Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Sharing My New Yamaha C3x SH

Hello everyone. I'm sharing photos of my C3x SH freshly delivered. I'm quite happy but have some questions:

1.) It didn't come with adjustable bench and it's too low for me. What adjustable bench do you recommend? My budget is $200-$300 max. I'm looking at Amazon / Ebay and found some adjustable leather benches -CPS (China brand). Thoughts? maybe get a duet bench this time? Reviews are mixed. No Jensen brand that's too expensive at this time for me. Hydraulic is nice but even pricier.

2.) My hygrometer shows a range of 42%-53% for this spring weather. Last winter I think highest range of hygrometer was around 60%. I'm in San Diego. What's an acceptable range? Should I invest on damp chaser? Piano is in my formal living room not sure if humidifier stand alone would be better but I might need a bigger one and it would bring up my electricity bill vs damp chaser. Also, I already got a wool string cover. Any other great tips to consider how to protect this piano?

3.) How long should I wait for the piano to acclimate? 3 weeks? 2 months? 3 months? before I call a tech?

I also got my C2X delivered last week. I didn't get the three items you put on the music desk. So weird. I live in Canada. Not sure Is it a geographic things.

Congratulations on the new piano. If it were me, I would schedule the first appointment 3-4 weeks after delivery, assuming the tuning was in a good state when it arrived, and you can stand to wait that long. I doubt a DC system is necessary in San Diego, and would advise waiting on that and monitoring how the humidity changes through the seasons in the first year, and if it causes any problems.

Although expensive, a Jansen adjustable Artist Bench or 30" Hidrau Model is truly worth the money. If it were me, I'd put something under the legs to raise the current bench a bit, and save up to buy a proper bench later. Unless you're really tiny and it won't be adjusted much, cheap adjustable benches (and I'd unfortunately put a $200 one in that category) simply don't last. The good benches will last well over a decade in institutional use, getting adjusted daily and being used by people of all shapes and sizes...so they should be good for much longer in a home environment!

Congratulations on your new Yamaha C3X SH.
Beautiful!

The humidity seems acceptable.

I would wait for 3-4 weeks.

Congratulations on your new piano!

How do you feel about putting the piano besides and parallel to a wall? I put my piano the same way as you and feel the bass is a bit overpowering the treble.

Thank you for the responses. Yes piano came with a box that contains manual, piano book, certificate, headphones, power adaptor etc. I'm glad to hear the humidity of the house is on acceptable level so I don't have to worry getting a DC. I will explore more pianos and try it out. Hopefully I'll get some satisfaction until I can afford a more expensive adjustable chair.

It's still on that getting to know each other stage with this new piano and until it acclimates and get another round of tuning only I can tell more but so far I'm happy how it sounds. The touch is very responsive and I practice using the silent system at night time. I love my setup now.

Harpuia- I only have limited position to place it either parallel to the wall (current) OR make it slanted where I sit by the window and the tail of the piano will be pointing towards the entry door- that was actually my first setup on my old C3. Aesthetically I don't like much the piano parallel to the wall but I decided to do it this way around to give more open walking space around. I still have to experiment if I will like this position better or not.

Is the tail of the piano right next to a fireplace? You’re not concerned?

Congrats, she's a Beauty !

Regarding the DC-- I've owned three since 1988. Evey tech I've used, probably a dozen over that time, have all said even though we live in probably the optimum climate in the country for an acoustic piano -- they all have recommended the DC for stabilizing the tuning.

Never have used the string cover but I do have a piano cover that I don't remove that often, I just roll it back when practicing. Always fully close the fallboard, lid and the piano is totally covered when not in use. My strings still look brand new coming up on 15 years.

I'd second the recommendation of, spend the dough on the Jansen. They last forever. My Jansen I got with the S6 in 1997 is still going strong.

If you have space, logistically and aesthetically, I'd recommend moving it away from the wall, more into the middle of the room.

The piano tail on the picture is right before the fire place but I never used the fire place actually.

I agree it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing against the wall but I don't have anymore space to center it since beside it is the walkway going to the bedrooms, kitchen and family room.


This picture below is the setup of my old C3 and it's slanted. It doesn't have much of walking space compared to the C3x position now that is against the wall.




I'd love to hear your opinion about the positioning? Which one is better?

I keep reading that having the piano angled at 45 degrees to a wall is acoustically good, so I wonder if the wing opening to the centre of the room might work (a 90 degree shift to the positioning of your old C3 in the photograph)?

Congratulations on your new piano!

An adjustable bench is a very, very nice thing to have. When I bought my C3X, the dealer agreed to throw in a padded, adjustable bench. A bench like the one you show came with the piano when the movers delivered the piano. I called up the dealer and he said he would send out an adjustable bench, and he kept his word. I don't know what brand it is (can't find any manufacturer id on it), but it has served me well for the five years I've had it.

Congratulations on your new beautiful piano. Terminaldegree is right as always about your humidity and tuning. Yamaha only includes an adjustable bench with the CF and maybe the SX series. Jansen is a top notch bench but tends to be pricey. Cheaper adjustable benches are available but seem to get mixed reviews at best.

In the meantime you can use a padded dining room chair pad or a thick wool blanket folded to give you more height and comfort. That’s what I used with my C3 padded bench. The chair pad was as comfortable as the Jansen.

navi9187 - Congrats on your new piano, looks great. Don't forget to check out the benches at Sweetwater

Stormbringer

thank you all. I have bathroom renovation project going on so until then I will have to settle for a $250 bench for now. I hope it doesn't squeak until I'm ready to purchase a Jansen or hydraulic piano bench.

Great looking piano. Congratulations!

Also, when looking for a bench, please check out pianosupplies.com, which is part of piano world. Frank offers this place for us to enjoy and learn, which is great, but he has to pay for it and that is how he does it.

Reminder to all - if you are looking for anything musical, please check out pianosupplies.com before buying elsewhere.

Thank you Rich. I just ordered my bench and some supplies to support the site.

Hi. Congrats for your new piano. BTW, are you sure that the music desk is original? Because CX series's music desk design is quite different. Your music desk is from the old C series, not even new C series. It doesn't match the sleek and simple design of the CX series.

Looks like maybe the old desk was kept? Possibly preferred its look?

Dave have you used a comforter as a piano cover or you are using a proper piano cover? Wondering how much difference it makes...... There are huge price differences.