Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Used Yamaha CF6 vs New Yamaha C3X or Kawai GX3

Looking for a grand for my daughter (and myself as a secondary player) who is in grade 10 RCM (Canada) and plans to continue with ARCT.

I have gone back and forth so many times, changed my budget several times and have narrowed down the choices at this time to:

1. New Kawai GX3
2. New Yamaha C3X (to be auditioned tomorrow)
3. 10-year old Yamaha CF6

My daughter likes the GX3. She even said she liked it better than the SK3, which was available for a side-by-side comparison (I liked the SK3 slightly more but to be honest I did not see a huge difference, definitely not a difference to justify the price jump). She likes the CF6 a lot too but has a slight preference (likes the touch better) for the GX3.

Now you might be thinking, get the GX3 if that's the piano she likes the best. My hesitation stems from the fact that I can get the CF6 for only $10K more(it's 10 years old but that's still pretty young) and it feels like the better buy. But is it worth spending an extra $10K just because it is a better buy? Resale value of the CF6 is probably going to be better too in 10-15 years.

The CF6 seller downplayed the quality of the GX3 saying it is a mass-produced piano vs the CF6 being hand-made and also the GX3 being high-strung, it's more likely to start sounding brighter in a couple of years.

Oh my.

I don't have answers because there is too much I do not know, but here are my thoughts.

It really depends on the particular CF-6. This model is a totally beautiful piano. I would want to know the piano's history and have it examined by an independent technician who has experience with high quality instruments and how they age.

My concern is if it was used by a concert venue, it could have been over used or worse, neglected. Neither is a good thing, but you might have a great deal there.

Keep us posted,

If your daughter is going to study piano performance as a major in college she will spend thousands of hours for many years on that piano as a workhorse. So get the new one. No wear and tear, no hidden problems. It has no the premium feeling of a cf6. But it will do the work.

But that's sort of saying you have no preference for a Kawai sound or Yamaha sound.

If you think a high school student will pursue a degree in piano performance, wouldn’t you advise buying an upright? Grand pianos take up more space and are more difficult to move; navigation and space would be difficult for most students.

I'd get the CF6 with an independent tech inspection. No matter how far or how long your daughter takes piano, she’ll never outgrow a nice CF6. They are incredible pianos.

Have the CF6 inspected by an independent technician with experience on concert grands.

If the tech approves, definitely go with the CF6.

CF6 is 7' and is Yamaha's premium line handcrafted concert piano.

There really is no comparison between the CF6 and either the C3X or the GX3.

C3X and GX3 are consumer level performance pianos around 6'.

If CF6 does not get approved, then either C3X or GX3 will serve you many years. These are high quality pianos.

GX3 has a heavier action compared to Yamaha C3X.

I don't think buying a piano because it's the best buy is a good idea unless the choices cost the same and one has no preference among them. Preferring the touch or tone or quality is a better reason.

I am the outlier here: I assuming your daughter will attend college away from home, and then once graduated she will live in another city. If that is a correct assumption, where will she put the piano? I suspect still in your living room as many college grads do not have space for a grand for many years.

If she likes the GX1 and you really want to buy a grand, that is the one I would buy: your daughter likes it, and it is less expensive. I personally would not guess the depreciation amount at the time you would want to sell. All pianos depreciate.

On the first quoted point above, that is certainly meaningful, and definitely knocks that specific C3X out of the running.

On the second point above, it is a better buy, however your resale argument on the CF6 is, in my opinion, incorrect. Because it is a special line of Yamahas, which are 98% known for their main-line C- or CX- series grand piano, I foresee it may be tough to educate future buyers on why a used 7 footer should be worth more than any other 7-foot Yamaha. Proof of this is what asking prices you're seeing on used ones (when they rarely pop up), compared with new pricing on the CF line. And I say this will all due affection for the CF6, half of the ones I've tried have been among my favorite 7-foot pianos to play of any brand or price (unfortunately, a price that is above my budget ceiling).

On the third point above, the GX3 is more mass produced and the CF6 has more hand-labor in its build, but the "high-strung" or high-tension argument is total BS, and the CF6 is likely to have a higher tension design simply by virtue of its size.

