All uprights
Every size
Most pianos in Singapore homes are uprights, and most of the difference between one and the next is height. A few centimetres change how much bass there is and how long a note carries.
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Upright piano · 131 cmThe Yamaha U3.
Ten centimetres taller than a U1, and those ten centimetres are the whole point. Longer strings, a bigger soundboard, and a bass that sounds like a piano rather than a suggestion of one.
What it is
The short version.
The U3 is a 131 cm upright from the same family as the U1, built to the same standard, with the same action quality and the same reliability. The difference is height, and height in an upright is not cosmetic. A taller case takes longer bass strings and a larger soundboard, and both of those go straight into the sound.
In practice it means the bottom octave has weight instead of thud, and notes sustain rather than stopping the moment the hammer leaves the string. Anyone playing past the early grades hears it immediately.
Type
Upright piano
Size
131 cm
Condition
Pre-owned, prepared
Ask for current availability and price
Who it suits
Worth your time if.
- A student working through the later grades who has outgrown a small upright
- A teacher or a serious amateur who plays daily
- A room with enough space and enough wall for a taller instrument
- Anyone choosing one piano to keep rather than one to trade up from
Buying one used
Four things to check, in order.
The same four we check ourselves before an instrument goes on the floor. Every instrument is an original used piano. Not reconditioned, not rebuilt. Ask us about any of them on a specific piano and you get a straight answer.
- The serial numberDates the piano, and tells you which production period it came from.
- Hammer wear and voicingA U3 that has been voiced properly sounds very different from one that has not been touched in fifteen years. Both can look identical.
- Tuning pin torqueSame as any upright, and still the thing that matters most. It decides whether the instrument holds a tuning or drifts.
- Access at your endA U3 is heavier and taller than a U1. Stairs, lift dimensions and door widths all need to be known before a delivery date is agreed.
The other one to hear
Against the U1.
The U1 is the same piano ten centimetres shorter, and it fits where a U3 will not. If the room is tight or the budget is fixed, the U1 is not a compromise so much as a different answer.
Both, back to back, in the same room on the same afternoon. That is a fifteen minute job at the viewing gallery and it settles the question far better than any page can.
Questions
The U3, answered.
Is a U3 really worth more than a U1?
For most people who play regularly, yes, and the difference is audible in the first minute. For a beginner who may or may not stick with lessons, the U1 is the more sensible buy and there is no shame in it.
Come and play both back to back. It is a ten minute decision once you have heard them.
How heavy is a Yamaha U3?
Heavier than a U1 and enough that it is not a two person job. That is our side of it rather than yours, but it does mean access needs to be confirmed properly beforehand.
Does the extra height make it louder?
Bigger rather than louder. The volume is similar, but the tone has more body underneath it, and the bass in particular stops sounding thin. In a small room some people prefer the U1 for exactly that reason.
What finishes does the U3 come in?
Polished ebony most commonly, and walnut and mahogany finishes turn up on the pre-owned market too. Tell us if the finish matters to you and we will say what we have seen recently.
The rest of the range
Other uprights people ask about.
Yamaha
U1
121 cm
The upright most teachers name first and the one most homes in Singapore end up with. If you have asked three people for a recommendation and two of them said U1, this is why.
Read about it →
Yamaha
YUS5
The top of the U series. Bought by people who have decided they are buying one piano and are not going to do this again.
Read about it →
Boston
UP-132E
132 cm
The tallest upright Steinway and Sons designs, at 132 cm, built for it in Japan by Kawai. A tall case and a long string in a cabinet that still stands against a wall.
Read about it →
Kawai
K300
122 cm
Kawai’s answer to the U1, and the Kawai we are asked about by name more than any other. Warmer than the Yamaha, and built with an action that has a specific argument behind it.
Read about it →
Visit the viewing gallery
Ask what is on the floor today.
Message us with the model and we will tell you what is in, what condition it is in, and what it costs. If we have nothing suitable we will say that instead.