yamaha vs kawai

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 03 Aug 2007, 22:13

Hi guys,
I wonder if someone can give me some advice.. I'm in a bit of a dlilemma, I currently have a 1982 Yamaha U1 which is absoloutely immaculate and sounds fantastic, I went to my local piano warehouse yesterday just to browse, I played a few pianos.. a seiler.. zimmerman etc.. realising they were slightly out of my price bracket they guy took me over to a Kawai K2 and said here try this, i fell in love with it straight away, everything about it was perfect.. the tone rich and warm, the action was light and very responsive and for a smaller piano than the U1 the bass was amazingingly deep.. they said they would let me have the kawai for £2599 and i just dont know what to do.. is the K2 more highly regarded than a U1 or am i better off sticking to what i've got ?

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 03 Aug 2007, 22:36

pianolad23 wrote:is the K2 more highly regarded than a U1 or am i better off sticking to what i've got ?

All depends who you talk to....... At the end of the day if you like the piano and it its in your price range then get the K2 selling later on should not be a problem if it has a nice sound and touch Kawai are coming on leaps and bounds in quality and are becoming the preferred brand to a lot of retailers manly because there is a better mark-up

Barrie,

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 04 Aug 2007, 17:36

Thanks Barrie.. I'm going to play the K2 again to make up my mind.. i just found it had a wonderful dynamic range in all registers and much more enjoyable to play than a U1.. my local dealer is selling them discounted after this years welsh eisteddfod event in Mold. Thanks for your advice and help.

hammer man · Post by **hammer man** » 09 Aug 2007, 00:34

I think Kawai are better for what it's worth.
They are better sounding and if correctly regulated a better instrument.

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 09 Aug 2007, 18:34

Thanks! yeah i thought that too.. i played the kawai again yesterday in the shop and it really is a superb piano, then i came and played my Yami U1 and that sounds fab too lol.. but there is something about the Kawai, there is more control and feeling and also it is mellower in tone than the Yamaha which i like, the Yamaha can be very bright and shrill.

AnonymousBloke · Post by **AnonymousBloke** » 11 Aug 2007, 16:28

I have always found the Kawai's to be very well set up, and very responsive. However I feel the bass on the Yamaha is a bit better than the Kawai.

I also find that Kawais take longer to settle down tuning-wise than Yamahas.

Not sure if this helps, but I thought as I haven't posted on here in ages I'd put in my 2pence worth!!

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 11 Aug 2007, 16:44

AnonymousBloke wrote:
I also find that Kawais take longer to settle down tuning-wise than Yamahas.

!

The older ones do swing a lot I have a client who has a U1 and a Kawai K50 in the same room they both swing in summer and winter the Yam swings about 5 to 10 cents but the Kawai swings 10 to 20 cents which is a lot for a season swing

The Yam you put the scale in and the few notes to the bass , the bass is normally where you left it, but on the Kawai you are pulling the bass up or down

Barrie,

Barrie,

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 11 Aug 2007, 18:24

I am totally confused now lol.. what does that mean ? my Yamaha seems to hold a very stable tuning and i only get it done once a year.

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 11 Aug 2007, 20:23

Stick with the devil you know, Piano-me-lad!

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 11 Aug 2007, 22:05

pianolad23 wrote:I am totally confused now lol.. what does that mean ? my Yamaha seems to hold a very stable tuning and i only get it done once a year.

Yams tend to hold their tuning better in volatile environments

in your case the environment is quite stable or your tone deaf

Barrie,

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 14 Aug 2007, 20:52

Ahh i see what you mean Barrie, Yeah the Yam does seem to hold it's tuning better especially as it gets moved round the dining room quite a bit and never seems to go out of tune! I'm going to look at the Kawai again on Friday will make up my mind then. Can you tell me what my Yam is worth privately? It's mid 80's black in immaculate condition inside and out, hammers have hardly any indentations in them and sounds board and strings ok too and it has a lovely tone. Thanks

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 14 Aug 2007, 21:35

pianolad23 wrote:Can you tell me what my Yam is worth privately? It's mid 80's black in immaculate condition inside and out, hammers have hardly any indentations in them and sounds board and strings ok too and it has a lovely tone. Thanks

In a shop up north about £2600 depending on the retail outlet Private what ever you can get for it will they not take it in PX

Barrie,

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 15 Aug 2007, 00:02

They will.. but they will only give me 1500 max and i personally think thats an insult! I've advertised it on here and on ebay but no luck so far if u know of anyone let me know. Thanks Barrie.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 15 Aug 2007, 15:38

pianolad23 wrote:They will.. but they will only give me 1500 max and i personally think thats an insult! .

