Oddly enough, Yamaha, with its cryptic logo, three interlaced tuning forks, got its start manufacturing pianos for the Japanese market. They were mostly sold the to Japanese and the odd military person, stationed in Japan. I understand that their pianos are very well made, but may not be competitive over here where someone has to pay for shipping the darned things across the Pacific.

Yamaha pianos have definitely improved since they were introduced to North American market in the late 60's. THe first Yamaha piano were "wet pianos" ie built of Asian wood. They could not stand up to the different climate here - the wood warped quickly when exposed to the drier climate here, so those "prototype" Yamaha pianos found their way to the junk heap in very short order.

Yamaha quickly compensated by building pianos destined for NA exclusively from North American woods, and today Yamaha pianos are among the finest in the world.

I know - I have 2!   A vintage grand from 1971, and a studio upright I bought last year for teaching. I love 'em both - but believe me, they can't hold a candle to a Steinway as far as tone quality and touch sensitivity are concerned.

The bottom line is - you get what you pay for. A new Yamaha grand piano costs about $15,000 here in Canada; a new Steinway costs about $70,000.

Currently, there's a real problem with Asian manufacturers like Yamaha and Kawai dumping "wet pianos" (ie pianos built of Asian wood and intended for the Asian market) for liquidation or re-sale here in North America. Unfortunately, the considerably lower price tags are attractive to people who know nothing about the instrument (ie a "wet Yamaha" runs about $1500 new; the same model built of NA wood to withstand this climate costs about $5000). "Wet pianos" look great, and sound ok for a few months, but within a year or two they are warped, cracked, untuneable and impossible to repair - better suited for the woodpile than for the living room.

As far as Chinese pianos go, they've been around for only the last decade or so. The Chinese started building them for companies like Young Chang and Yamaha. My best advice as a piano teacher is ... STAY AWAY, for now. They may be a LOT cheaper than other models, but till the Chinese learn how to build 'em!, it's caveat emptor.

For info about piano manufacturers, including Chinese pianos, click here

"The first pianos that came out of China several years ago were pretty rough, and were consequently priced pretty low. For a while they sort of ran neck and neck in quality (or lack thereof) with the pianos from the new Eastern European nations, many of which were also pretty rough and which required extensive servicing and dealer prep before they could be termed "playable"...

In the last few years however, Chinese pianos have improved somewhat in quality, due to substantial interest and investments from overseas piano manufacturers, and from the Chinese government, and also due to a motivated, eager labor force, willing to work hard for very modest wages.... There is still considerable debate as to the durability of these instruments, and whether they can be expected to hold up as well as ones of more established make and reputation."