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shannada:

First of all welcome to PW!

Where did you see the NS-35? I had a look at one at Pianoman in Bukit Timah Plaza last November. I nearly bought it! If its the same piano then you need to spend a bit of money to get a good piano tech to bring it up to scratch. Although it is in generally good condition, it needs some work. The action needs to be regulated. The hammers also need voicing down - they've become deeply grooved and really hard.

Digitus, thanks.
I tried out the NS-35 at Robert Piano. From my quick inspection of the internals, this one seemed in better condition than the one you saw at Pianoman, but I am no expert. I haven't been to Pianoman yet, but if they have some good condition 2nd hands I might pay them a visit this weekend. I was planning to drop by Asia Piano to have a look at a couple Kawai KS5F's they have in stock.

So you nearly bought the NS-35. What did you like about it, and do you know how the NS-35 compares to the KS5F or its current day equivalent the K8?
Also what is your opinion on how the NS-35 compares to the Yamaha U1/U3?

If I recall correctly, you ended up buying Kawai K3, right? How's that piano settling in and are you happy with the tone?

shannada: No harm dropping into Pianoman to have a look.

The NS35 I saw was in pretty good shape. The tone was OK, and sustain good. And it fitted my budget. It was too loud and bright, primarily because of the hard hammers. I generally prefer the Kawai tone to Yamaha's. It's a personal preference.

In the end I increased my budget 2.5x and got a K8 instead. :p I simply didn't have the time to go scouring the piano shops in Singapore for a good second-hand instrument.

My new (17yo) Kawai US6LE arrived this morning =D Spent the good half of the morning polishing it up and playing watever my unskilled hands were capable of

As promised, here are some pics... sorry for being a bandwidth hog!

Wow! It looks to be in great shape! Which shop did you get it from?

got it from asia piano. Everything is in near mint condition except the pedals having "pimples" and light grooving on the hammers.

Got a pretty good deal on it, so no complains =D

Yes, those hammers are in remarkably good shape for a piano of that age. Either they've been spruced up, or the previous owner used the piano lightly and with the practice pedal engaged a lot of the time!

Fretless,

It is quite a good buy to get 2nd hand piano in that kind of condition with 1/2 of the price of new piano. Shannada, I am sure with time, you will find yourself one good one too!

Fretless,

May I know how much is your kawai piano, it looks so new and beautiful!

PM Sent

Hi all,
I am new to the Pianoworld forum and this is my first post. I am currently based in Shanghai and bought a US5X about a year ago.

As a reference, my piano is 8 years old and cost S$4500 (22,500 rmb). US6LE is taller than my US5X, so it could cost more.

I just started to learn a month ago...switched from a key board to a used Baldwin. Like it very much...am making progress tho slow and happy :-)

If anyone is interested, there's a Kawai US60 on Ebay Singapore at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Kawai-132cm-...goryZ15198QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

No it's not mine :p

I have narrowed down my shortlist to 3 pianos. New Kawai K8, new Yamaha U5 (or maybe YUS5), and a used Yamaha DC1 (12 yrs old). All are going for approx $11,000 to $12,000.

Any opinions on which would be the better piano at this price point would be appreciated.

Please refer to this thread for a more detailed discussion:
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/1/17282.html

shannada: I chose the K8 over the YUS5.

Digitus, thanks for your input.
What did you like about the K8 versus the YUS5?
At this stage I am strongly considering the used C1.

The Kawai tone is more appealing to me. I find it ummm warmer and rounder.

Hi folks!
I am new to the board. Was searching for piano information when I chanced upon this forum. Really delighted to read posts fm Singapore pals!

I am starting my child (6 yrs old) on piano this week. I have viewed 2nd hands and new pianos. Could I have some of your opinions on the following:

1. 3rd hand Yamaha HQ300 (14yr old disklavier) @$2.5k, no warranty, self removal.
2. 2nd hand Yamaha U1 (23 yr old S$2.5k), 1 yr warranty, 1 tuning, foc delivery.
3. New Atlas Piano A102 @S$3200.
4. New HAILUN Piano (not decided on model yet) @2.5k - S$3.9k.
5. New Wendl & Lung Piano @S$4.2k & above.

Any advice would be helpful....
BTW, anyone can advise on the estimate removal cost? ANy reasonable/good movers to recommend?

Many thanks!

Hi silkygals, welcome to PW!

Whatever you do don't go with option 1. If you really want to, then engage the services of a good piano technician to inspect the piano and give you an estimate of how much it will cost you to (1) transport the piano; and (b) do the necessary refurbishment work on the instrument.

Since your child is 6 years old and just starting on the piano, you might want to keep in mind the possibility that he/she will lose interest after a while. So you have to balance that possibility against the cost of the piano.

The selection of option 2 depends on how well the instrument has been refurbished. For this you will need to seek the opinion of a good piano tech or a knowledgeable piano owner, unless the dealer is well-known for doing good work.

I can't advise on the remaining three options because I've not played on any of those pianos. However, if I had to pick one I'd go with Hailun, with Wendl & Lung next.