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Will the bass on a brand new S7X (or C7X) improve as the piano is worn in, for example because the hammers will get harder?

I had to choose an S7X from two this weekend. The first piano had a phenomenal bass, like a concert grand, but it had a poor treble that lacked resonance. This piano had been on the showroom floor for 2-3 years so had been worn in. There was little question that it wasn't just about wearing in though, the woods in this piano resonated especially well with the bass notes. The other piano was brand new out of a box. It had a really nice treble, but the bass was not as phenomenal as the first piano. I had to choose this piano as the treble on the first piano was so poor, but I was a bit disappointed as bass is so important to me. Where I really noticed it was at the very beginning of Rach 2 (starting at about the second line) where the little finger on your left hand is hitting the lowest C on the piano repeatedly. I had to use an unpleasant amount of force with my little finger to really get the power I wanted on that note. But, this was in a large showroom. Perhaps I will even find the bass too loud in my home. The bass is not necessarily poor compared to your average C7X, just poor compared to the other S7X.

I've actually noticed this on C7Xs as well, where the lowest bass notes seem to require quite a lot of force to get a strong sound. I haven't found this with the smaller models like S6X,S5X,S3X. So my question is, can I feel comfortable in my purchase of this piano, knowing that as the bass hammers harder from use, the bass will produce a powerful sound with less effort (even using my little finger)? Or will the bass always feel very "stiff"?

You are not aware of something called hammer voicing? if new S7X sounds bad, it is most likely badly prepared, bad voicing, badly mated hammers to strings, bad tuning (it can be "in tune" but if unisons are not exactly right, treble will sound weak) etc... and piano placement in the room makes big difference for bass response.

Of course I'm aware of hammer voicing. Both pianos were placed in the centre of the room, and prepped by the Yamaha technician. The piano didn't sound bad, quite the opposite. It just seemed to require quite a lot of force in the bass to produce a really powerful sound.

It will change. Whether it will be better or worse is a matter of taste.

Do Yamahas require the keybed and action checking during prep? Or is that dealt with in design and manufacture?

Has anyone found that S7X/C7Xs can lack resonance in the lowest bass notes? Like you need to hit them harder than on other pianos? Or is the powerful bass sound just going out the side of the piano rather than towards the player?

In my experience Yamaha’s tend to be consistent from piano to piano, relative to other brands. But even still, I’ve never played two that were exactly the same. I remember two C7X’s side by side where I studied which were bought at the same time and cared for by the same technician, and they were surprisingly similar but still different.

Yes placement in the room will have a big impact on what you hear sitting at the bench. My piano is in a smallish room and I chose a location based on the best overall sound, but the bass isn’t deep and full—however, where I put my mics for recording it is deep and full. That’s just one of many examples.

I’m sure you’ll love the piano When does it arrive at your house?

You have made an incredible number of posts on numerous threads about various pianos not being loud enough in the bass. This piano is going to be played in a home environment and not in a concert hall. I think the main advantage of a long grand in a home is not how loud it can be played but the quality of the bass. You have mentioned several times about how difficult it is to play the low Cs at the opening of the Rach 2 loud enough on the piano you purchased. Have you considered that your technique or fingering on those Cs could be the problem?

(continuation of previous post)It's certainly not necessary to use the fifth finger of the LH to play the low Cs. Kissin uses the much stronger third finger. If you want to use the fifth finger there is a correct technical approach if you are trying to play very loudly.

Sonepica, I think you are referring to the lowest C notes that begin at 00:38 (marked below) rather than the F notes in the beginning.

I also marked the G notes but that is irrelevant maybe apart from the lowest G note.

I thought Sonepica was referring to the low single Fs but those are on the first line. So my comment about not using the fifth finger doesn't apply but the rest of my post does.

Whether it improves or not depends on two things:

What you mean by improve.
How well your technician takes care of the piano.

One of the pianos I have been caring for lately has been a 1980's C7 for a world-class pianist, which he received recently. When I first tuned it for him, I voiced some of the bass notes on it as he sat in the room listening. We could both hear the improvement, in this case, sounding more like a defined pitch, as I did it. I did not spend a lot of time on it, since it could stand other work, but that is the kind of thing that can be done on these pianos.

I can only speak for a C7X which I regularly prepare for concerts. The older C3 at the venue outperforms it, but the dealer never did any prep whatsoever and one day I may get to try and get some sound out if it.