Starter Piano: Kawai or Pearl River (plus Knabe question)

Hi, I need some advise on a starter piano for a 6 yrs old.

I am trying to decide on the following

Kawai 44' (K-18) $3850 MSRP [no discount] Peral River 42' (UP108T2) $2500 MSRP [-20% + -2% cash from a Steinway dealer! Life time tradeup - Talk about get you hooked!]

Here's my logic: since I am not knowledgable in piano, I will try to buy new to avoid any 'hidden' problem. Also, expectation is to keep the piano (10+ yrs) until my child is ready to move on. My gut feeling is to go with an entry level piano (not so $$) and then spend more later when she is ready.

Since there are not too many posts on Pearl River, we also picked a Kawai as a 'backup' because it is a 'name brand'.

My main concern is Pearl River reliability, I have read that in some occasions, it never stay in tune for more than a day...

As far as tonality I could not tell too big of a difference between them (may be just my untrained ears)... And as far as key/action feeling, I cannot speak for my child, who has no prior experience neither...

Please help! I am being pulled from both sides!

*** Off topic ***

What about Knabe (Korea?), the dealer demo one of their new model (WKV-131 52' upright $6995 MSRP) and I LIKE its sound. It's sounds better than the $12000 Schimmel next to it... If money is not a problem, I would have gone with the Knabe.

This is started to feel like buying a pair of Hi-Fi speakers, every pair is different and there're so many.

I wouldn't put a Pearl River on par with a Kawai, but to call it a Yugo is a bit of an overstatement. They're at least as good as 95% of all the US built 42' consoles produced from 1950 til they all went out of business. In fact, a couple of Pearl River pianos are also sold with the name Yamaha on them, and with the 'proper name', of course, they get bragged on. Also, a quite unpublicized little tidbit is that all Yamaha verticals now use actions built in China by Pearl River.

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net

What is your source for this tidbit? Even the actions of the U1 etc?

Come to Florida, just don't stay, we need some traffic breaks.

It certainly is. A Yugo was really just a bottom line FIAT built under license in Yugoslavia. A Pearl River- - Now that Defines the term PSO. Don't get me wrong, Pearl River isn't the worst piano ever built

I stood in the factory recently and watched them taking the Chinese built actions out of boxes and install them in the pianos. The hammers are installed on the assembly line after the actions are mounted into the piano. The boxes said Pearl River on them, plus a lot of other Chinese writing that I couldn't make out...... That, and the fact that management told me they had switched all vertical actions to actions built in the Pearl River plant in China. Between those two things, I think I got it pretty accurate.....

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net

Actually, they aren't. Larry Fine says they are 'the most promising of the Chinese pianos'. My experience with them has shown them to tune evenly, and hold tune just as good as any piano coming out of Japan. The actions need to be gone through and unnecessary friction eliminated, and the first couple of tunings are a little tiring because the strings jump over pressure points. But once the piano has had this done to it, I just don't see a thing wrong with them for the money. In fact, if the US makers of mass produced pianos could have built a piano as good as the Pearl River, some of them might still be around. I'd far rather own a Pearl River console than some of the crap built in the US during the 50s-80s.

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net

This thread goes a long way in explaining why I'm so snowed under in my restoration business of fine old European pianos.I have nothing against Asian pianos and in fact , believe them to be good value for money because 95% of old pianos are fit only for fire wood. But that other 5% makes it all worthwhile! Pianos to die for! Gary.

Thanks. I appreciate the response. Something I am happy to know about. However the U1's, U3's etc., aren't assembled in Georgia so I guess that means your really don't know about the ones that are assembled in Japan which I know enjoy a heritage than the US ones. Would Yamaha really desecrate their vaunted U series? Any info would be appreciated. What about you Yamahaphiles out there, any response?

Come to Florida, just don't stay, we need some traffic breaks.

I only know what they told me, which was that *all* vertical actions are now built in China, including the U series.

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net