Baby Grand Pianoforte vs Upright Piano

Which is the all-time option?
Baby grands expect fabulous in the corner of a large room or hallway but are they a skilful pick or are they besides much of a compromise. Read on for my thoughts…

What do piano tuners and teachers etc say
The accustomed opinion of pianoforte manufacture professionals is that from a musical signal of view, information technology is ameliorate to buy a good quality upright piano (ideally around 130cm alpine) than a grand piano smaller than 5ft in length. Phone your piano tuner and run into what s/he says about that. A Yamaha U3 has longer bass strings than a infant grand piano less than 5ft in length.

Cull a Yamaha C1 or G1. Don't consider anything smaller
To get the all-time from a k piano you should really be looking at a minimum length of around 5ft 7in (Yamaha C2 or G2) or in a higher place. Anything below that can have shorter strings than a big upright. That said, the Yamaha C1 or G1 grands are 5ft 3in and produce a squeamish tone but you will need to exist aware that the bass will not sound as rich every bit the C2 or G2. Then if possible, try to go for a C2 or G2 instead of a C1 or G1. Every bit a side note permit me say that the C1 and C2 are the replacement models for the G1 and G2. They are both Japanese made and aimed at professional pianists.

Why most people buy babe k pianos
When people spend about £4000 – £6000 on a 4ft – 5ft baby grand piano they are usually making a furniture decision. They similar the "idea" of the babe grand piano and they are often willing to overlook the fact that the musical quality may be compromised due to the size. Piano manufacturers are aware of this and then in that location is a massive price war on at the moment for who can produce the everyman priced baby grand piano. They know that customers will not exist spending hours assessing the impact or tone and and so the pianos may be made to lower musical standards. The end result is a lesser quality piano housed inside a nice looking chiffonier. It looks fabulous but may not have a sound quality to match.

Manufacturer's Blurb
Of class the manufacturer blurb of these cheap baby grand pianos even so says things like "made with High german parts" and "designed in collaboration with a German piano designer" simply acquire to take all of that with a pinch of common salt and ask (a) where was it fabricated? and (b) is it longer than 5ft 3in (Yamaha C1 G1 size) or 5ft 7in (Yamaha C2 G2 size). Don't go smaller than a C1 G1 and try to aim for a C2 or G2 or above. Lamentable if I'm repeating myself a little chip hither.

Some infant grands are good, but they aren't cheap
Some piano manufacturers practise offer high quality baby k pianos but they are much more expensive, up above £12,000 and then this puts them out of reach of nigh baby grand piano buyers. In general a new babe 1000 at £5000-£7000 will be made in China or Republic of indonesia and be of a questionable quality whereas a new baby grand priced above £ten,000 will probably exist a very high quality and volition be made in Japan, United states or Deutschland.

On to the uprights
Every bit mentioned above, bigger grand pianos are better than smaller grand pianos. The same is truthful of upright pianos. I e'er recommend that y'all should try and get a piano that is above 130cm loftier. If that is also much for your home then you lot should certainly stay above 120cm. The Yamaha U3 (131cm) and Yamaha U1 (121cm) are 2 very pop pianos that fit this recommendation.

Modest uprights
Pianoforte manufacturers are producing lots of cheaply made small upright pianos at the moment and people are snapping them up. They expect great, they have impressive names on the fallboard just if you take the fourth dimension to sit and play them you lot will see that the quality just doesn't compare well with the the taller pianos that are designed to exist proficient pianos rather than but bonny pieces of furniture.

Bigger uprights
Larger upright pianos are aimed at the massive number of pianists all over the world who have gone through their early on grades and they now need a piano that volition come across them through their grade viii and every bit far beyond that equally their ambition will have them. Once y'all buy a high quality upright you will never need to upgrade again unless you move on to a 6ft or longer grand pianoforte. For this reason, piano manufacturers put an enormous corporeality of effort into making sure that these bigger upright pianos are built to the highest standards possible. They are not aimed at the people who purchase pianos equally pieces of piece of furniture. These pianos are aimed at ambitious students, piano teachers, academy students, music schoolhouse do rooms, minor concert halls. They are congenital to terminal for generations whilst providing a top quality sound the whole fourth dimension.

The near popular larger uprights
The clear winner over the past 40 years must surely be the Yamaha U3. The magic formula for pianoforte manufacture is to combine loftier build quality with a sensible price. Reasonable quality with depression price isn't good enough. Practiced quality with loftier toll is not good plenty. Without high quality manufacture, y'all will never achieve the massive popularity of the Yamaha U3. And that's why it has done so well, information technology has an unchallenged combination of quality and price.

What about Yamaha's smaller uprights?
You have the smaller Yamaha B1 at the cheaper cease of the scale which I believe are made in Indonesia (correct me if I'm wrong). You lot have the P series in the heart (pocket-size to medium size, higher cost, good quality, made in diverse factories around the world but non made in Nihon), and the U series at the height with high prices and top quality.

Loftier toll of a new Yamaha U3
Not many people can justify spending £8000+ on a new U3 but thankfully, they are built so well that if y'all buy a professionally reconditioned U3 you will savor all of the benefits of a new one for about half the price. That is why it remains the most recommended piano in the U.k.. Enquire your piano teacher or tuner if they recommend a properly reconditioned U3 and near volition say yes.

To conclude…
If you have the coin to buy a high quality infant thou piano that has been made in Nippon or Federal republic of germany then you lot should consider that as a serious choice. New ones will cost you over £14,000. Used ones will be around £x,000. However, try to come across if you can push to at least a C1 or G1 (5ft 3in) or ideally a C2 or G2 (5ft 7in). If you are mainly looking for a overnice piece of furniture then go for the latest cheaply built Chinese or Indonesian made baby grand piano for around £5000. It won't sound very dainty, information technology won't agree its value, but information technology volition look very very nice.

If you have less than £5000 to spend and you are looking for a peak quality instrument then I would say that a babe yard pianoforte is not the right choice for y'all. I would suggest spending between £3000 – £5000 on the highest quality, properly reconditioned Yamaha U3 that yous tin discover. They have a full, rich tone and a professional quality action. They are suitable for grade 1 and too for beyond grade 8.

Waffled likewise much?
I wrote this article off the top of my head based on my experience playing pianos since the age of 7 and besides trading in pianos since 2002. I promise I haven't waffled on too much. If you lot'd like to e-mail me with whatsoever questions that are not covered in this article then please exercise feel gratis to drop me a line at markgoodwinpianos@gmail.com

Thanks for your interest
Kind Regards,
Mark