Why We Love Older Yamaha Uprights

If you have spent any time researching pianos, you will have noticed that one name comes up constantly: the Yamaha U series. Ask a piano teacher, a tuner or a dealer what to buy for a serious learner and the answer is very often a used Yamaha U1 or U3. We agree, and older examples in particular are some of the best value instruments money can buy. Here is why.

Built in enormous numbers, to a remarkable standard

Through the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Yamaha built upright pianos on a scale no maker had managed before, and crucially they did it without letting quality slip. The U series uprights from this era were made with excellent materials and obsessive consistency. That consistency matters when you are buying used: a good example behaves exactly as you would expect, which is not something you can say of every maker.

They have already done their settling

A piano changes through its early life as the timber adjusts and the strings stretch. A Yamaha upright from past decades has finished all of that. What you hear in the showroom is what you will live with, and a properly checked example will hold its tuning beautifully. These pianos were also built tall, with long strings and generous soundboards, which gives them a depth of tone that smaller modern budget uprights cannot match.

Outstanding value against new

A new Yamaha upright of equivalent size is a significant investment. A well-selected older U series piano delivers a very large share of that instrument for a fraction of the price, and it will hold its value far better from the day you buy it. For a family with a committed learner, it is the closest thing the piano world has to a safe bet. We have written up the model most people ask about in our Yamaha U1 review.

The honest caveats

Age alone is not a virtue, and not every older Yamaha is a good one. Instruments that have been poorly stored, heavily used in institutions, or cheaply patched up for resale are out there, and they are exactly why the checking matters. Buy from someone who has inspected the action, the tuning pins and the soundboard, prepared the piano properly, and will stand behind it with a warranty. We explain what to look for, and why we choose the examples we do, in Why we prefer older Yamaha pianos.

And if you want something different

The U series is the famous answer, but it is not the only one. Kawai and Kemble built superb uprights in the same era, and European makers offer a warmer, more romantic voice that some players prefer to the Yamaha clarity. We keep a range in the showroom for exactly that comparison, and we have explored the alternatives in What is better than a Yamaha U1? At the time of writing we have a lovely Yamaha U1N in cherry satin in stock. Come and play it alongside its rivals and hear what the fuss is about.