Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Should I buy a grand piano?

Five years is a long time, what if it is your dream to play on a grand piano every day, you have the room and the money to buy one and you wait all those years, maybe you lose your hearing or your fingers or what ever. I think that if it's possible to live your dreams then you should do that, life is short.

No, I don't think it is like that in tennis. Beginners almost universally choose a light high powered racket which makes the ball travel like a rocket without needing much swing or technique behind it. These rackets offer *much* less control than the heavier/smaller rackets that established players tend to favour but they do make it easier to get into the game. Maybe the same is true in pianos but I'm not sure it is a good analogy.

Dogperson linked the PianoBuyer article about Brodmanns. Here is a fairly recent thread where they are discussed relative to Baldwin grands, which are also manufactured by Parsons: https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthr...vs-baldwin-differences-similarities.html

From the PB website article: “The scale design of the 6′ 2″ model PE 187 is said to be similar to that of a Steinway model A and is often singled out for praise.” This is similar to a comment that Keith Kerman made in the linked thread, although his post has some additional… err… perspective.

In any case, my guess is that a PE 187 could be an instrument that many people would like and would serve them well for many years, beginner or not. As others have commented, the quoted price seems like it’s well above what one should expect to pay. Given the potential move, I’m also not sure that it’s the right instrument under the circumstances. But it sounds like financially you can manage it (especially if you’re able to negotiate down closer to a fairer price). So if you love it, and you try some uprights and some used grand pianos and they’re just not doing it for you, then maybe the PE 187 is the right piano for you now, as long as you understand the downsides regarding resale value and the potential for difficulty in re-selling it.
I suppose one option you have, if you move internationally, is to try to sell the piano on consignment through the dealer (if the dealer does this). You won’t get as much back as you might if you were to sell the piano on your own, but this option may be logistically the easiest.

Well by experience I can tell that I personally chose a high end racket which was not suited to my level. And I was not the only one in that case. I realized later on that It was a bad idea, because it made it more difficult to play and was an impediment to my progress. It can not be transposed exactly for pianos but the overall philosophy is the same.

For piano, my personal point of view is that it is better to start with pianos that have a slightly heavier action and arent at the top level. Beginners anyway dont have the level of control to use the refine touch that you can achieve on a grand. So instead of spending 30k on a piano that you may not like in 2 or 3 years and can be difficult to resell, it is simplier to start on a good mid range one and upgrade later when one has more experience. I guess thats what most people do. It is my philisophy, but That said, it is certainly possible to start on a grand and other people may have other philosophies equally valid.

Absolutely not! You do not have to play well to "deserve" a grand. On the contrary, having a lovely piano will make your practice sessions more of a delight, and so will encourage you to practise, to develop your skills so that you can get more out of the instrument. This has absolutely been my experience.

I suggest buying a nice popular Japanese piano that is easy to sell if you need to sell and that is tough enough to survive a move if you need to move.As others have suggested perhaps a good used piano may be better at this stage.(although new may also be a possibility)

I havent read all the comments yet, but my 2p or 2c's worth is this. I'm with the buy a grand now team. I had a very used upright that got me into playing and after about 6 months i fell in love as you have with the sound of a grand within a short space of time after trying them in a store and consequently bought one. I couldnt really play at the time, but improving every day as its a pleasure to play, rather than playing something thats not quite what you want.

The moving house thing is a cost youll have to factor in.

Oh and whereabouts are you in the UK?

Thanks for everyone's input. In the end, I decided to go with a Yamaha C3X.

Congratulations!

That's amazing, congrats!!

Congratulations! That’s very exciting! Please post photos when the piano is settled in its new home! 🎉🎊🎈

The piano finally arrives!!!!

It looks fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing the photo! I hope you enjoy many years of music making with the piano!

Beautiful piano! Congrats😊

Beautiful and congratulations.

What a beautiful setup befitting the instrument. Nice job with the decor 👍

Congratulations, a lovely piano!
Actually I do not care if someone buys a Steingraeber concert grand and plays Baa Baa Black Sheep on it, as long as it does not end up.being an ornament in the home.I know someone is going to pop up and say...xxx So its just my subjective feelings about the matter.I do see Sidokar's point of view though.Most of us had our lessons on uprights.Today it's a digital piano.

Congrats on the new C3X! You won't be disappointed

Suitable for now (and quite a while to come), and also flexible for your future possibilities. If you can find a very good tech to take care of it, you will have a whole bunch of your problems taken out of your way, leaving the road open ahead. Oh--- teacher; yes. Did you tell us if you like your piano teacher? I must have skimmed over it.

Anyway, congratulations!