Kawai K-8 upright or GM-12 baby grand

mlety · Post by **mlety** » 09 Nov 2007, 21:58

I am currently looking for a piano to buy for myself.
I was looking into buying a baby grand second hand but I have been told that very small baby grands aren't as good as a good upright and are twice the price.
I am looking at buying a second hand Kawai GM-12 for 8500 euros or a second hand Kawai K-8 for 4500 euros.
There is also the Yamaha U3 which is new, but I don't know how much this one costs.

Is it worth the extra 4000 euros?

Can any one give some advice as to what to buy?

Matt

tonyteech · Post by **tonyteech** » 10 Nov 2007, 00:44

Hi I am trying to register my teaching entertaining and other skills - your system does not want to register my email address can you contact me please either through here or via my website www.tonymusicteach.co.uk

Sorry to do it this way but every other method seems blocked

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 10 Nov 2007, 09:03

Hello Tony.

Just checked out your website. May I offer a few corrections?

Firstly in the 'Cons' section for Acoustic (real) Pianos you state that they need tuning at least 4 tines per year. I cannot imagine how rubbish your local tuner must be, or how amazingly amazing your sense of pitch sensitivity must be to require such a regular service. Most of my clients get by with twice a year and are quite satisfied.

Now in the Digital (fake) Piano section I see you wrote:

"DIGITAL PIANOS: Choices range from a stage piano which is a stripped down box with keyboard and stand to a concert grand in expensive woods to enhance the appearance of your home. Prices start from £600 for a basic instrument.

Pro: Do not need tuning. Using headphones to practice means nobody else hears your mistakes. MIDI connections open up the world of digital and computer music."

Which is all well and good, (apart from the home-enhancing bit. IMHO all these digital grand pretenders look like sawn-off runts) but I suggest you add the paragraph:

"Cons: Digitals last about one tenth of the lifetime of an acoustic; progress in technology will make this year's 'perfect' sounding instrument sound like a bag of spanners compared to the one that will be released next year, and they look abysmal. They also take up at least as much floor space as a real piano, so for those of you who think digitals are a space-saving alternative, forget it."

This bit though:

"Second-hand instruments can be a minefield and an expensive disaster. DO NOT buy a second-hand instrument without getting it checked out by an expert piano technician. It will be worth the fee involved to save you grief. Pianos offered for private sale at low cost are usually suspect and are to be treated with extreme caution."

Is absolutely spot-on!

Just a suggestion.

'Bye now!.....

sussexpianos · Post by **sussexpianos** » 10 Nov 2007, 12:00

The Kawai K-8 is an great, fantastic piano and worth every penny. It is tons better than a U3. The current rrp on a K8 is £7000, about 10,500 euros. It is the flagship of Kawai, the case is more educational look but the insides are what counts. The grand would be OK but the good Kawai grands are the RX models.

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 10 Nov 2007, 12:28

sussexpianos wrote:The Kawai K-8 is an great, fantastic piano and worth every penny. It is tons better than a U3. The current rrp on a K8 is £7000, about 10,500 euros.

Absolutely, but at 4,500 Euros it can't be a recent one for sale here, and as we all know, older Kawais were poor. If it's a recent one (ie last three years) snap it up!

How old is the K8 that's on offer here?

sussexpianos · Post by **sussexpianos** » 10 Nov 2007, 13:07

it will have to be quite recent as the K models have only been out a couple of years

PianoGuy · Post by **PianoGuy** » 10 Nov 2007, 16:21

That's the current K8 yes.

I have a strong feeling that there was an earlier 1960s/'70s K8 upright too, a 122cm/48" model- more U1 size than U3.

I reckon that our poster is being offered an older instrument which I'd avoid like the plague. Mind you, I'd not give a small Kawai grand of that age floorspace either.

Mlety, what is the age or serial number of the K8 on sale here?

mlety · Post by **mlety** » 12 Nov 2007, 18:08

Thanks for the advice, ill go to the shop tomorrow to get the serial number.

mlety · Post by **mlety** » 14 Nov 2007, 21:31

The K8 was 2 years old but the wood work was in bad condition so thats why it was selling for not much.
I bought it anyway as i'm not too picky with that type of thing.
Thanks guys for your help on this, I'm in love with it already.

sussexpianos · Post by **sussexpianos** » 15 Nov 2007, 09:51

Im glad you bought it. Its a great piano. Polyester is difficult to repair so thats why it was cheap.
good luck

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Kawai K-8 upright or GM-12 baby grand

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