Yamaha U1 or A1?
Paul Slavchenko and Lori Moore
lessons a year ago and enjoy playing. The lease on the piano is up. We
don't like the sound and are looking to buy a piano now, in the Toronto
area.
A local dealer has shown me a Yamaha U1 upright for approx. $7000
Canadian or an A1 (aft 11 in baby grand for approx. $14000. I'm not sure
that I can afford any more than this. Both sound OK to me. My piano
teacher recommends the baby grand because of superiority of sound and
action.
Any opinions?
Paul
Tommi Himberg
If the choice is between upright and baby grand I would go for the grand as
well. The mechanism of the two is slightly different. With grand you can for
example repeat a tone without letting the key completely up, thus creating a
"legato-effect" to the repetitions etc.
For what I've heard from piano-tuners the grand is also more versatile in
terms of fine-tuning it to your needs and taste in terms of touch
sensitivity, sound quality etc.
Even though these differences mostly make a real difference for the
professionals, I would claim that amateurs and people who love piano playing
as a hobby will appreciate the difference. I suggest you, if you haven't
done so yet, to go to your dealer to test the different instruments, and
alos to compare them with the higher end grands to get a grasp of the whole
range of instruments available.
So if you have deep enough pockets, go for the grand! (it looks so much
better, as well... :-))
TH
Paul Slavchenko and Lori Moore
Thanks for the advice. I've been avoiding going into the big city to
play the bigger grands (as per your advice) lest I decide that I really
want one! I may do this just to test my willpower.
Paul
Christopher Wigdor
company - they are different types of piano, and both are wonderful.
I have had my U1 for 25 years now, and have rarely wondered whether the
grass could be greener on the other side because it is such a wonderful
instrument. What I would say is that the U1 probably has more power than a
baby grand (compare the length of the strings and you'll be surprised how
much power a large upright has); a U3 has even more (for not much more
money).
There are other considerations, space being one - unless you have a very
large room, you may be surprised how much you miss/resent the space that a
grand piano takes up.
The U1 has a an incredibly effective damper (middle pedal) which means you
can play in the middle of the night without fear of reprisal from the enemy;
I think I am right in saying that the grand's middle pedal is a selective
sustain.
It's easier to stop guests putting their drinks on top of an upright.
On the other hand you can hide under a grand in the event of an earthquake,
in the knowledge that if the 'quake is huge then you will die a much more
expensive and tasteful death than your neighbour.
It takes longer to polish a grand (especially if you go for a black or white
polyester finish).
In terms of their respective residual values, I have no idea which
instrument holds its value better.
Nice to have the choice though..........
Christopher W.
"Paul Slavchenko and Lori Moore" <sl...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:3E510195...@sympatico.ca...
Radu Focshaner
"Paul Slavchenko and Lori Moore" <sl...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:3E510195...@sympatico.ca...
> A local dealer has shown me a Yamaha U1 upright for approx. $7000
> Canadian or an A1 (aft 11 in baby grand for approx. $14000. I'm not sure
> that I can afford any more than this. Both sound OK to me. My piano
> teacher recommends the baby grand because of superiority of sound and
> action.
> Any opinions?
The U1 is a piano, an upright but still a decent YAMAHA instrument (I do not
imply that it is the best).
The GA1 baby grand is a promotional Piano Shaped Object. It is a disgrace to
the YAMAHA brand and YAMAHA people are ashamed of it. It is a piece of crap.
It sounds awful, it looks awful. Stay away from the GA1 and from
promotional pianos in general.
r.