Whether you’ve considered buying a musical instrument, a motorcycle or high quality AV equipment, you’ve no doubt run into Yamaha.  For over 135 years, Yamaha has built a global reputation for quality and reliability that few of its competitors have been able to match.  In fact, Yamaha is so prevalent in today’s musical landscape that one out of every FOUR instruments is a Yamaha!  That’s right.  Drums, flutes, guitars, pianos – you name it, Yamaha makes it… and people around the world take pride in owning their Yamaha instruments.

Elton John is one of 3600 musicians who proudly call themselves “Yamaha Artists.”

In the piano world, Yamaha has built a sterling reputation as one of the three most prominent names on the world’s stage.  …but how do Yamaha’s home pianos compare to those you hear Elton John (and countless others) play on stage today?  More specifically, where are Yamaha pianos made and what does their factory location tell you about their quality and long-term value?

A piano is a complex apparatus made from thousands of parts that need to work perfectly together for decades. “Cutting corners” anywhere along the production process will inevitably lead to an unreliable end result.  If left unchecked, these unreliable results will damage the company’s brand and lead potential consumers to the competition.  That’s why Yamaha has done something no other piano builder in the World has – they have achieved complete “vertical integration.”  Put simply, Yamaha has brought every aspect of a piano’s production – from maintaining and harvesting their own forests to operating their own plate foundry, to designing and implementing cutting-edge tools and processes that ensure every Yamaha piano is purpose built to the same standard.  Every other piano builder in the world purchases at least some of their materials from other companies.  Yamaha does everything “in-house.”  This means that – no matter where a Yamaha piano is assembled – Yamaha can perfectly control it’s quality and performance.

Yamaha pianos get all of their wood from Yamaha’s own mill in Kitami, Japan.

Everything begins with the most important (and expensive) component:  wood.  For more than half a century, Yamaha has harvested some of the world’s finest woods, processed them, and delivered them into the hands of skilled artisans.   All of Yamaha’s wood comes from their world-renowned Kitami Mill in Hokkaido, Japan. Yamaha is one of the only piano makers to operate their own mill. Which means their craftsmen have complete control over every piece of wood that goes into the pianos, from milling and aging to gluing and finishing. The Kitami Mill uses only the very best woods for Yamaha musical instruments and – of that wood – only the top 15 percent is chosen to become part of a Yamaha piano‘s soundboard, back frame or rim.

Yamaha was the first company to use a vacuum shield mold process to create stronger, lighter, more durable plates.

Modern pianos are not made of wood alone, however.  Another critical component that has been revolutionized by Yamaha’s vertical integration is the cast iron plate.  The absolute best piano plates are a wonder of modern technology, combining the strength to withstand more than 40,000 lbs of string tension with a resonance that helps bring out the brilliance and beauty of each note.   That’s why finding the perfect frame for the pianos is not something they take lightly.  In fact, Yamaha is one of the only piano makers in the world to cast their own plates.  Every ounce of metal is cast, sanded and finished under the watchful eyes of expert Yamaha metallurgists in Yamaha’s Iwata, Japan foundry.  These metallurgists also work with Yamaha engineers to produce new technologies and procedures that increase production efficiency, quality and consistency.  Yamaha was the first company to use an advanced vacuum shield mold process called V-Pro to create stronger, lighter, more durable plates for their pianos.  Today, countless piano builders have followed suit – using Yamaha’s V-Pro process to create plates for their own pianos.  Even to this day, the precise process Yamaha uses to create the metal components for their musical instruments is considered top secret – as Yamaha continues to innovate.

Yamaha even makes its own piano wire – giving every model Yamaha piano a unique sound profile that is chosen by Yamaha’s constantly evolving R&D Department.  This R&D Department is the largest of any piano manufacturer in the world – giving Yamaha the freedom to innovate and the science to direct and develop the entire piano industry’s future.  From this incredible department of experienced industry professionals came the World-famous Disklavier, Silent Pianos, the first true Hybrid Pianos and the legendary Yamaha Clavinova.  Truly, Yamaha has built its more-than-a-century long reputation on building the finest pianos for every price point and for every need around the world.  That’s why over 3600 musicians today call themselves “Yamaha Artists,” including some of the most famous performers known around the world.

So – we know Yamaha piano wood comes from the Kitami Mill in Japan and the metal parts Yamaha uses in their pianos comes from their foundry in Iwata, Japan, but where are the pianos assembled?!  This can vary a bit by model.

Yamaha uses a mix of hand-craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology (as appropriate) to build their world-class pianos.

For over 50 years, the piano factory in Kakegawa, Japan has been Yamaha’s primary piano production facility.  This is where Yamaha master builders create the iconic CF, SX, CX and GC  series grand pianos as well as the YUS and U series uprights. The Kakegawa Factory also includes the Yamaha Concert Piano Workshop, where CFX concert grand pianos are handcrafted and meticulously voiced, regulated and tuned by master technicians. It is quite simply the most technologically advanced piano manufacturing facility anywhere in the world.

Yamaha’s world-famous P22 school pianos, the b-Series upright pianos and the best-selling GB1K pianos (including the DGB1K Yamaha Disklavier, and the GB1K-SC2 Yamaha Silent Piano) are now assembled in Yamaha’s Indonesian piano factory.  (We say “assembled because ALL Yamaha grand piano soundboards are made in Japan – as are the metal parts for Yamaha pianos) This plant opened on 11 square miles of land outside Jakarta, Indonesia in 1974 and they built their first Yamaha pianos in 1984.  Today, this plant employs over 1200 Yamaha workers – all of whom receive regular cross training from Yamaha’s Japanese piano craftsmen.  For nearly 40 years, Yamaha has built pianos in this plant for export to Europe, Japan and (now) the US as well.  ALL Yamaha factories operate under the same Quality Control standards with daily Quality Control meetings and constant cross training opportunities.  At Yamaha, it’s often said that the Indonesian Yamaha plant – including its custom materials, machinery and manufacturing processes – was made in Japan.

Thanks to Yamaha’s complete vertical integration, all Yamaha pianos are made to the same quality control standards.

So where are Yamaha pianos made today?  Ask anyone at Yamaha and they will give you the same answer:  Yamaha pianos are made in Yamaha!  Thanks to Yamaha’s complete vertical integration, it is the Company of Origin rather than the Country of Origin that matters.  No other piano manufacturer can operate with the precision and attention to detail that Yamaha can because Yamaha literally owns every piece in the production process.  Because of this, they can build the highest quality pianos for every sound profile and price point.  If you are interested or want more information, contact us via our live web chat, or visit one of our Arizona piano stores.  We are proud to be Arizona’s only full-line Yamaha piano dealer and we’d love to show you how Yamaha pianos can transform your home, classroom, sanctuary or concert stage!