The Incredible Story of Yamaha

The Incredible Story of Yamaha

Mr. Torakusu Yamaha

Mr. Torakusu Yamaha

Today, the word “Yamaha” is a household name around the World.  The largest musical instrument company on the planet, Yamaha instruments now account for 25% of the world’s music-making tools.  That’s right.  One in every four musical instruments on Earth is made by Yamaha. When considering a company of such size and scope, it’s often hard to imagine a time when nobody knew the name “Yamaha.”  Granted, today, Yamaha is a music industry icon, but it wasn’t always so.  In fact, the name “Yamaha” is the company’s second name – given in honor of it’s visionary founder, Mr. Torakusu Yamaha.  A humble watch and medical instrument repair technician from Kii Province, Mr. Yamaha came to the aid of a local elementary school when they asked him to fix their broken reed organ.  He identified the problem, made the necessary repairs, and began a journey that would quite literally change the entire world.  This is The Incredible Story of Yamaha.

 

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Which Pianos Hold Their Value?

Which Pianos Hold Their Value?

steinway piano prices

This image is from Page 7 of the former “Steinway Investment Brochure,” which claims Steinway pianos go up in value over time. Click the image to see the entire brochure (PDF). The claims made in this brochure have been heavily disputed by The Hatch Institute’s investigative journalists and past Steinway piano owners.

In 2019, a number of piano buyers sued Steinway & Sons for actively marketing their pianos as “investments” that would increase in value over time.  Steinway owners claimed they were shown graphs and factory-authorized marketing literature that indicated Steinway pianos have appreciated consistently over decades when, in reality, most new Steinway & Sons pianos depreciate significantly – some as much as 50% – in the first day of ownership.

Even here in Phoenix, we’ve seen piano salespeople claim that “German Pianos go up in value over time.”

…but do they?

Are pianos a good investment?  Do they go up or even hold their value over time?  What factors go into determining a piano’s value and how can you know what to expect when you buy one?

With more than 50 years of piano selling experience, we are uniquely qualified to bring you the truth about this hotly-debated topic.  We’ll give you the facts and help you set your expectations so you don’t find yourself in the position these Steinway owners did.  Let’s get started!

 

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Riverton Piano Company Wins Multiple National Awards

Riverton Piano Company Wins Multiple National Awards

Yamaha piano award Riverton Piano CompanyRiverton Piano Company is proud to announce that – thanks to the continued support of our clients, our community partners and piano enthusiasts all over Arizona – our company has achieved a major milestone.  This year, Riverton was awarded the “Outstanding Performance and Growth” Award from Yamaha and Bosendorfer.  We also received the “Excellence in Sales and Customer Service” award from Yamaha.  Baldwin honored us for our “Best in the Nation” sales and support for Baldwin pianos.  …and we continue to be the #1 sales outlet for Schumann Pianos all over North America.  In short, these awards put us at #1 in the Nation for sales and customer service for:

It’s an incredible honor and we can’t thank you enough for your support!  It is incredibly rare for a dealership to reach “Best in the Nation” status for one brand.  Imagine our excitement upon reaching that status with every brand we carry!

 

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Where Should I Put My Piano?

Where Should I Put My Piano?

One of the first questions piano shoppers have to consider when they decide to buy a piano is “where should I put my piano?”.  Should it be upstairs or down?  Is it ok in a bedroom or should it be in a family room?  Can it sit against an outside wall or near a window?

These are all important questions and, interestingly enough, the answers to some of these questions have changed over the 300+ years people have been buying pianos.  So what’s the right answer?  Where is the best place to put your piano?

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How Important are Piano Warranties?

How Important are Piano Warranties?

How important are piano warranties when it comes to buying a piano? Is it safe to just assume you’ll be covered if you have a problem?  Artisans have been building pianos since the 18th Century and – with every new design – comes improvements in stability, tone and quality. There have been countless developments over the years and you never hear about a piano “falling apart,” so why should you care about the piano’s warranty?

