Buying an acoustic piano

132 cm or 121 cm.

Spruce vs laminated soundboards.

Length of bass strings.

Yamaha U3A vs U3H - what's the diff?

Pre-loved vs new.

Yamaha, Kawai, Alex.Steinbach, Boston, Petrof, Irmler, Estonia, Rosler.

The only things I can remember from reading the forums is:

1. When buying a Yamaha U3, choose a serial number close to 4 million because pianos with a lower number and made before 1985 had issues.
2. When you find a piano you like, make sure you take down the serial number so you can be sure the model delivered to your home is the one you played at the showroom and not another from the warehouse.
3. Take your time buying a piano. Play as many pianos as you can until you find one whose sound and touch you really like.

We spent two weekends checking out an Alex.Steinbach dealer in Frankston and Allans Music on Bourke St in the City.

Love the affordability and mellowness of the A.S.
37 interest-free instalments means I can have my piano right away.

Couldn't quite "get" the Irmler, maybe because it's a smaller piano.

Liked the full-size Yamaha (132 cm). It was 25 yo, in excellent condition and listed for $5995 at Allans.

But the sound of the Kawai that stood next to the Yamaha - also 25 yo and same price - just blew us away. Made me feel like a concert pianist. Hubby and I were unanimous in our votes: the Kawai definitely beat 'em all.

Next few weekends, we plan to check out as many of the shops we discovered on the Net as we can.

2 in Ringwood/Boronia.

1 in Hawthorn. 1 in Ivanhoe. 1 in S Melbourne.

Fun!