Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum My thoughts on the Yamaha S7X

Not sure about Steinway, but my Yamaha has a lock and key on the front so you can lock the lid. It's clear that Yamaha anticipated this scenario and took appropriate action.

You bought the Yamaha?! If so congratulations and many years of happiness.

No, I mean my existing Yamaha U3.

Is that not how the world works? They say something, we call them a liar, they do the product demo, some other people in the field replicate the findings, and then we reassess.

I don’t think they have to say anything. It’s the owners, techs, teachers, and universities that will tell you all you need to know. Word of mouth- that’s how the world works.

You produce crap year after year and the world hears about that as well.

Sonepica,

I've been reading your reviews of high end pianos with much interest. Perhaps you could do some video reviews of the pianos you've played, similar to "ThePianoForever" youtube channel.

If video isn't your thing, even just the audio recording done the same way (Yes, rooms will be different, but at least we'll get a good baseline) would be enormously helpful. This forum is about sharing experiences, and what's better than sharing your shopping experience of top notch pianos (and their Chinese competition), and highlighting what you find as strengths and weaknesses?

(I think a Zoom mic mounted like in this video should be very portable and provide good sound quality )

Best wishes with your piano hunt!

Haha. I don't have time to do piano reviews. But I'll create some more videos of my playing once I get my new piano.

Sure. Maybe not full reviews, but how about 3-5 minute audio recordings of each piano you try and your impressions of them in text form posted here with links?

I'm thinking of going with the S7X just because it might have a superior action, good for technically challenging pieces. Not that I noticed anything wrong with the Hailun action.

Hi Sonepica,

I am curious if you have tried out Kawai's modern action.
A couple days ago I made the decision to go with a GX3 over an Hailun 198 because the kawai action was far superior. In fact was the most pleasing action i've tried. Also I noticed that treble sustain on Kawai is superior to treble sustain on Yamahas that i have tried.

I'm curious on what your thoughts will be about that. Their highest end line of course is the shigeru, which should be in your price range since you are considering some very high end pianos.

If you are having this much difficulty deciding, then you should move on and spare us. It should be an experience/decision of your soul...not whether it’s sand casted or the treble has X amount of sustain or the bass strings are wound in a certain way. Make a decision and be good with it.

I’m beginning to wonder if you just enjoy the attention.

Hi the OP
I think I know which Hailun piano you tried. There should be only one big Hailun piano in the Melbourne dealer in the suburb of Ringwood.

I played that piano once and I was very impressed with it. Fine action and very warm sound (quite European I dare say). I think they have leased the piano out for some piano festival before so one could argue they should not try to sell it as brand new.

I think you are over thinking your purchase. But given you don't instantly fall in love with the S7X I would suggest you hold fire for now given it is a lot of money.

Reading your posts, I am guessing the OP is an engineer or a scientist. I was like that as well obsessed with specifications.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I've posted my thoughts on the Shigeru Kawais before. The dealer only had an SK5, so it's possible I would have liked the larger models more, but I found it to have a fairly weak sound. Not brash and powerful like the Yamaha. Given the sort of music I play, it wasn't right for me.

No one's forcing you to read my threads or post on them.

From the OPs blog, he is a very experienced pianist, who would be very capable of knowing what tone and touch appeal to him. If you elicit opinions from an Internet forum, you can easily be swayed by those that have a clear brand preference other than yours developed from the specific piano you played. The fact he is considering buying a piano he didn’t really like is evidence this is happening.

You mean the Yamaha? It's not at all true that I didn't like it. It just noticed the one down side that it seemed to have a crisp treble rather than a high-sustain treble. But all pianos have downsides, including Bosendorfer and Fazioli.

If you like the crisp treble rather than a high sustain treble, then buy it. You are right that ‘no piano is perfect’; but only YOU, rather than an Internet forum, can decide which elements are important to you. Ask yourself about any piano ‘will I be happy with this piano in five years?’

Now that you are about to pull the trigger, you might also want to consider the room you will place your new piano.

https://www.pianobuyer.com/article/ten-ways-to-voice-a-room/

But later you say Those statements seem inconsistent. In a home setting I don't see why one should be concerned with brash and powerful. Almost any size piano will normally be powerful enough in a home setting unless one is playing in a gigantic room. I think most pianists choose larger piano because of the quality of the bass and not how powerfully they can play on them.

After having a C3 for 7 years, I had experience on exactly how big and loud a 6 foot piano would be in my home. Since Sonepica is using a U3 right now, he might think he needs 7 and 1/2 foot piano to fill the house where an SK5 would be enough.