Has anyone found the Yamaha upright piano to have a very bright sound?

L

lattes.and.limousines

New member
I own a Yamaha upright that's about twelve/thirteen years old. I've found that it's much too bright for my liking because I tend to play classical music. The recent models tend to almost be upright grands. My own Yamaha is so short compared to the newer pianos, which sound much warmer. I did ask the tuner last time about the tonal quality of the piano and he says that Yamahas tend to make pretty bright uprights. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same?

Of course, with years of playing, the hammers are probably a little worn, but I remember my piano to always have been brighter and "harder" than most other pianos in terms of sound. And does anyone know how much I could possibly sell it for? It's in relatively good condition, both internally and externally (looks brand new, actually). I'll probably fix it up a bit before I do put it on the market, but how much would people be willing to pay you think? Just rough estimates is good enough. ^_^

Thank you!
 
You know, a 12 yr old piano isn't really all that old:). yes, i agree yamaha uprights do have a bright sound - i've also found that older ones have a sort of "tinny" sound to them after a while. my piano tuner explained to me once why they don't age as well as some others, but sadly i don't remember why-sorry:( possibly it has something to do with the higher tension scale mentioned above. i'm not a big fan of yamaha pianos in general - uprights or grands - but a lot of people sure seem to like them and since your piano really isn't all that old i think you can probably charge $1000-
 
As a general rule, Yamahas (like many Asian pianos) do have a brighter sound, and for two basic reasons:

They use a high-tension scale, which tends to emphasize the upper partials, and they use a denser and harder felt stock for the hammers. Voicing of the hammers can help somewhat, but the high-tension scale causes a brightness that is endemic and cannot be winnowed out.

Many artists, especially jazz and pop artists, prefer that bright, poppy, dry sound, while classical musicians prefer a more mellow, singing sound that gives them more leeway to produce a larger variety of tone colors and dynamics.

Cheers,


G.
 
I've performed on a Yamaha grand and definitely noticed the brightness of the sound and also found the feel a little hard to control and didn't like the response very much, especially at times when I had fast repeated note sections in the music. I own a Kawai baby grand and prefer it because of the sound quality and good response. I learned quite a few concertos on that instrument and still enjoy using it after 6 years since I got it. As regards selling your piano. For an upright I would try to get at lest 500-1000 for it.
 
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