Disklavier

Paul,

Used Disklaviers for sale are pretty scarce.  Once in awhile, one may show up on
e-Bay.  A search of the Web may lead you to dealers who know how to reach a wide
audience.  Individual authorized Yamaha dealers should be a likely source of
trade-ins, if that is what you are looking for.  Be cautious of gray market
Yamaha pianos not made for the American market.  Those marketed for the Orient,
for example, often are not supported once they reach the U.S.

To locate Yamaha dealers around the U.S., start with
http://www.yamaha.com/dlrsel.htm

For a new piano, I would suggest negotiating with a number of dealers around the
country.  Shipping a piano across the country needn't be a big deal.  But first,
you'll want to survey the available models and decide which is for you.  New
models are described on http://www.yamaha.com/pianos.htm  Find a nearby dealer
who is friendly and not too busy.  Hang around the store for awhile to ask
questions and get demonstrations and catalogs.  For laughs, you can even ask for
prices.  Don't faint when the salesman writes vague round figures on your
brochure.  You are not going to pay that price.

Once you are serious about purchasing, contact the bigger dealers in some major
cities for ball park prices.  Let them know that you are shopping around.  You
may approach and negotiate with dealers anywhere, although only a Yamaha dealer
in your territory may first seek you out.  When you have some quotes, go back to
each one and ask if they'd like to beat the best quote you've received.  After
that second round, decide what you would like in a package deal--the piano, an
adjustable artist bench, a dozen PianoSoft disks, a humidifier, shipping, set-up
in your home, and an initial tuning, for example.  Let the dealers that you have
talked to know that you are sincere and ready to buy and call for their best and
final offers on your package. 

If a good price is important to you, don't get in a big hurry to buy.  There are
dealer sales competitions that may lower your price and Yamaha America sometimes
has stock that is not moving that they will offer to a dealer at an attractive
wholesale price.  The dealer may try to tell you that the Yen exchange rate may
soon raise prices, but I doubt that that has much to do with what you'll pay.

You may be wondering how a dealer in, say, Seattle will set up and tune your
piano in California.  Many dealers depend upon independent piano technicians to
do that work.  The dealer, or you, will likely contact a local piano technician
to actually do the work.  That also may give you an opportunity to choose a
technician who has had Disklavier training.  If there are any warranty problems,
your local technician can attend to them and work out his payment with the
dealer and Yamaha.

If you're considering a used instrument, pay a registered piano technician (RPT)
to look under the hood first and give you a private appraisal.

For five years, I've owned and enjoyed a DC3F Mark II grand that I bought from
Portland, Oregon, and had shipped to Anchorage.  I've had no significant
problems with the instrument.  The dealer has always stood by the sale and has
treated me cordially, although it has been my local RPT who has done all the
maintenance and tuning.

Since I'm not an expert on the various models of Disklavier, I will leave it to
others to explain the model differences you asked about.

Good luck!

Bob Welcyng

paulnerd wrote:
> 
> I'm a new member.  I spent several enjoyable hours last night
> reading though the archives.  The pricing database was also very
> educational.
> 
> I am in search of a Disklavier, preferably Mark II and newer.  Would
> appreciate any pointers to individuals, dealers and RPTs familiar
> this line of pianos in the Northern California area.  Would be
> willing to travel for the right piano.
> 
> Ideally, I'd like a DC3A but that will be on the high on of my
> budget.  I was wondering if getting an upright is a good idea, to
> get a feel for the Disklavier system.
> 
> Some questions:
> 
>   - what's the difference between the DC3 and DC3A?
> 
>   - what's the difference between the MPX1Z and the older MPX1?
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated.
> 
> Paul
> 
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-- 
Robert Welcyng
Anchorage, Alaska