Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Brand new K800 OR NEW GL20

Good morning,
The Kawai dealer just called me and offered some KILLER deals. I can either get a brand new K800 53'' beast for 13,000 or a brand new GL20 for 12,000. Which would you get and why? I would love the GL30 but its simply out of my budget and too large for my 1,000sq ft condo. Been playing piano 20 years and would be upgrading from a hand built Charles R Walter 1500 studio model that is in PRISTINE condition. Meanwhile I called the Yamaha dealer to inquire about a brand new Yamaha YUS5 and they were extremely snotty, down talked Kawai and would not even go a penny below msrp. How come all of the Kawai dealers I went to willing to go 35 to 45% under msrp and Yamaha won't even go a penny under?

Here are the specifications for each.....

https://kawaius.com/product/gl-20/

https://kawaius.com/product/k-800/

Note the difference in MSRP - the K800 being more expensive and built in Japan.

If the GL-30 at 5'5" is too large for your 1000 square foot condo, the GL-20 at 5'2" will be too large as well. I haven't played these models myself, but I assume that the tone of the K-800 will be fuller and richer than that of the GL-20, even though the GL-20 is a "step up" from the GL-10.

As for why Yamaha refuses to go under the MSRP - it's probably because they can get away with it and still sell pianos. Kawai's are comparable in quality to Yamahas, so if you can get a new Kawai for less - and you like it - go for it. I paid $8K for my K-500 four years ago and have no complaints.

@Carey The GL20 is getting close to the limit for my condo at 5'2''. My living room is 17' by 12'. The GL30 could be squeezed in as well but it's out of my budget :'(. I was originally looking for a K500 but they keep trying to upsell me. How much are you loving your K500? At 8k that's a STEAL!! They offered me the K500 at 9,900! Did you consider any other piano? If so which ones? Is there a reason why you did not get a grand? I think you might have a Mason and Hamlin grand. Thanks Carey

You can't blame them for trying to upsell you if they know you have the budget for a more expensive piano, and to be fair the K800 does offer more than the K500.

That said the K500 is a great piano and probably the best value out of the two. You'll just have to play them all, see which one you prefer and decide if the more expensive ones are worth the extra to you. Regarding fitting pianos in your room it isn't just the physical size to consider but the volume and potential dynamic range of the larger instruments - we have a K800 in a 16'x10' room and it can be loud, not just in that room but pretty much anywhere in the house. Fortunately we have pretty thick walls, tolerant neighbours and you do develop a gentle touch quite quickly! The GL20 would probably be similar in volume I would think.

If you have the opportunity to play the K800 and Gl20 side by side - or at least around the same time - I'd encourage you to do so. Play the same repertoire on each and see if you can do more with one piano or the other.

My first home piano was an Everett studio upright purchased in 1976. In 2002 I took a leap and purchased a Korean built Weber baby grand for $10K. It was a nice little piano, but I was bitten by the bug at that point and kept visiting piano dealers playing a variety of brands (the vast majority of which were completely out of reach for me financially). In 2006 I stumbled on an amazing deal on a new Mason and Hamlin BB - so I bought it and sold the Weber on consignment with the same dealer. Unfortunately, I took a big loss on the Weber. In 2013 I bought a Kawai CA65 digital (for silent practice), and in 2018 I literally stumbled on that great deal for the new Kawai K500 - which I bought to replace my old Everett (and to keep for when we eventually downsize). I gave the Everett to my daughter - so I still get to play it from time to time. When I bought the K500 I had been looking at other new and used uprights. Schimmels, Petrofs and M&H were wonderful but too expensive, and various Korean and Chinese brands just didn't speak to me. I tried three K500s at the dealer - each being a little different - and selected the one that had the most consistent tone throughout.

So - do I love the K500? Yes. Do I love the M&H BB more? Yes. Why? Because nice as the tone and action of the K500 are, I can still do more musically with the larger grand. Whether that would also be the case with a small GL20, I don't know.

Good luck in making your decision. Those are both very good deals.

