It isn’t as mellow as a Steinway, but I’d probably put it on par with Bechstein pianos. There is such a thing as too mellow a sound, and the crisp, live sound you get from a Yamaha upright is very pleasant to listen to. Yamaha pianos probably produce the brightest tone of the mainstream manufacturers, with the exception of Essex pianos which have a tendency to get horribly bright, even a short while after a tuning. And I’ll admit, Yamaha pianos are bright. One thing that Yamaha U1s get a little bit of a bad reputation for is the brightness of their tone. Very few other pianos give you this scope and this f reedom of expression. I mainly use my Yamaha U1 to play classical and jazz music, and I find that no matter what I’m playing, it’s always very easy to mould and sculpt the sound to the music I’m playing. In many ways the U1 doesn’t really excel in any one area in this regard it’s certainly not the perfect sound for many of these genres, but it’s an exceptionally good sound nonetheless. Yamaha have done well to build a piano with such a robust and versatile tone.

It’s very suitable for classical music of any era, but also for jazz, pop and rock. Japanese pianos, whether they are Yamaha, Kawai or other brands, are among the most uniformly made pianos, and are designed first and foremost for servicing and longevity.ĭespite the fact they may be more expensive than a piano built elsewhere, you won’t go far wrong buying a piano made in Japan.Īll U1’s I’ve tried have a very rich and resonant tone. Manufacturing is an art form in Japan, and Japanese factories are some of the most automated in the world. Yamaha U1 Competitors what else is on the market? I used to own one of these too, and it was a fantastic piano. I plan to write a review on the competitor to the U1 fairly soon the Feurich 122. There are exceptions to this rule, however Feurich pianos are made in China and these are a serious competitor to Yamaha’s Japanese built range, both in terms of price, tone and build quality. You tend to find that the higher quality pianos are made in Europe, the USA and Japan, with more budget oriented pianos made in China and Indonesia. As you might expect, a lot of pianos are made in China some are made in Indonesia and Japan, and some are made in Europe and the USA. The piano market today is a real mish-mash of manufacturers making pianos in different countries of the world. Let’s get into what makes the Yamaha U1 one of my favourite upright pianos. These pianos are built exceptionally well, and are very versatile. However, this is anything but a standard piano. As you can see, a fairly standard set of specifications for an upright piano.

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