Yamaha Upright Pianos

I have been able to compare the largest Yamaha Upright with the equivalent pianos from Steinway and the mass produced Boston (marketed by Steinway) These pianos look identical in size and shape.

If you are a serious musician, and you keep in practice, you will probably prefer the Steinway. This has a firm touch, giving an experienced player a wider dynamic range and range of expression.

The Boston is identical, but about half the price of the Steinway, and has a lighter touch.

The largest Yamaha upright is also identical, and has a lighter touch than the Boston. It is between a quarter and a third of the price of the Steinway.

Used Steinways and Bostons are rather difficult to locate, and if they have been reconditioned it is important to establish who has done the work, as a used piano is only as good as the technician who did the reconditioning - and the materials used - has made it.

Recently there have been several piano companies in the UK who are importing Yamaha pianos from Japan, reconditioning them (the Japanese consumer changes pianos like we change our cars - and they also like a brighter tone that the average UK consumer - hence the need to replace or re-tone the hammers for the UK market). These dealers are selling them for about 50% of the new cost. This means you can get the largest and best Yamaha upright piano for under £3,000 from a dealer with delivery and a full guarantee. As the Yamaha pianos have serial numbers, it is possible for the dealer to date the instrument for you. If I give a small selection of dates and the serial numbers as a rough guide.

Date Number
1917 1700
1920 40000
1930 112000
1940 195000
1950 400000
1960 6567000
1965 905000

Yamaha have been making pianos for over one hundred years, and have a very good reputation. I recommend the large traditional upright instruments only, as I have found some of the smaller ones have a limited dynamic range, an over-bright tone and are not really suitable for serious musicians.

As pianos have a useful life of about 60 years, provided they are regularly tuned and maintained, the cost-per-year of ownership is really quite small. Whereas the Steinway can also be considered as an investment, the Yamaha is less likely to attract a higher selling price after a number of years. The case is not solid wood (I have seen one with a corner of the case chipped off, and this sort of damage would seriously affect the resale value.