I was looking to buy a grand for my 2 kids and I asked a question on this forum last week. A friend of mine with one kid who used to play piano, knew I was looking and offered me his used grand. Young Chang G185 6’1” serial #050574 bought new in 1991 for $4,800. He is the 2nd owner and bought this piano in 2012.
He didn’t tell me exactly how much he is asking for his piano. Whatever I’m willing to give him he will accept, he said. I want to give him what’s fair. The question is what is fair for this piano?

P.S. I’ve asked my both kids to try the piano and they’re ok with it.

Eh...I know it sounds tempting, but this was an entry-level piano that is now 38 years old and from the period where there could be action bracket problems. I would have the piano thoroughly inspected by a technician familiar with 'em before proceeding at all, otherwise you could be buying a problem that exceeds the value of the piano.

You mention your kids are "okay with it"-- does that mean that they like it, or they're tolerating it? What level players are they, and how far do you expect them to get with their studies?

If it did check out healthy, I wouldn't offer a lot. Without inspecting or playing it, I can't say. If your budget is under $4,000 you should be looking at better quality 45-52" vertical pianos newer than this one, in my opinion. Just because it's a grand piano doesn't automatically make it better than an upright.

That’s what I’m worried about honestly...is a piano tuner considered a piano technician?

Can be tricky to buy a piano from a friend. For your own self-interest, you should hire a piano technician to inspect the piano. YC grands have a very serious problem with the action brackets expanding and making the piano unplayable. While the repair is not crazy expensive, if the piano is one that has that issue it will lower the value to next to nothing.

I also am not a fan of the tone of YC's they seem to be brighter than Yamahas and they are usually too bright for me.

Terminaldegree, I’m worried my kids are not qualified to properly judge a piano. They played it and just told me they’re ok with it. We are looking for a stiffer keys and this one is. A bit background on my kids: One is 12 almost 13 yo, started playing piano since 7 yo, soon will be taking on level 7 CM. The younger one is 10, soon will be taking on level 5 CM, started playing piano since 7 yo.

Of course your kids are not qualified to properly judge a piano. Would you trust your kids to judge the next car you buy while you take them on a test drive?


Did you get this idea from your kids' teacher? You don't necessarily want a "stiff" action on a piano, but you might want one that has a heavier touch. You never want a "stiff" action. That word implies there's something wrong with the action, like some unnecessary friction between parts. There's actually a standard range of down weight on the keys, and you really don't want it more than that.


Level 7 is on the cusp of needing a grand piano. It's a great time to switch.

BTW, I probably would say no to your friend's offer. And your tuner is not likely to be qualified to check the piano. The last time I bought a used piano I took my technician to examine it thoroughly, and she even admitted to me that she missed something, which she later fixed for free. She is one of the most respected technicians in the area.

Have you tried craigslist? Keep looking. You are bound to find a good deal somewhere. There are people who are dying to dump their gently used grands. And don't discount Chinese grands totally. There are some decent Chinese grands within your price range, though your kids' teacher may not approve of them.

Thanks AZNpiano. Sorry for the wrong terminology. You’re right. We want the heavier touch to practice their fingers.
I never used a piano technician before, I need to find one.
I’ve checked Craig list, but I don’t play piano and seriously clueless.
That’s why I am soooo happy when I stumbled across this forum when I was doing my piano research on Google 😃

It would be very low on my list of pianos to buy.

When I was actually in China there were plenty of YCs about. I never liked any of them. The newer ones are certainly better than the older ones. The trouble is, you are looking at an older one!

Confusedin Walnut.

Go to PTG.org and click on the "Find a technician" search box. That should return to you all of the PTG technicians in your area.

AZNpiano, You found out the value in hiring a tech to inspect. Things they miss become their responsibility.

Thanks Ed McMorrow. Lemme try it now

In my teaching room at one of my schools they've just been donated a c.1990 Young Chang 5'8 grand.

The piano is not great. It's not unplayable or anything, but it's not good. It's very sluggish in the action, very heavy, and the tone is weak at best and quite uneven. This one is voiced pretty well, it doesn't sound bright, and whoever was maintaining it managed to find quite a musical voice in it. It lacks clarity, it's difficult to play anything to a particularly high level because the voices really get lost in the muddiness.

If you're on a budget, I'd be looking at uprights in the same price range, or I'd pay more and get a Kawai or a Yamaha.

A friend of mine has one of these YC's, about 6-ish ft.. Yes, it's bright. It's a lot louder than my Knabe concert grand. The action is OK -- I'm pretty sure he does his own work on it. But as to the sound you get from any given key press, it's very much an outlier among the universe of grand pianos.

Ask your tech about this when you have it inspected.

One of my piano students bought this very instrument years ago, about this vintage. Some years later he had one of Toronto's finest technicians give it a thorough regulation and hammer reshaping. Or maybe new hammers, I forget. A few thousand dollars of work in any case. To my astonishment, it metamorphosed from a mediocre-at-most Asian parlor grand into a gem of a midsized grand that I enjoy playing myself.

If you find an interested, obsessive, high-end piano technician and are willing to invest some money beyond the purchase price, you'll end up with a nice piano on a small budget.

I played a few when I was looking for my piano, there was quite a few I liked for the price they went for. If you need a grand on a budget I would definitely not rule out YC