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.
Read about upright pianos →Home/Available Pianos/Yamaha YUS5
Upright pianoThe 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.
What it is
The short version.
The YUS line sits above the standard U series. Same lineage, higher specification, and a level of finish and preparation that the everyday models do not get. It is the instrument Yamaha builds for players who will notice the difference and are willing to pay for it.
That difference shows up in the action, the voicing and the consistency across the keyboard rather than in anything you could photograph. Which is why nobody should buy one without sitting at it first.
Type
Upright piano
Condition
Pre-owned, prepared
Ask for current availability and price
Who it suits
Worth your time if.
- A pianist who plays seriously and every day
- A teaching studio where the instrument is the tool of the trade
- A family buying one piano for the long term rather than a stepping stone
- Anyone who has played a U3 and wanted more from it
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.
- ProvenanceA premium instrument deserves a clear history. Where it came from, who owned it, and what has been done to it.
- Action regulationThe whole argument for a YUS is how it feels. An unregulated one does not feel like one, and regulation is work rather than a fault.
- VoicingThe hammers on a piano at this level want proper voicing to sound like the instrument is supposed to sound.
- Tuning pin torqueStill the first structural question on any pre-owned upright, at any price.
Photographed in the viewing gallery
Up close.
The other one to hear
Against the U3.
The U3 is the sensible answer and covers almost everybody. The YUS5 is for the player who already knows why they want more than that.
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 YUS5, answered.
Is a YUS5 worth it over a U3?
If you play daily and at a decent level, you will feel it. If you are buying for a child in the early grades, the honest answer is no, and we would rather tell you that than sell you the dearer piano.
Are pre-owned YUS models common in Singapore?
Less common than U1s and U3s, simply because fewer were made and the people who own them tend to keep them. Tell us you are looking and we will let you know when one comes through.
What should I compare it against?
A well prepared U3 and a Kawai at the equivalent level, back to back, in the same room on the same afternoon. Specifications will not settle this one. Your hands will.
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
U3
131 cm
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.
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.