Interesting, the Essex has a warmer tone with a more powerful full bass. The Yamaha has a thinner, crisp almost metallic sound. I like the Essex better from what I hear, odd that it is a smaller piano.
This isn't a very fair comparison, I've played on over 200 uprights and over 50 grands, the G series Yamaha's are truthfully not good, an older Japanese made U1 or U3 sounds better. About a year ago I played on 2 C5 Yamaha in a retail store, one to my ears sounded vastly better than the other
@@markE946 The Yamaha GB1K is made in Indonesia. In my opinion, being a professional piano tech and having done dealer prep for both Yamaha and Essex (Steinway) the Essex line is all around better than Indonesian Yamahas. Plus the Yamaha in this video is badly out of tune.
I once played a Boston in a piano store. It was very rich and warm, but when I tried the Essex, for some reason it was rattily (probably that one piano)
The Essex's mid and high notes sounds better as they are warmer. The bass note sounds awful though I understand this is a 5'1". The Yamaha, well, sounds like a typical Yamaha. Clean and bright, doesn't sound as good as the more expensive ones but better than the lower quality ones.
In an attempt to sound warm, the Essex just sound muffled to me. The Yamaha is an entry-level Yamaha, yes, but it has a crisp and clear tone with a decent bass for the size of the piano.
The yamaha sounds disgusting - bright, brittle and piercing. The Essex sounds gorgeous. Not really that interesting seeing as it’s Steinway designed it totally makes sense
That's what happens when you get these so-called comparisons, but you have no idea what is the actual condition of the hammers in each piano. GB1K being shown in this video clearly has hammers that are long overdue for voicing, and I'd say it is disingenuous for the makers of this video to keep silent about it. Shame.
You should take a look at the materials used on each of these pianos. You'd be surprised by how much better the build on the Essex is. Steinway doesn't compromise on build quality in their Essex line to reach a certain price point, no matter the Essex model. Yamaha does.
@@igorcosta8559 Yes, That is what Steinway tells us. As a pianotechnician who deals with a lot of Yamaha en Essex, I can asure you there is no such thing as "build quality" in the Essex range.
@@CoenvanDongen That's interesting to know, as you appear to have hands on experience working directly on pianos from these brands. Thanks for sharing!
I do not like the GB1k. They use Philippine mahogany for the rim (VERY cheap!). A brand new GB1k in Indonesia sells for less than $6,000 USD, really. Makes you wonder what other cost-cutting they use on these Indonesian Yamahas. Essex is a lot more expensive (and sounds more expensive) because they use Siberian spruce.
I don't see this kind of comparison too useful, since both pianos should have similarly voiced hammers and pianos should be in good tune aswell. Neither is the case here. But as a piano tuner, I can share this: Yamahas are great pianos to tune, no problem. Essex grand piano on the other hand was a total nightmare, I can't believe Steinway has designed such bad construction. Basically there was too steep angle in strings so they don't move well which make fine tuning really difficult. And considering that was probably pretty young piano, things won't improve when stringing gets more wear ☠️
I've heard that the Yamahas are easy to tune and the reason why many technicians recommend them. Doesn't make them a better piano, just FASTER for a tech to tune😉.A technician shouldn't have a problem with an Essex piano if he's well trained. Our tuner still loves tuning our Essex at the church after years of servicing the piano.
@@Inc-kz6dh I was beginner tuner back then (5 years ago) when I tuned that horrible Essex so my skills were definitely lacking. Professional well trained tuner was there on that day, who regularly tuned pianos there, and he also cursed that Essex how bad it's to tune 😉. But I don't have really experience of other Essex pianos since they're not that common here so I can't say how good or bad they are to tune in general. I still believe that if piano tuner likes to work with some piano, then it must be easy and fast to tune. No matter how well trained pro you are, no one likes to struggle with bad string movement. If good piano has stringing that is difficult to tune (when piano is relatively new), I would definitely consider it a fault that makes piano less good.
@@ejeoifoiae99823-eoji Japanese Yamahas are nice. The CX grands are not cheap and not inexpensive. I have a Yamaha C7 that compares favorably with Steinway B. But I am a piano technician and do all the tuning, regulating and voicing on it, so I can afford it. 😀. At the price point for GB1K and Indonesian Yamaha verticals and Essex, I choose Essex all day long.
The Essex sounds muffled and the bass doesn't sound very good at all. Despite the Yamaha being an entry level piano, it sounds clear with much better bass. If these pianos are at the right price point for you, I would take the Yamaha. If the treble on the Yamaha is too bright for you, It's easy to voice it to a warmer tone. On the other hand, getting a more clear and crisp sound from the Essex is not, IMO, worth the effort.
Interesting, the Essex has a warmer tone with a more powerful full bass. The Yamaha has a thinner, crisp almost metallic sound. I like the Essex better from what I hear, odd that it is a smaller piano.
From experience i can also add to that description that Yamaha s keys are generally way easier to press than other piano companies
Yamahas also tend to be very loud
This isn't a very fair comparison, I've played on over 200 uprights and over 50 grands, the G series Yamaha's are truthfully not good, an older Japanese made U1 or U3 sounds better.
About a year ago I played on 2 C5 Yamaha in a retail store, one to my ears sounded vastly better than the other
@@markE946 The Yamaha GB1K is made in Indonesia. In my opinion, being a professional piano tech and having done dealer prep for both Yamaha and Essex (Steinway) the Essex line is all around better than Indonesian Yamahas. Plus the Yamaha in this video is badly out of tune.
