Choice of piano

[amvs]

I am returning a second hand piano which I bought for ?3250 eight months ago, which has developed a major defect and is now unusable.

My technician/adviser from whom I bought it is taking it back and has offered me a 12 year old, but almost unused Kemble Prestige for ?3200, or will act as my agent in buying another piano elsewhere

Among the pianos I have looked at, I liked a new Samick WSU131E for ?4,400 and a new Kemble Vermont (which is a K121ZT in a fancier case) for ?4,100 but the technician's advice was that the Samick was not as good as it should be (or rather that the black one which I had tried, which was very ugly, was fine but the walnut one which I could live with was not impressive) and that the action of the new Kemble was 'dongy' (I had tried another K121ZT elsewhere, not the Vermont): he thinks the older Prestige (which I think pre-dates the Yamaha take-over) has a much better action and sound.

I could spend up to ?4,500; my husband has a strong preference for a lighter wood case, preferably cherry though he would probably be happy with something like alder or walnut, which makes a Yamaha U1N or P121NT easily affordable, or something like a Petrof K117K1, but rules out the rest of the Yamaha U series.

The instrument is for my daughter (who embarked on Suzuki lessons a few month ago) and me (pretty much a beginner)

Should I go with my adviser, who is highly rated by my daughter's very experienced Suzuki teacher, and buy the older Prestige? If so, is the price fair? Or should I look for another Kemble Vermont in case the one he tried was unusually poor? Or track down one of the Yamahas in the right finish and see if it is up to scratch? Is there another obvious option I am missing? I do need a piano fairly quickly as my daughter's practice is suffering.

Any advice would be most welcome!

[Barrie Heaton]

I am returning a second hand piano which I bought for ?3250 eight months ago, which has developed a major defect and is now unusable.

My technician/adviser from whom I bought it is taking it back and has offered me a 12 year old, but almost unused Kemble Prestige for ?3200, or will act as my agent in buying another piano elsewhere



Among the pianos I have looked at, I liked a new Samick WSU131E for ?4,400 and a new Kemble Vermont (which is a K121ZT in a fancier case) for ?4,100 but the technician's advice was that the Samick was not as good as it should be (or rather that the black one which I had tried, which was very ugly, was fine but the walnut one which I could live with was not impressive) and that the action of the new Kemble was 'dongy' (I had tried another K121ZT elsewhere, not the Vermont): he thinks the older Prestige (which I think pre-dates the Yamaha take-over) has a much better action and sound.

RRP for a Kemble Prestige 5,099.00 and I don’t know what you are taking about "pre Yamaha take over" Kemble have been on bed with Yamaha since the 70s the Kemble Brothers still run the company and and yes the Kemble is far better than the Samick by a long way

I could spend up to ?4,500; my husband has a strong preference for a lighter wood case, preferably cherry though he would probably be happy with something like alder or walnut, which makes a Yamaha U1N or P121NT easily affordable, or something like a Petrof K117K1, but rules out the rest of the Yamaha U series.

The instrument is for my daughter (who embarked on Suzuki lessons a few month ago) and me (pretty much a beginner)

Should I go with my adviser, who is highly rated by my daughter's very experienced Suzuki teacher, and buy the older Prestige? If so, is the price fair? Or should I look for another Kemble Vermont in case the one he tried was unusually poor? Or track down one of the Yamahas in the right finish and see if it is up to scratch? Is there another obvious option I am missing? I do need a piano fairly quickly as my daughter's practice is suffering.

Any advice would be most welcome!

Since you need to get the piano quickly you need to narrow your list of pianos not increase them t just keep it to the Kemble Vermont the U1 or the second hand one what sort of guarantee is he giving you 5 4 3 2 years you get a 5 year guarantee with a new one


Barrie,

[amvs]

Barrie, thanks for this

He is offering me the second-hand Kemble with a 10 year warranty and also three years free tuning, which brings the price down to around ?3000 relative to ?3800-3900 for a brand new Prestige (list prices don't seem to mean much at the moment).

As to the new pianos, I can find the Yamaha U1N in cherry for ?3400-?3700 and the Kemble Vermont for ?4100-?4200 (which includes I reckon ?350 for the fancier case, which I don't mind paying)

Any further thoughts?

[Barrie Heaton]

Barrie, thanks for this

He is offering me the second-hand Kemble with a 10 year warranty and also three years free tuning, which brings the price down to around ?3000 relative to ?3800-3900 for a brand new Prestige (list prices don't seem to mean much at the moment).
Any further thoughts?

That a good deal you will be saving 80 pounds a year on tuning on my prices don’t know what he charges However, I don’t think Kembles warranty is transferable form the first owner

As to the new pianos, I can find the Yamaha U1N in cherry for ?3400-?3700 and the Kemble Vermont for ?4100-?4200 (which includes I reckon ?350 for the fancier case, which I don't mind paying)
Any further thoughts?

Well I look at it like this you will have to sit and look at it for the next whatever years so the little extra is worth it.

Barrie,

[amvs]

Thank you for the advice - with this and from reading other threads on this and other forums, I have decided to go for a new Kemble K121ZT, in a Vermont case if I can find one that my tuner/technician is happy with, or else in the standard black case.

[amvs]

My new Kemble (K121ZT) was delivered today, a very different sound from the (very) old Steinway but a huge pleasure to play - thank you again for the advice found and received here.

[Barrie Heaton]

Enjoy you new piano

Barrie,