Yamaha U1 Disklavier on ebay, good deal?

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Rainbow75
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Yamaha U1 Disklavier on ebay, good deal?

Post by Rainbow75 »

Hi,

I started playing Piano about 4 months ago and have a beat up old Piano. I am now studying for Grade2 having timed my lessons in time for the G1 exam.(and practicing obsessively every day!) Because of this, the Piano I have is irritating me sadly. The action is uneven, anywhere away from the middle 2 octaves and its out of tune etc etc. So I'd like to get a new Piano.

I've seen a Yamaha Disklavier on ebay - item:150320577583 and it looks great, good age and its a Yamaha at a good price from a guy with good feedback. Is there a catch here? It seems too good to be true, and I can't make a mistake because I'd have to borrow to afford to buy this Piano, but I want a Yamaha sooo badly! Sorry for the long post, thanks for any advice in advance.
PianoGuy
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Post by PianoGuy »

If it's who I think it is selling this piano, I have had experience with only one of his examples which seemed quite decent for the price paid. It was a Japanese imported MX100A with Japanese firmware in the Disklavier unit and no manual, so it was difficult to understand but could be operated if you either knew the architecture of the unit or could speak Japanese. Forum member athomik knows of a cheap fix to get them to speak in English, so this shouldn't be a problem.

The dealer in question appears not to need the money, with a large room, possibly once a double garage, in a Chorleywood house filled with similar pianos and a couple of very exotic motors of the red Italian variety on the drive.
I suspect that flogging imported Nippon pianos wasn't how he made his money. Of course he could be an ex-Lehman employee in which case he may need to catch up on a few quid now..... Treated purely as U1 and U3s, these old Yamahas make financial sense because they're cheap. As Disklaviers, they're hopelessly outdated compared to a new one, but have MIDI facilities and will work provided you read Japanese. Beware of depreciation though. Even at 2K I doubt that you'd get 100% back if you traded it in. Of course you really do need to take a good technician along with you to make sure you're getting a good one.

Proceed, but with caution.
PG

The opinion above is purely that of PianoGuy and is simply the opinion of one person ....

If you're buying a piano, try as many as you can and buy the one you like, not a similar one of the same type.
halcy0n
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Re: Yamaha U1 Disklavier on ebay, good deal?

Post by halcy0n »

Hi - did you go ahead and buy from the chap in Chorleywood. If so any tips? If not why not?

Cheers

Steve 07785111522
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