China made Yamaha U1?

[jack999]

Hi All,
I am from Singapore.
I came across your forum while I was doing some research on the U1 and U3.
I couldn't find much info on China made U1.
I saw a brand new U1 at a Yamaha shop which cost about 7k SGD or about 2.3k british pounds.
My friend told me that that could be made in China as there are some U1 which are sold for 11kSGD or about 3.6k British pounds.
I did see a U3 which was about 4k British Pounds.
Would the China U1 sound different from a Japan U1?
I noticed you prefer the UK U1 instead.
I also heard that some may have Japan made parts, but assembly in China.
Are they all sounding different?
Or is the China made U1 really a good buy?
I did not really test the piano as I am not a piano player.
I really want to get a nice piano for my son as I love music.
He is currently 5.5yrs old.
My son is the player.
I am just the payer. (
Thanks
Jack

[Barrie Heaton]

Hi All,
I am from Singapore.
I came across your forum while I was doing some research on the U1 and U3.
I couldn't find much info on China made U1.
I saw a brand new U1 at a Yamaha shop which cost about 7k SGD or about 2.3k british pounds.
My friend told me that that could be made in China as there are some U1 which are sold for 11kSGD or about 3.6k British pounds.
I did see a U3 which was about 4k British Pounds.
Would the China U1 sound different from a Japan U1?

Thanks
Jack

As I understand it the U1 is only made in Japan the ones here in the UK are badged P121 there may be a U1 equivalent in China, but it will be badged as something else . Yamaha are very protective on their U range and C range on the grands

Barrie,

[PianoGuy]

I certainly don't know that there is a Chinese built U1.

There are British-built U1s, designated U1N. The British P121 is technically similar, but has the appearance of an older-model U1.

[jack999]

Hi All,
Both of you are right!!
I called up Yamaha...they don't have China made ones
but they do have Indonesian made ones called U1J.
I have read either in this forum or other forum as well.
The J means Jarkarta and not Japan.
I guess the U1J may not have made their way to UK so it would be hard for you to comment?
The U1J sells for SGD6412 for Yamaha student price. about 2138 british pounds.
The U1 sells for SGD9062 for student price . about 3021 British pounds.
does it make sense to pay another 1000 pounds for the Japan model?
I have 2 sons playing the piano. One is 5.5yrs old, the other is 4.5yrs old.
However, only the elder one seems interested and he would just try and play whatever songs he heard.
I always encourage him to try out his own songs instead of playing the same old Yamaha JMC songs.
At the moment, they are playing on a Korean made Rubinstein.
Thanks in advance for all your response.
Jack

[Barrie Heaton]

The U1J sells for SGD6412 for Yamaha student price. about 2138 british pounds.
The U1 sells for SGD9062 for student price . about 3021 British pounds.
does it make sense to pay another 1000 pounds for the Japan model?

The difference in the UK is not as big except for the P121
RRP
U1 £5,599.00
U1N 5,349.00
P121NT £4,299.00

In the UK the U1N and the P121NT take more prep work but they are a different sound. On the UK P121 models the Bass strings, soundboard case parts are not form Japan on the U1N the backs use to come form Japan but I not 100% they still do

You have sit and play then decide if the extra £1000 is there, there will be a difference but will it be £1000

The other factor will resale, the real U1 will keep its value but if you intend to keep it 25 years down the road the U1 should have the advantage but that is not guaranteed




Barrie,

[jack999]

Thanks Barrie...
I have found a 4mil + serial number U1.
I will go and see and test it next week.
I was told that the U3 may not sound that grand is my small little house
so no point spending that extra
thanks
jack

[Barrie Heaton]

Thanks Barrie...
I have found a 4mil + serial number U1.

the quality of the piano is more important, 4ml is only a marker there are those who think that Yamaha took a step back with the scale change around 4ml mind you a lot of them sell older pianos

I will go and see and test it next week.
I was told that the U3 may not sound that grand is my small little house
so no point spending that extra
thanks
jack

U3 can be a bit over powering in a small room but can be toned down. The other advantage with the U3 besides the Bass is the keys they are longer so the key whippen ratio is better more control

Barrie,

[jack999]

the quality of the piano is more important, 4ml is only a marker there are those who think that Yamaha took a step back with the scale change around 4ml mind you a lot of them sell older pianos

Hi Barrie,
May I know what do you mean exactly?
Do you mean that there are some 4mil U1 wihch are actually older than what the serial number mean?
Or do you mean that there are older U1 which are still ok?

btw, I found another U1 with serial 3.3Mil.
based on Yamaha website, it seems like 1981.
this is about 800 pounds cheaper than the 4Mil.

I will also see if there are any U3 around.
Actually someone is selling the U3X...serial number 4.4mil...but i worry it may be too expensive

cheers
jack

[Barrie Heaton]

the quality of the piano is more important, 4ml is only a marker there are those who think that Yamaha took a step back with the scale change around 4ml mind you a lot of them sell older pianos

May I know what do you mean exactly?
Do you mean that there are some 4mil U1 wihch are actually older than what the serial number mean?
Or do you mean that there are older U1 which are still ok? k

The are 3mil pianos out there that are far better than 4mil ones. the state of a second hand piano depends on many factors you may get a 4mil that has been played to death and a 2mil that has hardly been used

There are issues with pre 4mil like spring cords and Bass strings. if you find a piano that is in your price range and you like get a tuner to give it the OK

Don't just go by numbers


Barrie