Yamaha Pianos Field Trip

Yamaha GC2

I took a little field trip to Ridenhour Music in Salem today to see their new Yamaha acoustic pianos. I'm a big Yamaha fan. One of my pianos is a Yamaha. Olga Kern plays Yamahas! In my opinion, they're often right up there with Steinways in responsiveness and tone quality. The picture above is of the only grand they have in stock. It's a 5'8" GC2 with a suggested retail price of $26,000. Jerry Ridenhour tells me that you can haggle a bit (just like with a car), and probably get it for closer to $20,000. Here's a look under the hood:

Inside the Yamaha GC2

If you think you'd like a smaller grand, you can get a 5'0" model for closer to $10,000. There are a few uprights and consoles in stock today as well. I played around on all of them, and was pretty happy with the sound. I suppose the black one shown below was my least favorite, though. It was a little muted for my taste, but it might be perfect for someone who likes to keep things a little quieter at home.

The entry level price for an upright or console Yamaha is around $4,500. 

There were some other nice pianos in the store today as well. I really like Kawais. They had a fairly large Kawai grand (that one is sold) and a few uprights with great sound. If I understood correctly, Kawais are a bit pricier than Yamahas. Either brand is rather terrific, but try them out, because every piano is unique.

Pretty amazing Christmas gift ideas for the pianist on your list!  (I'll take the GC2, please.)