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Joined: Aug 2014
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I'm buying my first piano. Should I buy a 5 yr old Essex EUP-116E (45" Upright)from a consumer that is in excellent condition for $3000 with about an additional $700 to move and tune ($3700 total)? The Essex is $6000 brand new. Or, should I buy a brand new Pearl River UP-115M5 (45" Upright) from a dealer for $3300 which includes tax, delivery and tuning. They are both made by Young Chang, but, supposedly, the Essex is designed by Steinway and it's production is overseen by Steinway trained employees in China. The Essex uses better strings, hammers and soundboard and is manufactured according to a few Steinway standards. The Essex is not a Steinway by any means, but is this one, at 5 years old, still a better deal than the New Pearl River/Young Chang. I'm leaning towards the Essex. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Last edited by Jay Smiley; 08/13/14 11:06 AM.
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Hi Jay,
Welcome to Piano World. Firstly I think you meant to say both pianos are made by Pear River, not Young Chang. There was a time years ago when the Essex was made by Young Chang but today it's Pear River. You are looking at fairly comparable pianos in regard to material specs. The reason that the Essex is $6,000 new is based mostly on the large margin of profit Steinway ads onto the Pear River manufactured piano. You should understand that just because a manufacturer makes different brands they are not necessarily all the sames. GM makes both Chevy and Cadillac with Buick in the middle. You should be made aware that the finest consumer piano the same company makes, it's "Cadillac" of consumer pianos is called Ritmuller. The Ritmuller is built to a much higher material spec than either the Pear River (the Chevy) or the Essex(the Buick) and that difference is obvious when you play all three. For not much more than you would pay for the Essex, moved, tuned and without a warranty you can almost afford a Ritmuller with a warranty. Good luck in your search. Lots of threads here to read through with info on the products manufactured by Pear River.
Glenn Treibitz Hollywood Piano Co. - Est.1928 http://www.hollywoodpiano.comhttp://www.facebook.com/HollywoodPiano1800 MY-PIANO Steingraeber,Grotrian,Mason&Hamlin,Petrof,Estonia,Steinberg,Schulze-Pollmann,Baldwin, Ritmuller,Perzina,Pearl River,Hardman,Roland,Used Steinway
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Which one do you think has the best tone and touch? That's what you should base your decision on.
I have an Essex EUP-111. It has a nice touch and a singing tone in the treble. The tuning stability is very good. It has a nice bass for such a short piano. It seems a bit loud, but that might be its environment. It has some features different from the Pearl River. I don't believe all of the price differential is based on Steinway's profit margin.
Play them a couple of times, first impressions don't always last, and if the Pearl River dealer has the Ritmuller, give it a try.
Gary
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Thanks Glenn. Appreciate the heads up about Ritmuller. I will look into it. I got a little caught up in the fact that I could get a 5 year old $6000 Essex at about 50% off it's original price. That seems like a lot of depreciation on a 5yr old piano that's in excellent shape. However, if like you say, it's b/c Steinway has a higher Markup on Essex, then, maybe it's not the deal I thought it was.
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Joined: Aug 2014
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I've heard a couple of Essex, one in a home and one at a dealer. It has a better tone than the Pearl River...but, it could be due to the room it was in. I've seen a few comments about a greater markup on Essex due to the Steinway name, but I also agree with you that it's a personal decision. Thanks for your advice.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,621
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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Piano Book has the [in]famous pianos ratings, have a look here: http://www.pianobuyer.com/fall13/43.htmlGlenn's above post sums things up nicely, good luck! Norbert
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Joined: May 2010
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both of them made in pearl river
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Joined: Oct 2009
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A few years back, I was in the market for a new upright and looked at Pearl River, Essex and Ritmullers. They are all made at the Pearl River plant. All three brands produce nice pianos at varying price points. I found a dealer that carried both Pearl River and Ritmuller pianos and could do an A-B comparison between similarly-sized uprights. You could clearly see and hear the differences between the Pearl River models and Ritmuller models in the quality of materials used in their construction. The Ritmullers sounded much nicer than their Pearl River counterparts, whether they were in the 115 -121CM range or the larger 130-132 CM models. The Ritmullers seemed to be built better as well. The Ritmullers were priced higher than similar PR models by maybe 20-25% but seemed well worth the difference.
When I visited the Steinway dealership I tried out three or four Essex uprights that sounded much closer to the Ritmullers than the Pearl Rivers, but still had their own sound. To the furniture-conscious, the Essex pianos are available in more styles and finishes than the other PR brands. The Essex pianos are not as likely to be discounted as much as Ritmuller and Pearl River pianos.
For the record, I was advised by a few Piano World members to try out a few grands and I ended up with a Ritmuller GH-170R. I've been very happy with it, but I probably would have been nearly as happy with a Ritmuller upright too!
Best of luck in your search!!!
I'm Craig, I'm retired, It's Saturday every day! Alfred's Masterwork Classics Vol 3 and Vol 4 YDP-160, GH-170R Alfred 1 Graduate
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Thanks for your response. So far, I've only been able to play the Young Chang and Essex. I've heard and read very good things about the Ritmuller, and received great feedback on them in this forum. For the extra money, it sounds well worth it. Now, if I can just find a dealer in New Orleans that has one.
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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