🎹 New vs Used Baby Grand Piano | Which One is Right for You? 🎹
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 01. 2023
- 🛒 See More Baby Grand Pianos HERE ▸ geni.us/all-pianos
💕 Subscribe to Merriam Pianos HERE ▸ bit.ly/SubscribeMerriam
🔔 Click the 🔔 bell to be notified of all videos! ▸ bit.ly/SubscribeMerriam
#NewVsUsedBabyGrandPiano #BabyGrandPianos #babygrandpiano
Explore the world of used grand pianos!
With a wide range of options to choose from, it can be tough to make a decision.
But don't worry, we've got you covered. When shopping for a used grand piano, it's important to consider factors such as warranty coverage, moving costs, and the piano's history and maintenance records.
Keep in mind that prices can vary greatly depending on the brand and condition of the piano. A used, non-premium black polished grand piano in good mechanical condition can typically be found for $3000-$5000.
On the other hand, a used Yamaha or Kawai in good condition can range from $7000-$15,000.
Get all the information you need to make the best decision for you!
Connect with Merriam Music:
● Website ▸ www.merriammusic.com/
● Contact Us ▸ www.merriammusic.com/contact/
● Instagram ▸ / merriammusic
● Facebook ▸ / merriammusic
● Twitter ▸ / merriammusicinc - Hudba
Thank you for the information.
You're very welcome! :)
Great intel :)
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for tuning in! :)
Nice video. 👍
Thanks so much! We appreciate that! :)
Bear in mind that a new piano needs a lot of playing, which people often call work-up/break-in, before its sound becomes stable and full. This is mainly because, as a new piano starts to be played, the shape and the density of its hammer felt also starts to be indented and compacted by its action with the strings. Depending on how much a new piano is played each day, it may need a few months or even up to a year or two before it sounds as what it should.
This is an excellent point! There is a certain point at which a new piano reached its apex musically, which is definitely not the moment it is taken out of the box.
My Apollo baby grand (I believe from the Wurlitzer era) that I bought for a couple hundred bucks is approaching 100 years old, and even though it is pretty much completely unrestored, it sounds amazing, and it has been stable in tuning for the past several years. I have played a lot of new and used pianos in piano stores from brands like Yamaha, Bosendorfer, Kawai, and a bunch of others, but my piano still (to me) sounds quite a bit better than those. Even when I played Steinway pianos, I didn't feel like the Steinway pianos were so good that I would replace my current piano. Sure the action felt is worn down, the hammers are flat, not everything is perfect, it still is an amazing sounding piano. I believe this video is sort of presented in a way that scares people from buying an old piano, which is understandable (old pianos can come with a lot of issues). However, if it is properly inspected, the piano has been taken good care of in a stable climate, an old piano can be much better than a new one.
At the end of the day, the "right", "perfect", or "best" piano is a matter of subjectivity. The most important thing is that you have found a piano that you resonate and connect with and that inspires you to play. Thanks for writing in! :)
By the way i watched all your video❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much for supporting our videos and channel! We appreciate it! :)
Two observations at 2:00 and 2:20 regarding price and length:
1) The GX-1 is a 5'5", not a 5'6"
2) Since this is an excerpt from a previous video, the price has changed.
The piano's price is no longer around the mid to low $20,000 range.... I am not sure if Stu referred to US or Canadian dollars, but the current price in US dollars seems to be around $35,000 (ranging from $31,000 to $36,000 depending on the finish). Merriam Music has the GX-1 on sale right now for $39,695 (down from $46,2950... not sure if they refer to a particular finish for the discount)... I assume they mean Canadian dollars, which would be around $30,000 US dollars. So, it seems that overall there has been an increase of around $6,000 in the last 2 years.
I own two Chickering Grands. One is a more modern 5'8" and the other is a classic 6'4". I know how to regulated a grand piano,, and can tune them myself. I'm much happier with my Yamaha DGX teamed with Pianoteq Pro. I've more or less lost interest in traditional grand pianos. People are actually trying to give them away.
@@JoeLinux2000 I agree. Shipped a baby grand all the way up here to the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. Played it maybe 6 times in four years. Meanwhile my Kawai CN29 gets played three hours every day. Couldn't handle the 'twang' (for want of a better word) of the grand. Not to mention the lack of what I have come to regard as necessities - especially transposing. So the grand has gone - Kawai rules!
