Solved my U3 (Upright) Tuning Mystery- Sold it, buying a Clavinova

[Song80s]

Many will think this change is odd but here's the story

 

I had a U3 for 3 years and when it was in tune , I loved playing it. But it would gradually slip in 2 months after a tuning, becoming un-harmonic and the unison would slip on some notes

 

The primary reason is that I am heavy fingered. I am self taught and tend to bang on the keys. I am also cursed and blessed with a good ear for pitch. The pitch could vary 3 % ( per the tuning device)on a note and I will notice it. My technician says 10 % is an average perceptible range

 

Anyway, I sold it and i am looking at a Clavinova. Yamaha has done a nice job improving this intrument with real wooden keys and darn nice piano sound. The amplification on the CLP 270, for example is very nice. The ' sale' price or street retail is around $3500 for the CLP 270

 

I could be wrong on this- there appears to be very little resale value on the CLP. Very little used on eBay, nothing on craigslist.

 

Yamaha has a well controlled dealer/retail network. Your only best choice is to buy from a local dealer ( no Guitar center). There are 2 Yamaha dealers my area. They are low pressure, friendly but firm on the ' street ' price. I could be wrong but my take is that demand for these instruments is light.

 

are my assumptions wrong ? If the above is correct, pricing should be more flexible. But its not. It also concerns me that if I decide to sell a $3500 Clavinova in 2-3 years , I shouldn't expect much in return

[Jazzwee]

GregC, and you could have sold that U3 to me!

 

I don't know about the price of a Clavinova, but I did look at a MIDI piano (Kawai) and since it was a real piano as well as a MIDI piano in silent mode, it was still expensive though at least 10 years old (I think it was being sold for $3300). That would have more sellability I think because there's always the real piano to fall back on. For you when not in tune, you engage silent mode and run it through monitors. The plus of this is that the keys are real piano keys. I almost bought it because of that silent mode. But in the end, I knew I had to get a better piano for my purposes (the MIDI piano was only a Studio size).

 

I would think that the Clavinova would depreciate pretty much like any other digital piano (fast).

 

Acoustics have a big margin built in (50% I believe). Digitals do not have the same margin so maybe that explains the pricing.

[Clavinovaguyusa]

Craig, there is a Clavinova dealer out in Modesto that will probably have used keyboards. Look at CVP models.

[Song80s]

Originally posted by Clavinovaguyusa:

Craig, there is a Clavinova dealer out in Modesto that will probably have used keyboards. Look at CVP models.

hey neighbor, i can't find the Modesto dealer

 

PM me or give me the 411

[Jim Alfredson]

Why didn't you just get a humidifier for the piano?

[Clavinovaguyusa]

Unless he closed up shop: Barker's Music on McHenry

[Song80s]

thanks, they are there. I did get a competitve price quote for a CVP 309