Disklavier

Keith,

I have owned a Mark II DC3 for seven plus years.  It continues to serve 
me well.  Since I, too, am interested in playing, recording, and 
reproducing only solo piano, I've never felt any loss at not having a 
tone generator and speakers. I have archived my MIDI file collection on 
a CD-ROM and I play files from a laptop using the MIDI interface.

The record/reproduction accuracy of the Mark II is fine for my purposes. 
  The Mark III may or may not have improved accuracy.  Anecdotes aside, 
I have never seen a report of actual measurements comparing the Mark II 
and Mark III.  For the additional precision of a Pro, buyers pay a hefty 
margin.

There apparently are a number of DKV owners out there who feel compelled 
to own the latest features and who replace their perfectly good older 
instruments that find their way to the market. I would imagine that 
dealers must shudder whenever Yamaha announces a new model, such as the 
Mark IV, and then dawdles for a year or more in delivering it to the 
dealers.  Who is going to pay full retail for a Mark III in a dealer's 
inventory rather than wait for a Mark IV or for a discounted price on a 
Mark III?

I have a feeling that the selling (not asking) prices of used Mark II's 
and Mark II XG's are going to be affected more by condition than by the 
"XG", so I wouldn't summarily dismiss an XG from consideration, even 
though you would never use the tone generator.

If you play your hand well, you should be able to find what you are 
looking for at a quite reasonable price.  Take your time and bargain 
shrewdly.

I would start by making a list of authorized Yamaha dealers around the 
country.  Go to http://www.yamaha.com/dealerlocator2.asp?id=5 and start 
entering ZIP codes.

Then I would request the dealers to let you know when they have a 
trade-in that might interest you. I would trust most authorized dealers 
to provide an honest statement about condition. You still might wish to 
hire an independent tech to examine an instrument before you buy it. 
Getting it shipped from wherever to your home is not a big deal.

I would look for instruments that come from private homes.  Those will 
probably have far less mileage on them than ones that played in pubs or 
hotel lobbies.  How can you tell?  Look at the hammer felts.

E-Bay might also be a possible source, as long as you can resist getting 
bidding fever and not being too disappointed in losing a bid.

Keith Barrett wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Perhaps someone could offer some advice on the following:-
> 
> I am looking at purchasing a disklavier, most likely upright.
> 
> What I want to do is to be able to record myself and play back and, 
> download files from the net, i.e. piano competition files mentioned on 
> this group.
> 
> If I understand correctly, all of the latest models have the silent piano 
> feature and require speakers e.t.c.  I cannot immagine I would use this 
> feature.
> 
> So, what would be the disadvantage of looking for one of the older 
> models that do not have the silent feature e.t.c?  Are any of these still 
> made?  What was the last model that was like this?
> 
> I just feel a bit reluctant to spend on features that I am unlikely to need.
> 
> Comments most welcome.  Sorry if these questions are basic but not 
> much info in the UK.
> 
> 
> Keith
> 
> - -
> 
> Keith Barrett
> 
> 
> gw4nby
> 
> Bridgend
> South Wales
> 
> 
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-- 
Robert Welcyng
Anchorage, Alaska