@@JoeLinux2000 I don't know... I like my DGX-670... but I am willing to trade it for a Kawai GL-10 or Yamaha GB1K. 😁Oh, give me a brand new baby grand. 😀Those two models sell here in the US for about $15,000... the same price for the AvantGrand N2, which actually sounds impressively close to an upright piano like the Kawai K200 or Yamaha b2. But the baby grands still beat the N2 in terms of color and projection. By the way, I am talking about sound in person, not piano samples on CZcams, which are very misleading. When you play these things in person, it is a very different experience.
Thanks for catching those two details! The GX1 is a 5'5" baby grand piano and, particularly over the pandemic, there have been some meaningful price increases across the entire piano industry. :)
@@MerriamPianos Thank you for the feedback :)
Eager for your CA901 vs. CA99 video :)
Itching? You should really have that looked at....
Videos for the new CA models from Kawai are in the queue and should be published relatively soon. ;)
@@MerriamPianos Can you confirm (or hint;) if the CA49/59 are getting replaced/upgrade, too? I found some CA401/501 advertised on the internet, but it looks fake....?
You allowed me to bully you into editing your comment, shame on you! Or is it shame on me...now I'm confusedXD Can you please changing "eager" back to itching, it was way funnier and also now my reply makes no sense...thx:D
@@zvelekva ahh it's your falt haahaha🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂🎹🎶
Hi Stu, thanks for your insight. I learned a lot - as always.
I am actually looking for a baby grand. However, I have to compromise on budget and size. In view of what you said about the degradation of pianos with age would you rather recommend a new one at the entry level, let‘s say a Kawai GL 10, or a used Bechstein L 167 or Grotrian-Steinweg 165. I tried both of them and love their sound. However, I am hesitant since both were built in the 1970s. - I guess there is no general answer to that question, but perhaps some sort of guideline?
Thanks again and keep up the good work.
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! Thanks for tuning in and writing in with your question! While the Kawai GL10 is a remarkable piano for its price point, the C. Bechstein L167 and Grotrian-Steinweg 165 models are of a very different quality level when it comes to design, materials, and manufacturing. With that said, it is difficult to give a clear/straightforward answer or suggestion given the age of the used instruments in question. It would come down to the musical condition of the instrument of course. At the end of the day, the best choice is the piano that inspires and excites you the most! :)
@@MerriamPianos Hi Brent, thanks for your kind response. So I guess I have to find a piano maker and ask for help. It was love at first sight with the Grotrian on my part. But, as you mentioned, the age of the instrument is an issue. Thanks again for your advice, best regards from Germany 🙂.
any thoughts of whether it is better to buy a lower tier baby grand such as Weber W157 that is less than 10 years old, or to go for a 35 year old, higher quality kawai kg-2 that is in the same price point?
Thanks for writing in with the question! Considering the KG2 is a far larger instrument, its musical potential will be far greater than the W157. With that said, it is tough to make a formal suggestion here without getting to inspect and play the exact instruments in question. It is possible that the KG2 has plenty of musical life left in it despite its age, but a lot of that will be determined by how well it was kept and maintained. Thanks and hope this helps!
The other obvious thing to consider is whether you (or your youngster) are just starting and you have no idea if interest will wane in a few months, or whether piano is something you know you'll stick with for many years.
Absolutely! That should always be an important point of consideration when deciding on what type of investment to make. :)
I want to buy....
It's hard not to get that instinct when you see and hear a beautiful piano! ;)
Please make next video on how to by any piano from india❓❓❓❓❓
I love kawai and casio pianos
Pleas make video......❤️❤️❤️❤️
We will certainly do our best to cover more Kawai and Casio pianos in upcoming videos! Given that Kawai has launched a few new models, you can certainly expect some review/comparison videos to come out very soon. ;)
How? He is in Canada🎹🎶
3:05 3:55
:)
What about getting a used baby grand Steinway for the price of a new Pearl River? I think a Steinway would still play better and also hold its value better compared to a similarly sized Chinese piano.
If that was a possibility, the Steinway baby grand would naturally be the superior option musically speaking (pending it was in a good, viable musical state). With that said, I think most used Steinway grands will be at a higher price point than new Pearl River grands (at least here in Canada that tends to be the norm).
