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Dear All,

What is the construction material (Wood, Plywood, MDF etc) of the following Yamaha Pianos.

1. JU109
2. JX113
3. U1J
4. U1

Thanks.

This question would be better asked in an email to Yamaha. There isn’t one single construction material in a piano.

What part of the piano are you asking about?
Different woods are used in all parts of the piano, depending on their function and purpose.
My primary concern is the performance level of the finished piano, and then its durability. You aren’t going to know that from a list of specifications.

Based on the question itself and the choices given, I assume that deba123 is asking about the cabinet.

Hi deba123! Welcome to PW. The cabinetry is a combination of materials. Solid hardwood and laminates are both used in the highest quality pianos. This is because there are parts of every piano that are under stress. These parts are better made out of laminated hardwoods rather than solid hardwoods. I should add that every cabinet is also veneered.

Most upper end Yamaha upright pianos use laminates in the cabinet. I think Joseph hit the nail on the head. Email Yamaha for the most accurate information. Some models you mention are not distributed in the USA. I have never sen them.

I hope that helps.

Thanks Rich you got it right I was asking about the cabinet material. Yes these models are all Asian models. I have asked YAMAHA but got no answer from them or their distributor. So it remains a secret.

https://in.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/pianos/upright_pianos/ju_jx_series/index.html
https://in.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/pianos/upright_pianos/u_series/index.html

I suspect that it isn't a secret but just not a specification that Yamaha have published. It is probably just too hard a question to answer definitively, especially as a variety of materials may be used and there isn't any reason to believe they will necessarily be kept constant for a models lifetime.

The fact that you did not receive a reply from Yamaha doesn't surprise me at all. I was thinking that you would not likely receive a reply from them, but you confirmed it. I have tried to contact a couple of piano manufactures in the past, with the same results, no response. I actually called Young Chang once, got a voice mail and left a message, which they never returned; I kept trying and finally got a live person, and was told to contact the dealer.

These companies are so big that one potential customer asking a question about their products is not at all important to them. Not that these companies are too big to fail, but they are usually to big to take the time to respond to a single individual. Of course, that is just my opinion.

Now, on the other hand, if a dealer, like Rich, were to contact them on your behalf, that would be an entirely different scenario. To Yamaha, Rich is somebody of importance to them, whereas a single individual with certain questions regarding their products is not...

I hope you can get the answers to your questions.

Good luck!

Rick

This may very well be true. But if so it is a sorry state of affairs.

IMO, the question would need to be posed either more specifically, e.g. what is the material used to make the key bed on a current production Yamaha U1J?

I'm familiar with many Yamaha models but not all of them, nor would my information always be current. In general terms, structural components tend to be made of laminate wood while non-structural components (like lids, top & bottom front panels) tend to be made from MDF.

The reps that should be able to find an answer a specific question will otherwise be limited in a general discussion because the answer is "subject to change" and may very depending on the cabinet style or some other barrier to a simple and straight forward answer. Only a production manager would likely be qualified to speak about all of that, and they aren't usually in customer service.

I did recently learn of a popular upright from another brand that uses some MDF even on the sides of the piano which surprised me. I guess I'm learning to be less surprised.

Rick, I think you are probably right about this. I’m going to veer a bit OT, but I love your anecdotes and thought I’d share one of mine.

I’m a knitter, and before I knew about Estonian pianos, I had gotten into traditional Estonian knitting. One of the Estonian knitting traditions is Haapsalu lace, and I’ve made several shawls that are based on Haapsalu lace patterns. When I got the piano, I decided to keep one of the shawls over the piano lid, and I sent a photo of my piano, with the Haapsalu shawl, to the ESTONIA piano factory’s email address. I got a lovely reply from the director of sales, who is also a knitter. We had a nice email exchange about knitting and pianos, and she told me that it was the first time they had seen Haapsalu lace on an ESTONIA piano. She told me the photos circulated through the piano factory, and apparently everyone really enjoyed them.

I can’t imagine that if I had purchased a Yamaha and had put a traditional Japanese textile on the piano, any one at the Yamaha factory would have known (or cared). Which is entirely understandable. But it does speak to the difference between a massive corporation and a small-ish business. I definitely appreciated the response from Tallinn, and I’d love to visit their factory in person some day.

An interesting story, indeed, Sgisela! And, quite a contrast regarding the two piano makers, in terms of responding to customer/potential customer emails/inquiries. Of course, you are right in that Estonia is a much smaller piano maker, and more apt to respond to emails from current customers or potential customers.

In all honesty, I'm a huge fan of Yamaha pianos, and meant no harm or animosity toward the company. But when the OP, deba123, said they tried to contact Yamaha and never received a response, it prompted me to write the comments I wrote. And, as I mentioned, I've had similar experiences.

Also, FWIW, even if deba123's questions about the construction materials of the Yamaha models mentioned was somewhat vague or broad, or a difficult question to answer, someone from the company could still have responded and said they didn't have the info, but would try to find the info and get back to them; any reply/response would have been better than no reply/response.

Again, this may be common with most all large companies/corporations, to not respond to costumer service inquiries, I'm not sure.

I will say, however, that I think Rich Galassini and Sam Bennett did kind of touch on the answers to deba123's questions regarding the construction materials of those particular Yamaha piano models, or similar models; so, all is not lost... Thanks Rich and Sam!

Rick

Actually, some of the cabinet parts are plastic, and hollow when tapped. Styrofoam has also been used on keybeds

Are you sure about plastic and styrofoam ?? Yamaha using them?