Buy piano - Yamaha, Kawai, Karl Schonberg ???

[gclef]

Hello,

I'm new in this forum. I want to get a piano for my 6-year old daughter. I'm very overwhelmed by all the brands, models, country of origins and prices. Hope I can get some advice here.

After some shopping, I'm rather keen on the Yamaha U1J from Indonesia. There's also the model M112T from Japan. The prices of these 2 are close. Is it OK to get the U1J or should I compromise on the piano height for the made-in-japan peace of mind.

There is a dealer who told me that made-in-Korea pianos are safer than made-in Indonesia ones and recommended Karl Schonberg. He claimed it's German technology but an all-Korean piano. Can I trust that?

The problem is I know very very little about piano and my girl is only a beginner. Other than 'bright' and 'mellow', I can't tell all the subtle differences in the tone quality.

[PianoGuy]

I'd have no worries about the Yamaha built in Indonesia, although it is true that the quality isn't quite up to the Japanese factory, and there is rumour that the Rest of World markets get the cream of the Indonesian factory and Indonesia gets the 'seconds' quality, so you'll probably be OK in cosmopolitan Singapore! Why not get the opinion of a good local tuner, or better still, try and find a good second hand Japanese U1 with a serial number around 5 million. They were the best in terms of quality and they don't suffer from the ugliness of cabinet design of later models with the stupid 'slow fall'.

The "Korean but designed in Germany" bit is all hype usually used by dealers who don't have Yamaha dealerships.
I've never heard of Karl Schonberg. Does your dealer know which Korean factory it is made in? The quality of Korean pianos is fine, but you'll have an identity problem if you try to sell it I fear.

[gclef]

Thanks PianoGuy for your respond. I've checked with a tuner about the Indonesia made model of Yamaha Verticals. He said he has not tuned a U1J model before but the LU90 and LXT113 (the lower end models from Indonesia which he does tune) do give some problem after 2-3 years. He didn't mention what the problems were but the reaction was rather negative. Anyway, I'm almost settled on getting the M112T made in Japan. Was told it's for intermediate to advance use. I think it's worth it to compromise on the size to get a trustworthy model. After all, my little one is only a beginner. If she ever wants a studio piano, she'll have to earn it. Was told that the touch is almost as good as the U1J.

Thanks a zillion for your advice.