All About Choosing and Buying Pianos

[Oh My Gosh]

Dear All,

Someone asked about Yamaha Serial Numbers. Here's the official listing with age and place of manufacture:

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/Con ... NTID=12173

Yes, there is a shop which lies about the age of the pianos. The one which lied to me that the U1s were 20 years younger than they actually were is located in an Industrial warehouse in Jalan Peminpin. However, the shop I eventually bought my U1 from was honest about the age and condition of the pianos and I managed to verify it on-line as well.

Hope this helps!

Currently no website available for checking the age of "newer" U1 piano. Apparently, those after 628xxxx are not available.

[pirate]

I am eyeing a 2nd hand U1 (said to be bought less than 6 mths as the expatriate is going back his country) but I am unable to check online to verify its age. Even Yamaha website does not provide serial number after 6280000 (http://usa.yamaha.com/support/finding_a ... aha_piano/). Can you let me know the serial number of your new U1 piano (after you receive your new piano this Sat) so that I can do a simple extrapolation. Appreciated in advance!

If it helps, my new U1 silent delivered in Feb 2012 has serial no. 6334XXX. I figure it was built sometime in 2011 seeing as the Yamaha website say 6280000 was made in 2010.

Incidentally, I gave up on getting a 2nd hand U1 when I realized that paying something like $4-5k for a 20-25 year old U1 from the shops did not seem like a bright idea considering that it probably cost around that to get a new one 20-25 years ago!

[jce]

Szepinge, personally, I think there's no point in getting baby grands. Grands should be at least 6 ft in order for it to really function in a way that a grand should in terms of tone, action, response etc.

[starz]

anyone have idea how is pearl river piano? good?

[jce]

Pearl River has been around for a very long time. In other words, it does have some quality for it to have lasted so many years. My mum use to have a Pearl River, used for 10 plus years and sold it off secondhand and the next owner used it for another 10 years. Lasting, but that was some 30 plus 40 years ago...

[starz]

Pearl River has been around for a very long time. In other words, it does have some quality for it to have lasted so many years. My mum use to have a Pearl River, used for 10 plus years and sold it off secondhand and the next owner used it for another 10 years. Lasting, but that was some 30 plus 40 years ago...

so far where to get pearl river besides getting from cristofori? not sure issit worth to buy?

[star89]

Mummies,

Did you sign up with yamaha for their tuning service? Is it good and worth? The price is higher than tuning by freelancer?

[jce]

Yamaha tuners - just like the teachers, there's a mix bag, some better than others, so depends who you get. Freelance tuners, same thing, some are really good and some are just so-so and some really cannot make it. Again, just like freelance teachers. So best is via word of mouth. Price wise, there are freelance tuners who can charge $100 per tuning and those who will charge $40 per tuning.

[Oh My Gosh]

Yamaha tuners - just like the teachers, there's a mix bag, some better than others, so depends who you get. Freelance tuners, same thing, some are really good and some are just so-so and some really cannot make it. Again, just like freelance teachers. So best is via word of mouth. Price wise, there are freelance tuners who can charge $100 per tuning and those who will charge $40 per tuning.

Any good tuners to recommend? I know aircon serviceman sometimes perform service on their own accord, after office hours (or squeezed in between service requests). Then they keep the $ themselves and not report to their company. Is this trend common for piano tuners as well?

[NICKW]

Yamaha tuners - just like the teachers, there's a mix bag, some better than others, so depends who you get. Freelance tuners, same thing, some are really good and some are just so-so and some really cannot make it. Again, just like freelance teachers. So best is via word of mouth. Price wise, there are freelance tuners who can charge $100 per tuning and those who will charge $40 per tuning.

Any good tuners to recommend? I know aircon serviceman sometimes perform service on their own accord, after office hours (or squeezed in between service requests). Then they keep the $ themselves and not report to their company. Is this trend common for piano tuners as well?

I am quite happy with the following tuners:
1) Andy Png (ex Yamaha-trained technician) at http://www.pianos.com.sg/info2.asp?id=181

2) Miss Bee Shiuan (mobile 91371456)


I also have bad experience with the tuner from
1) http://attunepiano.com/index.htm
2) "Renner piano".

The arrogant tuner from Renner piano only takes 25 minutes to tune my piano. Dont know what he did to my piano ... the tone of my piano sounded harsh after the tuning. Asked him why the changes in tone, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said Yamaha piano is like that one ...