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What Are Pianos Made Of?

What Are Pianos Made Of?

Before we even get started, I can hear some of you out there shouting “WOOD” …and – while that’s a partially correct – it’s an absolutely incomplete answer. Also, with no qualifiers, the word “WOOD” is woefully imprecise since not all woods are created equal. Balsa wood, for example is very light, but not very strong. Oak wood is very heavy and very strong. Neither make ideal “WOOD” for an entire piano.  Why?  Well, to adequately explain this topic, we’re going to have to dig a bit deeper.

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Next-Gen Pianos from Roland

Next-Gen Pianos from Roland

As an award-winning Roland piano dealer, we’re always excited to hear about Roland’s next-gen pianos – especially when they come packed with exciting new technology.  Roland’s goal has always been to faithfully reproduce and enhance the acoustic piano experience in a reliable, maintenance-free cabinet.  This new technology, dubbed “Piano Reality” due to its virtual-reality-like performance, is a completely new design concept.  Instead of building new piano models from the bones of previous generations, Roland decided to design these pianos from scratch.  This would allow them to take advantage of technological breakthroughs in chip design, modeling software and speaker technologies that weren’t available when the previous generation of Roland pianos were conceived.  If you’d like a “deep dive” into Roland’s “Piano Reality” development process, check out our “Roland’s Road to Piano Reality” blog.  In this article, we’re going to highlight each of the Roland’s next-gen pianos and briefly discuss how they compare.  For more information on each specific piano, click the model numbers or watch the videos below.

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Why Your Retirement Community Needs a Piano

Why Your Retirement Community Needs a Piano

Retirement – or life in a retirement community – is a fact of life for many of us as we age.  The question is – how can we make retirement life better?  25 years ago this month, my grandfather passed away from Alzheimer’s. While modern medicine has made great strides in Alzheimer’s research and treatment, I often wonder what else could have extended his life or at least slowed the Alzheimer’s process.  Through my passion for music, I believe I have found one possible answer.

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Premium Player Piano:  Disklavier vs. Spirio

Premium Player Piano: Disklavier vs. Spirio

When it comes to player piano systems – especially on the higher-end where there are really only two choices – Yamaha’s Disklavier Enspire Pro (also available on Bösendorfer Pianos) and Steinway’s Spirio system (only available on select Steinway pianos), piano shoppers often feel a bit confused. Both of these systems are factory installed by experienced technicians; both offer high-resolution MIDI sensors; and both claim to offer the most authentic representation of a living, breathing piano performance.  …but they are vastly different in price.  That leaves many asking us “What’s the difference and how do they compare?”  Well, if you’re considering a premium player piano, you’ll find all the answers you need here in our in-depth comparison.

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The Truth About Piano Scams

The Truth About Piano Scams

piano scam email

This is an actual email one of our staff received from a piano scammer. Click the image to read it in full size.

Those of us who play the piano know the joy it brings. We love pianos, but we may not always have the budget for the instrument of our dreams.  We WANT that feeling of satisfaction and joy we get when we play a truly excellent instrument and we so want to believe in finding that “once-in-a-lifetime” deal. That is what makes falling victim to a piano scam so easy.  They prey on our emotions and envelop us in a web of plausible lies until they get what they’re really after:  our hard-earned money.

Piano scammers are tech savvy, experienced, heartless and clever.  They know how to hook us with emotion and how to weave a shockingly convincing (but completely untrue) story that can cost us hundreds – even thousands – of dollars if we fall victim.

…but how do we avoid falling for these fraudsters?  What are the warning signs?  How can we tell a “great deal” apart from something that is literally “too good to be true?”

Well, after decades in the piano business, I have seen all kinds of piano scams and – though avoiding them can be tricky – there are some simple things you can do to protect yourself.  Let’s take a look at the most common piano scams and the simple tools you can use to avoid them.

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