Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kawai K500 or Yamaha U3 new?

Spoke with both dealers and they are offering me a brand new Kawai K500 for $9,900 or a brand new Yamaha U3 for $10,000. Which would you get? Do you believe these prices are good or would it be possible to get an even better price? Thank you everyone . Also looking at a brand new Kawai GL10 baby grand for $10,500

Regarding the K500 vs the U3, they're both wonderful pianos, robustly made, that stand up well to a lot of playing. As of 3 years ago Kawai had a better warranty - you might check the details with your dealers. Beyond the warranty, it's a matter of what you like better.

In general I'm not a fan of very short grands, haven't played a GL-10, so I defer to others for their expertise on quality of construction, durability, etc. Priced so near to that of the U3 and K-500, if quality is at least equal, it would, again, come down to a matter of what you like. Beyond that it also depends on your technique as a pianist. The action mechanism in a grand piano is, with certain exceptions on extremely high priced uprights, superior in terms of its ability to play repeated notes very quickly. Grand actions FEEL different. So, again, it's a matter of your preference.

Last - how do you feel about the dealers? Have you checked reviews on social media? Better Business Bureau complaints? With a new piano you are also establishing a relationship with a dealer. While pianos are not like cars in many ways, they are also high dollar purchases for most people. I bought and service one of our cars at a dealer more than 30 miles away despite the presence of 2 local ones based on the availability of superior after sale service.

Good luck in your deliberations.

Thanks for the great reply. I have been playing piano for about 20 years and was a piano performance major until I decided to make it my minor. Currently leaning towards the Kawai K500 since it is built in Japan but I would really love the action of a grand for the fast repetition as you mentioned. Although I know the Kawai K500 would be more powerful than the small GL10 👶🏻 Grand. Plus I live in a small condominium so it’s a difficult choice. I play many deferent styles of music but my preferred composer to play is Chopin. Working on his etudes now. So I’m stuck between the K500 or the GL10 both brand new. Do you think the action on the GL10 will be better than the K500? How about expressiveness and dynamic changes? Thank you

price diff between the GL-10 and GL-20 is small... not sure the quality improvement though. everyone always says the GL-30 is the huge jump... but it also is in price!!!!!

I don't know about availability on your end, but the Yamaha equivalent of the GL-10 is the GB1K, in case it is overlooked.

Between the U3 and K500, I would just pick based on your preference of the individual piano’s touch and tone variation. Picking one over the other on paper is kind of ridiculous— they are basically direct competitors. If you’re a higher level player, you really must try the instrument you intend to buy, in person.

Since you said you live in a small condo, the presence of the vertical piano’s standard practice pedal/mute rail is another advantage (in addition to better tone, transitions, and bass response) in favor of the higher quality tall vertical over the lower-level, very small grand. Yes, the grand piano has an action advantage, but most of these small grands don’t have stellar actions, with inherently shorter keysticks and typically less meticulous amounts of regulation at the factory and dealers for this market segment.

I have Yamaha U30 (similar with U3’s size and spec), and it had stayed with me for more than 10 years. Never had any problem with it. However, recently I take a look into Kawai piano as well, and I feel like Kawai has a slight better action, but I might be wrong. Please verify with others too.

My suggestion is that it will be better to invest in the mid-high level of upright (such as U3 or K500), rather than an entry level baby grand piano GL10. I got the chance to try GL10 and nothing really special about it…therefore as I have been using U30 for so long, I will recommend you either choosing U3 or K500. Also, if not mistaken, I believe GL10 (and currently GL20 as well) are being produced in my country, Indonesia, whereas U3 and K500 are still from Japan.

To also note, you may put attention to the sound. I believe Yamaha has brighter sound. If you prefer less bright, perhaps go with Kawai. Nonetheless, both are great options! Plus, an upright with 130 cm height is cosidered a decent one surely.

All the best!

Thank you very much. Leaning towards the Kawai K500 or possibly the slightly larger GL20. Need to play them first. What part of Indonesia are you from? I’m planing on going on vacation there sometime this year. To Jakarta or Bali. Thank you very much

The U3 is also made in Japan.

I had a 1982 U3 with sostenuto. It was a great instrument and I regret selling it. Pianos can be a very personal choice so you should get the one that speaks to you when you play it. For me, that has been Yamaha most of the time. But Kawai is great, too!
When I used to teach high school choir, we purchased a new Kawai K-3. It, too was a good piano, but not as clear as my U3 was. Happy hunting!

Yes I agree with TD although I am not anywhere near the pianist he is.The GL10 had a nice but small tone with a limitation in the bass.(if you are comparing it to a good quality taller upright) In itself however is a well balanced instrument though.Not that you need my agreement TD.😀

The OP has apparently moved past the U3 and last I saw him on another site, he was trying to decide between a K500 and GL20.

Oh OK so that is a more reasonable comparison, although I suspect I would choose the K500.Not that I am strictly "upright" and I do know what it's like to own a good grand.Actually being in the vicinity of a piano dealer today, I tried two beautiful grands.