CF6 is the nicest Yamaha I've ever played, with the exception of the CFX of course.

I've owned two in the past -- '88 C7e and '97 S6.

Regarding re-sale on the CF6-- I had a difficult time selling the predecessor to the CF6, my S6 in 2006. To 90-95% of piano buyers, a Yamaha is a Yamaha, it's not a Steinway. Being hand made in a different factory or whatever they advertise, means nothing except to a very small percentage of educated and discerning piano buyers. After many, many months I finally found that "one guy".

I'd think less in terms of re-sale then if this your daughter really loves it. And yes, if the CF6 has seen high usage that needs to be considered. You might have to replace the hammers sooner then later, which could be a sizable investment. When my S6 was sold, it needed new hammers.

Otherwise it's in the top four of my favorite 7'ers -- Steinway B, Fazioli 212, Bosendorfer 214 and CF6.

Seller says the CF6 was used in a private residence and well taken care of. It was traded in for a new Steinway.
It looks and sounds great.

I don't think her plan is to study piano performance as a major in college. She still has 3 years of high school to finish and plans to complete as much (all?) of ARCT requirements before she's done high school. Yeah, the new piano definitely has that thing going for it. On the other hand, one would think that a 10-year old CF6 would have at least another 20 or 30 years left before any major work is needed.

Both my daughter and I prefer the more mellow sound of Kawai, generally speaking but the CF6 does not have the usual brightness associated with Yamaha grands. It sounds beautiful.

You think an independent tech inspection is a must? The seller is a very reputable dealer and offers 2 years of warranty. But of course, an independent tech would give me more piece of mind. But what could possibly be wrong with a 10-year old CF6 that would not be obvious by playing it?

An independent tech even when the seller offers a 2-year warranty? The piano sounds great. Are there issues with pianos this young that don't make themselves obvious by playing it?

Yeah, I've read that the CF6 and GX3 and C3X are in completely different leagues. The price of a new CF6 is more than 3 times that of a new GX3. The action of the GX3 felt a little heavier than that of the CF6 but my daughter said she liked it. I thought it was pretty good too. The more recent Kawai models seem to have lighter action than older models.

So the main reason I'd be getting the CF6 is because of its reputation rather than because we liked it that much more. We didn't have the benefit of playing them side by side so it was going of memory and how the other piano felt when comparing the two. (I'm curious how the C3X stacks up, which we'll find out tomorrow). I like the CF6 better but my daughter is not so sure. But she'd be OK with either.

That's one thought I have too, yes. If they were the same price, it'd be a no-brainer and I'd get the CF6 but with it being $10K more, I'm trying to justify it.

I really hope she choose to live in the same city as me. If not, I'd be moving
Yeah, I'm not concerned about that - if she moves then I'll be playing the piano and she can play whenever she comes over.

All pianos depreciate but I've seen older Steinways selling for higher percentages of their new price than some other brands. But Yamaha does not have the same reputation as Steinway so maybe the CF6 will not get the same respect it deserves because it is by Yamaha, which are more known for consumer-level pianos.

Oh, we'll be trying the C3X tomorrow. My daughter liked the G3X better compared to the more expensive Shingeru SK3. (I thought the Shingeru sounded better but not by much).

You have a good point there. The CF6 may be a better piano than many would be willing to give it credit for and would probably dismiss it even without playing it, and instead looking for a Steinway or Bechstein or Bosendorfer.

And thanks for calling out the high-strung BS argument.

Yeah, that's a good point. There are very few potential buyers of the CF6. It does seem to be quite a unique niche among top tier grands.

How common is it for 10-year old pianos to need new hammers soon? It would depend on how much it's been played, of course but even then I'd think it should be uncommon, no?
But it sounds like I should hire an independent tech to check it out, even if the seller is offering a 2-year warranty.

That is quite the company to be in. If I had any of the other 3 for the same offer that I have the CF6, I doubt I would hesitate even though I've only tried the Steinway but am assuming I'd like the Fazioli and Bosendorfer on reputation alone.