Buy a piano

Now that we’re getting a pool, the desire for a real piano has to go on the back burner.

Interestingly enough, there was a Yamaha event at my local Costco a few weeks ago. They wanted $30,000 for a diskclavier on a baby grand….$10,000 extra just for the system (which now includes what I think is a full PC and a speaker for “other” instruments inside the piano). The sales person was really pushing me towards an fully electronic keyboard. I think that kind of defeats the purpose of why I would want the system (analog performance controlled by midi)...eBay still has the older systems for anywhere from $4000 for an upright to much more for full grands. ~$12,000 for a baby grand with the system (no computer & speaker).

Anyway… perhaps this is a few years out. We’re re-thinking converting the our big great room into a home theater instead of a music room. It will get much more use that way.

on eBay. I’ve wanted a good acoustic piano ever since I was a teenager, and my son seems to have an interest in learning (more so than guitar). A long time ago (early nineties) I saw a demo of a Yamaha Disklavier player piano system that allowed the “recording and playback” of keystrokes on a real piano. I’ve always thought they were a modern miracle. Back then they started at $20,000 on an upright. Now I’ve seen baby grands with the same system sell on eBay for under $10,000…and uprights for under $5,000. From all of my keyboardist friends I’ve heard that Yamaha’s are great pianos even without the diskclavier.

My wife approves, and we have more than enough space for even a grand piano in our big living room with the high ceilings. I’d even consider putting hardwood floors in that room eventually to help out the acoustics.

In looking/bidding for one, an issue has been getting it to my house, but now I’ve found national piano movers that are fairly reasonable…..so with that out of the way I’m in search of one.