Eterna piano, Steinbach romance - help please.

[Crampy]

Hi. I am looking to buy a piano for myself. Used to play to a reasonable standard but not after anything like a grand piano. Would prefer to pay under A$6000.
At a shop yesterday there was an Eterna ?E1, which the man said is the same as a Yamaha U1. Didn't get the serial number. Selling for A$3600. I think it was 121cm.
He also had some Alex.Steinbach 121 cm Romance ones.
I really like Yamaha sound and feel.
Would appreciate your advice. I guess models vary in Australia but do you think the Eterna or Yamaha U1 as you would have in the UK would come from the same places as those that are sold here?
Thanks for your help.

[fjm]

Yamaha founded in 1983 a factory in China. They make the Eterna. In Holland these pianos are sold from 750 euros upward. See marketplace.

[fjm]

More specific. The marketplace is:
www.marktplaats.nl

[PianoGuy]

At a shop yesterday there was an Eterna ?E1, which the man said is the same as a Yamaha U1. Didn't get the serial number. Selling for A$3600. I think it was 121cm.

The Eterna range were the first fruits of the Yamaha-Pearl River joint venture project, and the Yamaha acknowledgement was announced on a "Made by Yamaha" sticker on the keyslip. Later joint ventures produced the 110cm Yamaha C110-A and the Pearl River UP125-M1. The C110-A bore more resemblance to a genuine Yamaha than the UP125-M1.

That partnership may well have soured, since the C110-A which replaced the small 110cm Eterna has been dropped in favour of the 100% Yamaha (ie no P-R input) Indonesian-built b1.

The larger Eterna is more likely to be the direct ancestor of the Pearl River UP125-M1 which is another joint-venture piano, this time badged as a Pearl River rather than a Yamaha or Eterna. The salesman is misleading you, it's not the same design as a U1, but it does share some DNA in design. The U1 is 121cm tall, and as you'd expect, the UP125-M1 is 125cm. There are no parts common to both pianos except possibly the jacks in the action. The action itself bears more resemblance to a Pearl River piano than to a Yamaha, and whilst build quality is generally OK, things such as pedal components and plastic mouldings are low-rent.

The Alex Steinbach pianos were at one point made in Korea by Daewoo, but I'd suspect by a Chinese maker these days. I've never liked them much.

Why not find a good grey-imported genuine Japanese U1? Should be available for the price of a new Pearl River. ?3,000 buys you a decent one in the UK, so should be cheaper in Oz since Japan's nearer to you!