piano action! (ie I have my doubts)

and yep i saw that someone took 10 mths, but i think i will be pretty uncomfortable without a piano for 10mths... will have to keep going elsewhere to practice rather than at home.

and lastly on Mr Kwan, we almost got a piano from him. Personally I felt that his pianos is really old... perhaps for collector. No doubt he know what he is doing and have really unusual pianos. It's almost theraputic to drop by and get lost among the pianos in his shop.