Yamaha U3A and U30BL

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Hi guys,

I'm shopping around for a used Yamaha U3 acoustic piano, and filtered down to these 2 serials U3A and U30BL which cost the same price $5k.

Anyone knows what are the differences? Is U30BL younger than U3A? How do I know the age of these piano?

U30BL 460xxxx - $5k
U3 A435xxxx - $5k

What do you think of the price, is it steep?

Anybody have recommendations on reputable 2nd hand piano shops i should take a look before deciding?

Any advice are appreciated, i really wish to get the best deal out of my 5k budget.

Cheers:)
 
You have essentially approached buying a piano the absolute WRONG way. You should never EVER prioritize your decisions based on the age or "which-is-better" or so to say. What you should do instead, is select the piano you want based on it's touch and tonal quality. Both pianos are similar in quality and build, with differences being the badge and country of sale. Both have similar scale, action parts and soundboard/rib construction, but with experience even the newer, similarly priced ones can be worse off in terms of touch and tone.

Bring someone along with you. Hear the piano from a distance when it's being played. The one that you want should be something that's easy to modulate, control and it should sing. Let me know if you want any help!
 
Two questions to ask before buying a piano: what is it used for, and who is going to use it? Question one - is it for learning (taking exams or not?), just playing, performing etc. Question two - for beginners (taking exams or not), intermediate player, performer etc.

As nikolaiski said, you need to try it for yourself. The tone is one thing, but I think one of the main thing is touch and response. If you are going to use it for practice (esp for somebody taking exams), and esp so if that person is younger, you may want a piano to build finger technique and strength (hence a piano with a heavier response, but you'll also need to watch for weight that may be too heavy if the player is very young - you don't want to cause injury). If you're seasoned player and a performer, lighter touch and response is probably something you want. That's my first filter when choosing a piano. After that comes the tone and sound.

Age is something arbitrary. Many old pianos still sound and work great. New does not equal to better. Also, older models doesn't make it any worse (or better) than newer models. Of course, some old used ones will undergo wear and tear, which you need to take into consideration. My old 36 year old Kawai underwent an entire overhaul once and it's still working very well. Now that I'm not in Singapore, I got a Yamaha YU series (overseas model) mainly so the touch helps my kids build their finger strength and techniques - ie a practicing piano (although I would personally choose a very different model if it was just me playing).

I recalled ages ago, my piano teacher's studio lies a Petrof Grand piano, which I play every week during piano lessons. The response so heavy that my fingers could hardly move. But it was good for me. She had another upright - an IBach. When I played that, the weight was so light (totally opposite to her Petrof) that I couldn't get used to playing it (and played terribly). I remembered before my Grade 8 exam (exam was in her home studio), half an hour earlier I wanted to warm up and practiced on her IBach. But because I was so used to the heavy keys of her Petrof, I couldn't play at all! I wondered what happened to me and whether I was going to fail! Good thing the exam was on her Petrof Grand - which I was already used to. That was when I was a student. If I had a choice now, I would prefer the IBach over the Petrof anytime. But for the sake of my kids, I would go the opposite.
 
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You guys are right, I approached this the wrong way by looking at its age first.

This is my first time picking an acoustic piano (for myself), and I was too used to the monotonous action/sound on my digital piano.

Honestly, i was overwhelmed (and fell in love) by the big differences between digital and acoustic during my shopping.

I wish i had a muscian friend who can advise on the tone/touch bright/mellow qualities but I had none. :(

There was a shop owner left its piano un-tuned and told me that a pianist can hear the sound/touch quality even without tuning. It made me feel bad by not able to tell the quality but only to filter it out base on its tuning..

Eventually I picked an U3A (400xxxxx) in another shop, that in my opinion sounds and feels the best...

Total damage is $4.6k and will be delivered tomorrow, and i'm so excited to learn music all over again :)
 
Two questions to ask before buying a piano: what is it used for, and who is going to use it? Question one - is it for learning (taking exams or not?), just playing, performing etc. Question two - for beginners (taking exams or not), intermediate player, performer etc.
I will be the one using it mainly for both leisure playing and to learn ABRSM gradings.
Was self taught and attended 1-2 years pop piano classes, and now interested in pumping up my fundamentals (fingerings, sight-reading, music theories, expressions etc.) and to get some credential.
Maybe will start from Grade 1 onwards *shrug* I am still looking for a piano teacher for assessment...
 
There was a shop owner left its piano un-tuned and told me that a pianist can hear the sound/touch quality even without tuning. It made me feel bad by not able to tell the quality but only to filter it out base on its tuning..

Eventually I picked an U3A (400xxxxx) in another shop, that in my opinion sounds and feels the best...

Total damage is $4.6k and will be delivered tomorrow, and i'm so excited to learn music all over again :)

Wow, please introduce the piano shop owner to me..I'd like to bang his/her head against their own piano for making such an ignorant, sales driven remark. Do you know that a good state of tuning at concert pitch DIRECTLY affects a piano's tone? And the tone psychologically influences your touch as well?

Take for example, a guitar string. If you loosen it by too much, it doesn't even sound like anything but when it's up to pitch, it's nice and bright, no? In a piano, these changed are more sensitive, and the first point of diagnostics that an experienced technician will do, is to bring the piano up to concert pitch and then see if anything needs to be done to drastically alter it's touch and tonal quality.

Sounds like you got yourself a good deal! Yea ignore age man. I have sitting in my room, a 32 yo yamaha upright and an 89 year old grand that was lovingly restored..and all the best with your music!
 
I went that particular shop 3 times and they did not bother tune up the piano that was for sale even admitting the piano is out of tune. Maybe it will take too much of their time or they are simply trying to get me to buy the other *tuned* piano ;P

Anyway received my piano yesterday it was GREAT except I personally find it a little too loud for my 4-room HDB home (and I assume for my neighbors as well :P).
Or maybe it is just a matter of time before I get used to an acoustic piano.

Does anyone know if putting a carpet/rug underneath the piano can help in softening the volume?
Currently the piano is placed on/against concrete floor/wall in the living room.

I can wait for 2 weeks till the free piano tuning service to ask the technician for opinion too, but now I'm a little cautious by trying to play the piano softer.
 
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