The GBI Yamaha Grand Piano Reviewed
A Yamaha grand piano is about as good as it gets in my eyes, if you’ve been playing the piano for a few years and feel like you’ve out grown your previous model then you’d do very well to take a look at the manufacturer’s GB1 model. That being said, this instrument isn’t without its flaws.
The Yamaha GB1 is currently the cheapest baby grand the manufacturer has in production. In their eternal quest to provide the best quality at the most affordable prices many have criticised them for trying to cut too many corners and sacrificing quality in the name of a good deal. But what exactly is being sacrificed?
The best quality pianos always feature under covered hammers, these are in placed to protect the tone of the instrument and ensure the high quality sound is maintained throughout its life time. The GB1 doesn’t feature this protection because it would prompt an added expense to the customer. At present we have no way of knowing how the tone of this model will change over time and if this cost cutting measure will cause the instrument to lose sound quality prematurely. But it is a concern that many experts have raised.
The manufacturers of the GB1Yamaha baby grand piano also decided not to feature duplex scaling on the instrument to bring down the cost of the instrument but this isn’t without after effects. In general terms the more freely a string can resonate, the richer sound it will produce. It is common practice for piano makers to apply duplex scaling to an instrument in order to for the ends of the strings to vibrate unhindered by the cloth commonly used to dampen them. They different between the two scaling methods is very apparent in the tone of the piano, often one gets the feeling the GB1 doesn’t quite excel tonally as well as it could do if greater attention would have been made to the finer details.
Many pianists have also expressed their concerns about the lifting music desk features on this Yamaha grand piano as well, almost ever grand piano in production today features sliding music desk instead. These are much more effective than the former type because they allow pianists to adjust the distance of the deck in order for them to see the music sheets more clearly.
Of course the GB1 Yamaha grand piano is the perfect choice for less experienced players or those on a budget. These design flaws, perhaps flaws is the wrong word seen as though the manufacturer did them intentionally to reduce cost, are going to be more noticeable to advanced player. This instrument is still an amazing performance and provides superb value for the money. The GB1’s tone is superb; the keys are incredibly responsive and easy to play. Yamaha grand piano prices usually start off at least £10,000 ($16,000) so you really cannot complain at the £7,000 ($10,000) asking price.
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