Essex sound more warmer i like it
Yamaha sound more treble like dulcimer when play a high key
Yamaha pianos always sound very bright to me - Crisp to the point of being brittle. Boston and Essex sound much warmer.
I once played a Boston in a piano store. It was very rich and warm, but when I tried the Essex, for some reason it was rattily (probably that one piano)
@@juancarlosleiva1411 Essex pianos are essentially Pearl River pianos. I played one Essex. It sounded ok to me. Nothing spectacular.
The Essex's mid and high notes sounds better as they are warmer. The bass note sounds awful though I understand this is a 5'1". The Yamaha, well, sounds like a typical Yamaha. Clean and bright, doesn't sound as good as the more expensive ones but better than the lower quality ones.
That's why it's called an essex
Essex is the winner, it has more dynamic and warmer, Yamaha is a little bit harsh.
Yamaha just bangs on your eardrums
What is the piece pls ?
Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano concerto 1st movement
@@havardsolberg5773 ty
In an attempt to sound warm, the Essex just sound muffled to me. The Yamaha is an entry-level Yamaha, yes, but it has a crisp and clear tone with a decent bass for the size of the piano.
The yamaha sounds disgusting - bright, brittle and piercing. The Essex sounds gorgeous. Not really that interesting seeing as it’s Steinway designed it totally makes sense
That's what happens when you get these so-called comparisons, but you have no idea what is the actual condition of the hammers in each piano. GB1K being shown in this video clearly has hammers that are long overdue for voicing, and I'd say it is disingenuous for the makers of this video to keep silent about it. Shame.
The Yamaha would last longer ;)
You should take a look at the materials used on each of these pianos. You'd be surprised by how much better the build on the Essex is. Steinway doesn't compromise on build quality in their Essex line to reach a certain price point, no matter the Essex model. Yamaha does.
@@igorcosta8559 Yes, That is what Steinway tells us. As a pianotechnician who deals with a lot of Yamaha en Essex, I can asure you there is no such thing as "build quality" in the Essex range.
@@CoenvanDongen That's interesting to know, as you appear to have hands on experience working directly on pianos from these brands. Thanks for sharing!
I do not like the GB1k. They use Philippine mahogany for the rim (VERY cheap!). A brand new GB1k in Indonesia sells for less than $6,000 USD, really. Makes you wonder what other cost-cutting they use on these Indonesian Yamahas. Essex is a lot more expensive (and sounds more expensive) because they use Siberian spruce.
Honestly I didn't like the sound of neither pianos.
Essex is a bit bigger..made in China..
Yamaha... Indonesia..
Depends on how stable the tuning is...
I don't see this kind of comparison too useful, since both pianos should have similarly voiced hammers and pianos should be in good tune aswell. Neither is the case here. But as a piano tuner, I can share this: Yamahas are great pianos to tune, no problem. Essex grand piano on the other hand was a total nightmare, I can't believe Steinway has designed such bad construction. Basically there was too steep angle in strings so they don't move well which make fine tuning really difficult. And considering that was probably pretty young piano, things won't improve when stringing gets more wear ☠️
I've heard that the Yamahas are easy to tune and the reason why many technicians recommend them. Doesn't make them a better piano, just FASTER for a tech to tune😉.A technician shouldn't have a problem with an Essex piano if he's well trained. Our tuner still loves tuning our Essex at the church after years of servicing the piano.
@@Inc-kz6dh I was beginner tuner back then (5 years ago) when I tuned that horrible Essex so my skills were definitely lacking. Professional well trained tuner was there on that day, who regularly tuned pianos there, and he also cursed that Essex how bad it's to tune 😉. But I don't have really experience of other Essex pianos since they're not that common here so I can't say how good or bad they are to tune in general. I still believe that if piano tuner likes to work with some piano, then it must be easy and fast to tune. No matter how well trained pro you are, no one likes to struggle with bad string movement. If good piano has stringing that is difficult to tune (when piano is relatively new), I would definitely consider it a fault that makes piano less good.
I wouldn’t have either one. Just purchase a Bechstein like I did.
Yamaha sounds cheap. Why is that? I am not saying Essex is better but Yamaha just sound like a cheap instrument.
Because the GB1K is made in Indonesia from inferior materials. Cheap.
@@oliverheaviside2539 Yup, Yamaha is cheap
@@ejeoifoiae99823-eoji Japanese Yamahas are nice. The CX grands are not cheap and not inexpensive. I have a Yamaha C7 that compares favorably with Steinway B. But I am a piano technician and do all the tuning, regulating and voicing on it, so I can afford it. 😀. At the price point for GB1K and Indonesian Yamaha verticals and Essex, I choose Essex all day long.
Yamaha sounds more full and rich.
The Essex sounds muffled and the bass doesn't sound very good at all. Despite the Yamaha being an entry level piano, it sounds clear with much better bass. If these pianos are at the right price point for you, I would take the Yamaha. If the treble on the Yamaha is too bright for you, It's easy to voice it to a warmer tone. On the other hand, getting a more clear and crisp sound from the Essex is not, IMO, worth the effort.
The GB1K is shit lmaooo, it would be better to compare it against something just slightly higher in the line up
Other than used what are new better baby grand for the price
Essex is okay but Yamaha has powerful bass
UGH, hard to make a good comparison when they are both out of tune!
the Yamaha is out of tune, kinda obsoletes the comparison
Yamaha > Essex
Much worse than Steinway and Sun.