Piano to buy advice

[pianonewbie]

Please I need advice.
I need to choose one of these pianos
1) Up to Diploma level and professional playing
2) Hold its tone
3) Holds its value
4) Not a china made or china made but it could meet the above conditions and tested and guaranted to perform and durable

Old 1975 U3 Yamaha £1800-£3800
New Broadmann PE121 Price unknown yet
New Wendl and Lung 122 £3500
New Perizan Price not known
New Weber 121 £3150
New Elysian Academy 131 Traditional £3760

Any advice will be appreciated

thanks

[mdw]

Add a Reid Sohn/ Samick 126 to that list at £3500

[dancarney]

Add Kawai K2, or perhaps you could find a good deal on a K3.

[pianonewbie]

so which one is the best among all from those who are using, tuning, restoring, and selling the pianos.
Can someone please reduce the list to the best 3 in order of performance, durabilty and cost. I do not want to break the bank so the cost is also important.

Thanks

[Colin Nicholson]

Have you actually tried & tested ALL these piano yourself ?
or.... have you just seen them on the internet?

I guess that some may be browsing on the net, as you havent revealed the price.

There would be no particular of preference for any of these pianos & and in any particular order.... even when new, even the Kawai's mentioned.... all good pianos.

Buying and trying out a piano is a very personal thing.... especially at Diploma level.
Just check your spelling though of some of these pianos.... Brodmann are good - I think have a Renner (endorsed) action, Kawai are good.

The 'tone' and durability of a piano also depends on how well you look after it, and how often you have it tuned & serviced. The 'tone' of the hammers on some pianos can be quite harsh, others mellow - so its down to personal taste. New pianos hold their value - obviously everything depreciates in value after being new.

However.... (my opinion) .... if you are seeking for a piano of good quality, you really need to take a piano tuner/ technician/ teacher with you for peace of mind. Example.... some Samick pianos are OK.... but others mmmm! awkward to tune in areas, and from the overseas market - the cast frames are made for other pianos aswell.... and the cheap plastic "Samick" logo is just glued onto the cast frame.

I believe Wendl & Lung are an old name "revamped" - maybe sold under a different name.

Paying about £3K - £4K for an upright may not get you ultimate quality, action materials of the highest quality (eg Abel hammer heads) .... so you also need to check out the bass string length - very important for a pianist - the taller the piano - better bass string sound - but depends on the makers name brass-inlaid into the fallboard.... AND the same maker's name embossed in raised cast iron lettering on the cast iron frame (as you would expect from Steinway/ Bechstein/ Bluthner etc....)

However, this is my personal opinion.... certainly though, try out a few pianos, then back to us. Also - warranty/ guarantee depends on the trader, and can vary between 5-10 years.... so you need to chat about that also.

[pianonewbie]

Thanks much appreciated. It is for my two children, they have been playing keyboard up to grade 4 and she is preparing for her Grade 5 now. She has only play piano in her teacher's house. Shops are very far to us and they do not sell some of these pianos like Kawai so I have to rely on suggestion of experts but I will discuss with them in regards of tone. I know some of them have practice pedal to reduce the noise or provide soft tone.
We have to depend on the suggestions of this forum

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Just a few points from me:

- Don't dip below 120cm in height. If possible go for something 130cm or higher so that you get a nice rich sound that will rattle your rib cage (in a nice southing way)

- Visit pianos. Then visit some other pianos. Then visit some other pianos elsewhere. When you find the best combination of (a) nice piano (b) good vibes from the dealer and (c) nice price you've probably found the right piano for you.

- If a piano sounds bright in the shop it will probably sound more bright and more loud in your home. So make sure you go and visit and bear this aspect in mind.

- Take a tuner with you. You might have to pay for this but it's certainly worth it. You are likely to keep a piano 10 years or more. Do it once and do it properly!

- If you find a piano with a German or European sounding name, is brand new, and is priced below £4000 it will more than likely be Chinese. You have to decide if that fact is important to you but the best pianos these days are made in Germany, USA, Japan. The UK Kemble/Yamaha factory has now closed as I'm sure you are aware.

[mdw]

If you buy your piano from your local shop they might offer the same service as we do. If you cant make up your mind pick 2 we will deliver them so you can try them out in your own house for an hour or so to hear the exact sound. Pick the one you want and we take the other back. If you dont want either then theres is just a small charge towards our delivery time.
From the ones ive seen the Kembles are just as good quality as when they were Uk made which wasnt hard as they had so many Yamaha parts anyway .

[pianonewbie]

If you buy your piano from your local shop they might offer the same service as we do. If you cant make up your mind pick 2 we will deliver them so you can try them out in your own house for an hour or so to hear the exact sound. Pick the one you want and we take the other back. If you dont want either then theres is just a small charge towards our delivery time.
From the ones ive seen the Kembles are just as good quality as when they were Uk made which wasnt hard as they had so many Yamaha parts anyway .

Please send your piano shop details

[chrisw]

For some time now, I have been considering upgrading my Kemble upright for a baby grand. To be fair the Kemble is probably more than adequate for my skills and I like the sound and touch. However I do wonder if my ability would benefit from improved key action that a grand should deliver (trills, tremolando etc.).

Not having an inexhaustible budget I look at grands in the £6000 to say £12000 range. I get confused when some vendors promote a certain make which are dismissed by other vendors. Equally pianos are turning up from China with British names. If these names do not represent (in my opinion) the best of the late British pianos, should I let this influence my choice.

I have heard it said that a good quality upright should be preferred to a lower end grand. This might be good advice but as I approach retirement time at the piano is becoming more important and I need to make up my mind.