Try to find another dealer or at least do some leg work (i.e. visit them personally). Calling may not secure you a discount (just as asking here), you need to talk face to face. When I was buying my Yamaha 6 months ago (not in your area though) I had no problems with Yamaha dealer and no MSRP scams, the prices quoted for all Yamaha pianos I was interested in were fair and expected. Target at 30% off MSP (on pianobuyer.com), not MSRP and see what they say. You may not get that due to a shortage, but there is always a middle ground.

Don't compare Yamaha and Kawai discounts, they have a different price policy. In fact in my area I was quoted a higher price for GL-30 than for GC2 (they have similar MSPs on pianobuyer.com and GC2 is 5'8" vs 5'5" for GL-30). Also keep in mind that YUS5 is a pretty rare model, so there are less chances you can get a good discount. In my case a quoted price for YUS5 (I also considered it) was about the same as for GC1M, out of these two I would buy GC1M hands down, even though YUS5 is a very nice instrument. Unless you have to buy an upright.

Also a piano is not just price (think about buying a car, only your car will have no value after 10 years, a good piano will still have some). Price does matter (don't forget 2 tunings per year, it's another ~$3K+ over 10 years, not counting regulations, humidifiers, dehumidifiers etc.), but more importantly: visit dealers, play, compare, find what is good for your fingers and your ears, and then negotiate a price. If you are going to play on your instrument for years, does $1-2K discount really matter if you are forced to buy something you don't quite like and you are stuck with it?

Depends on the condo configuration. A 1000 sq. foot studio would be good for a bigger piano If there is a space for GL-10, GL-20/30 or GC1M would fit there too (well, most of the time).

Does your dealer have the K-800 in stock? A poster in another thread has been waiting 18 weeks for theirs.

Interesting. A dealer chasing down a lead and offering deals! Could this signal a change in the market? Pianos have apparently been in short supply during the pandemic, coupled with increased demand. Not so hard to sell. Of course, the K-800 is their largest and most expensive upright, so relatively difficult to sell in general. Perhaps the dealer doesn't want to have too much capital tied up in one.


If it's the beginning of a return to normal, Yamaha has better name recognition and historically discounts less than Kawai. They will be able to hold out longer.

If you live in the US, you should be looking at SMP rather than MSRP for pricing, snd discounts in sales price.

In this instance, the K800 would be 40% off the SMP and the GL-20 would be 33% off the SMP.

Why? Where? What is it?

You're telling someone with only 14 posts something they likely will not understand. Someone above alluded to it, but misspelled it, so the poster may not make the connection.

I did misspell SMP, yet I didn't misspell pianobuyer.com That part was more important.

You can't pick these on paper. It comes down to the individual piano, and the dealer prep work. You need to try the actual pianos you intend to buy, in person, especially if you play well. It's my recollection that the tone of the K800 and K500 are slightly different-- although the K800 is more expensive, and the majority of people might think it's better, not everyone is going to agree on that.

Have you played a K800 or GL20 yet?

I have tried the GL20 and really did not like the tone.Neither did I like the tone of the new U1's.The K500 was an excellent all round instrument.Some of the well prepaid U3's were also nice.To myself a K500 is difficult to beat in these pianos.The YUS5 was also a very good instrument, not all that bright.(although I have heard they do eventually get brighter) I do not know if this means they end sounding very similar to a U3?

Pick which one meets your needs best. The upright is technically in a higher quality bracket but the grand is still a grand.

The problem with GL20 is that it did not sound like a Kawai.The K500 has a lovely tone and I presume the K800 as well, although I would be worried about ordering without seeing/playing the piano. However I realise tone
is a matter of taste although quality as you say comes into this as well.The GL40 had a more recognizable "Kawai tone"
at least to myself.

OK I shall put this experience down to just playing a single example of the GL20.Perhaps the piano just needed to prepped.Perhaps that is all.So if you come across an attractive sounding example that would different.

Yes, he does. He only has one K500 and one K800. He really wants to sell me the K800 and is even offering at 12,000 now

Go and see the 800. If you like it, offer 9k. If he won't have that, do the walk and see if he's back on the phone in a day or two. Sounds to me as though he needs the money more than you need the piano.