Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Yamaha U10A and did piano's become more expensive?

Hi all!

I'm about to buy a 2nd hand Yamaha U10A (1990), but I can't find much about the difference with the 'normal' U1. On 1 website it was suggested that the materials used in the U10A are somewhat inferior to the U1, and that it sounds more mellow. Can anyone confirm?

Another thing is the price....My friend bought a Yamaha U1 from 1987 at the same store one year ago, and paid about 1.200 dollars less than what I'm about to pay. The asking price is 5600 dollars now (5000 euro), and optional another 1425 USD for an AdSilent system (1250 euro).
Have the prices of 2nd hand piano's really increased that much in one year?

Yes, prices really have gone up with the increased demand. That said prices for used pianos will vary according to their age and condition as well as the market demands so you can't necessarily expect two of them to be the same price even if the model is the same.

I bought a UX3 Yamaha which was £500 more than two other ostensibly similar pianos in the same store and £1000 more than the standard U3 models - but it was simply a much nicer piano than the others and priced accordingly by the dealer.

The U10A is the "normal" U1 that was made and sold in Japan from ~1989 - 1993. Demand is up some...but supply is way down. This is an underserved market. With limited availability for new, far higher shipping costs and lengthy delays, some customers are willing to pay more for what is available.

Short term inflation cause by shipping hikes and supply chain interruptions will be replaced by long term inflation of raw materials, goods and services, unfortunately. I don't see this situation improving in the near term.

Your best option to find value in the market is to expand your search beyond the typical brands. Uneducated buyers tend to focus on the 2-3 brand names they've heard of. More educated buyers tend to seriously consider 5+ brands and perhaps many models before making a decision. The Yamaha U1 (including the U10A) is well worthy of consideration for an educated buyer, just be aware that you will also be competing with the many less educated consumers that only know that brand/model...at whatever is the going rate.

A quick look at asking prices shows quite an increase, especially as the prices of new pianos also rises.

In addition to scarcity, I was speaking to a distributor-level piano industry contact, who mentioned the transportation cost for pianos shipped via container has gone up 10 times, compared with pre-pandemic levels. Even available ports of entry have been reduced to a single location. Finally I’ve noticed the cost of local moving has also increased, I would guess because of higher fuel prices and the shortage of labor.

It pushes up the cost of new pianos, which in turn inflates the cost of used pianos at dealers, and that eventually trickles down to even private party sales.

That conclusion is so tenuous that I don't think anyone can give you an answer. Even pianos of the same model are all unique, so that notion that one model is "more mellow" than the other is subjective.

The demand for pianos has risen exponentially which is probably why you encountered a higher price. Buy it now before they go up again.

As far as I’ve heard and seen, the prices of both new and used pianos have gone up because of the slowdown by COVID and lockdowns. Low inventory + increased demand means prices go up. This is seen shopping for groceries, buying a new or used piano, or buying a new or used vehicle. I thought we were done with inflation in the mid-80’s, but apparently not.

My best advice for inflationary times is put in some extra hours at work, maybe give up Starbucks and brew coffee at home, kick up the percentage for savings, and learn how to negotiate prices.

Best Wishes for successful shopping.

With these prices, wouldn't it be better to spend another 2600 euro for a brand new Kawai K300 with the ATX4 system? The silent system will be much superior and it will be completely new.

Buying new is always attractive if a good used piano starts approaching those of new ones, as long as you can afford the piano you want. You might save some cash by getting the simple acoustic K300 and perhaps later pairing that with a digital piano, or alternatively looking at the really nice K500 model which tends to be around the same price as the K300+silent.

I already have a digital piano in my studio, so the purpose of the acoustic is really to be able to play in the living room (as well as a nice piece of furniture). The silent option is really just there when I don't want to disturb my girlfriend but still want to play in the living room.

Now the question comes to:
- 1990 U1 with AdSilent 6.000 euro
- vs 2022 Kawai K300 with ATX4 for 8.700 euro.

I suggest you to consider 1 more factor: tone. To me, Yamaha tone is much different from Kawai one. You should choose the one you prefer because you will “live” with it for rather long time.

By the way, because you intend to raise your budget for new K300, I think you should consider more options you can purchase with new budget as advice from the part “Shopping Backward” in this article https://www.pianobuyer.com/article/five-mistakes-first-time-piano-buyers-make/
Good luck with your piano shopping!

Good advice I'd say.

Choose not by brand but by preference.

Good advice.
I actually just realised the U1 is often compared with the K300, but wouldn't the K500 be a better comparison? Dimensions seem more comparable in terms of depth and width.

Tonewise I'm still looking for a store that has both the U1 and K300 / K500 in stock.

The tones are so very different between Yamaha and Kawai that I'm sure you will instantly find your own preference between them.

U1 and K300 are actually similar sizes whereas the K500 is similar to the larger U3. However *in Europe* the K500 seems generally priced more similarly to the U1 than the U3 so depending on whether size or budget is your yardstick you could compare the U1 to either the K300 or K500.

No, the K500 would not be a better comparison.

Here are the specs for each:

U1
Longest bass string = 46.8"
Soundboard = 2,137 sq inches
Height = 48"
Width = 60"
Depth = 24"
Weight = 502 lbs

K-300
Longest bass string = 47.2"
Soundboard = 2,155 sq inches
Height = 48"
Width = 59"
Depth = 24"
Weight = 500 lbs

K-500
Longest bass string = 48.4"
Soundboard = 2,248 sq inches
Height = 51"
Width = 59"
Depth = 24.5"
Weight = 525 lbs

NOTE: The "width" doesn't add anything to the performance of the piano.

The U3 is larger than the K500 in all dimensions with the exception of the bass string length (47.5" in the U3 versus 48.4" in the K-500) and overall weight (517 lbs for the U3 and 525 lbs for the K-500).

Kawai K500:
- depth 62 cm
- width 150 cm
- height 130 cm

Yamaha U1
- depth 62 cm
- width 153 cm
- height 121 cm


Kawai K300
- depth 61 cm
- width 149 cm
- height 122 cm

Yamaha U3
- depth 65 cm
- width 153 cm
- height 131 cm

So in 2 out 3 criteria (depth and width) the K500 is actually the same or smaller than the U1. Whereas the K500 is smaller in all dimensions compared to the U3 and the K300 being smaller in all dimensions than the U1.
I know it's not a complete fair comparison, but for me the depth of the piano defines the 'bulkiness' more than the height does.

Just curious - do you believe that the one centimeter difference in depth between the K-300 and the U1/K500 really makes all that much difference in the overall sound and performance of the piano? Also, per the Kawai K Series brochure I have, the width of the K-500 is 149 cm, not 150 cm.