Stu is the best
Stu is awesome! We're lucky to have him! :)
Get a good digital. They generally sound better, are more versatile, cost less, and are easier to transport.
Brent from Merriam Music here! It ultimately depends on the intended use of the instrument. For gigging/travelling, a portable digital piano is far more convenient. But, there are many players that will prefer the sonic and playing experience of an acoustic piano (particularly a grand) over even the highest quality digital piano (myself included). But, of course, it will always be a very personal and subjective thing. :)
@@MerriamPianos There are many people who will prefer the quality of a Porsche over that of a Toyota. That's a meaningless statement. If you can afford the Porsche, then do. If you can't, then you will have to stick to the Toyota. That is the only relevant difference here. Are you going to get a really good grand piano for $20k, anyway? No. You won't. That money buys, at most, a medium quality upright. A good grand piano is a quarter million these days. Let's at least stick to the financial facts.
I think that's subjective🎹🎶🎙
Indeed, that is really subjective. I just can speak for myself but the feeling and the touch of a digital piano differs a lot from the one you get from a grand piano. You can't really compare the touch of a real one to a digital one. Even if the technology has developped and improved a lot over time, you won't happen to get the same sense of touch with a digital piano.
And let's be honest, the market for used pianos is not that bad. If you really want to have a good piano, you maybe should consider buying a used one for 20k instead of a new one for 20k. Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective..
He is not wrong, but it's much more simple than that: nobody needs a grand piano at home. Some people can afford it, others can't. The only question is whether you can. If you are one of those who can get such a luxury item, then do. The likelihood that the quality matters to you is very low either way. There are way more rich people than actual pianists, so you might as well spend your money on roleplaying pianist. It's OK. We won't think less of you, if you do. ;-) OK, the last part may have been sarcasm.
What confuses it more is that many large upgrights sound the same or sometimes better than a baby grand, especially in the used market (if you are looking for an instrument vs a show piece for your home). You really don't get fantastic sound until you get to about 5.5 ft+ in length, IME. So not "9 ft concert grand", but a small grand piano can be worth investing in/finding a place for if you actually play a lot. The downside is the days of mechanical pianos are limited and maybe in as little as a decade or two from now, digital technology will beat it. Almost nobody that I know outside of professional pianists are buying them as a tool for music making - it's all digital among composers, students, churches, and so on as it's a far less expensive tool that never needs to be tuned and can be moved quickly.
While there is truth to the notion that, generally speaking, a grand piano of the same value of an upright piano will have a less sophisticated design and lower quality materials, there are some performance advantages to a grand piano over an upright piano due to the physics at play with the respective actions. At the end of the day, every piano player/customer will weigh the various factors differently. :)
@@plektosgaming Exactly. An amateur does not need a concert grand. That is a cumbersome and expensive instrument for professionals. It belongs into a concert hall or a professional studio. I have only heard a few baby grands in my life, but I wasn't particularly impressed with their sound characteristics. Having said that, I have also heard a few rather expensive uprights from a top tier manufacturer who shall not be named that did, in my opinion, not warrant their price. Finding a good piano, or rather the "right" piano for a player, seems to be an arduous process, still. What I was mostly criticizing are people with more money than sense who basically "mail-order" these instruments because they want a "sophisticated" piece of furniture.
Personally I don't equate digital instruments to their mechanical counterparts. I doubt that any of the electronic keyboards that are out there (and certainly none of the MIDI controllers) warrant a true comparison with an actual piano, upright or grand. They also don't serve the same purpose, just as you said.
@@MerriamPianos I agree. If somebody absolutely wants a grand piano action, then they have to spend the money on a grand piano. Like I said... for most people that's probably more of a "want", rather than an actual "need". I have no insight into piano sales, so I don't know how many grand pianos are going to non-professional individuals as compared to sales to professionals and the music departments of colleges. That would be an interesting number to know... it might explain some of the quality discrepancies even in that instrument category. Are manufacturers deliberately making "B" quality instruments to satisfy the personal market?
@@MerriamPianos True, but comparing equally well-made pianos, you gain significant improvements in the sound once you start to get into the 5-6 ft range.)but obviously at a greater cost) That said, yes, YMMV. I've even heard dramatic differences between two pianos of the same make and model.