That is a good price what did you think they would give you BTW

Barrie,

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 15 Aug 2007, 17:49

well at least 1800 - 2000 maybe that was being ambitious but im keen to sell it private now and sure i can with the condition its in

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 15 Aug 2007, 18:35

pianolad23 wrote:well at least 1800 - 2000 maybe that was being ambitious but im keen to sell it private now and sure i can with the condition its in

no way unless you are spending 25K + if a retailer gave you 2K and sold it for 2.5 they would be losing money

Barrie,

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 15 Aug 2007, 19:21

Hmm i guess so. I'm going to sell it privately if you know of anyone that wants one let me know

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 15 Aug 2007, 20:58

pianolad23 wrote:Hmm i guess so. I'm going to sell it privately if you know of anyone that wants one let me know

The world and his dog wants one but will they pay!

Well you can put it on this site for free also on
http://www.pianoshop.co.uk/ for a small free if you sell.

Try your local piano teacher and tuner a card in the local Co-Op and post office, some shops will take your piano, sell at your price for a commission. That can take a wile

Barrie,

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 15 Aug 2007, 22:31

Dealers can get s/h U1s for 1500 plus VAT from one of the countless importers, so they're offering you a typical trade price. Yours is only worth more if it's a UK market one.

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 15 Aug 2007, 23:03

Yeah i realise that PG but half the s/h U1's i've seen are scratched, hammers heavily indented, and just generally scruffy, mine is nearly mint inside and out and sounds far superior to any i've played in the past even comparing to new models. As far as I know it isn't a UK model but I don't see how that makes a difference as my tutor has a 1990 U1N which i believe is made in the UK and it sounds like a bag of nails!

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 16 Aug 2007, 05:25

U1Ns are the poor relations. Kembles in drag.

For a U1 to be worth more than average, it has to be a Jap built UK-market model. A top grade import like yours will cost a dealer 1500 quid plus VAT trade, so those scratched and dented things are worth even less, more like 800 or so. An imported U1 may well be a lovely piano, but there are literally thousands coming in to choose from. You are being offered top dollar, so to realise more you have to get a private sale. If I were a dealer, I'd leave your 1982 model on the shelf because for only a few pence more I could buy a 4Million series with an updated spec and greater desirability.

Your dealer is being very generous IMO. To clear what he paid you, he'd have to sell for 2060 purely to break even because he'll have to cover collection, delivery and VAT.

If it's such a good U1, a good tuning, reg and voicing would see it beat the pants off a K2, so I can't see why you'd want to change it in any case.

pianolad23 · Post by **pianolad23** » 16 Aug 2007, 17:50

Hi PG,

Im not sure if it is a Japanese Uk market model not sure how i would find out, ur right though about giving the U1 a good tune regulate and voice, I am totally in two minds what to do with it esp with the condition it is in, I have had a quote from cheshire pianos to tune voice and regulate £144 plus vat, that includes a travel charge from Warrington to North Wales of almost £50! Do most companies charge this ? I think the U1 would benefit from a voicing as some of the notes from middle C and ocvtave above are starting to sound a bit bright, would voicing cure this ? excuse me for sounding thick lol..
I really did like the K2 though it just sounded more mellow and more joyful to play than the U1.

regards
Chris

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 16 Aug 2007, 19:55

How far is it from Warrington to North Wales then? The basic less-travel price of what, around 90 quid to tune, voice and regulate sounds reasonable if they are capable of a good result. The VAT is an ar*e, but if you deal with a company rather than an individual tuner whose turnover will likely be below the VAT threshold, that's what you have to pay.

To check its origins, have a look inside the top door of the piano. If it 's Jap market, it'll have a small plastic bracket fixed to the back. Some less than scrupulous dealers remove this to hide origins, but they can't disguise the nail holes where it once was!

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yamaha vs kawai

yamaha vs kawai

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