Used Yamaha U1 Pianos for sale - £3590
View our stocklist to see our current stock of Yamaha U1 pianos.
Here is a video showing what Yamaha U3 and U1 pianos we typically have in stock. Please get hold of some headphones so that you can listen carefully.
My Yamaha U1 Pianos all come with the following benefits:
1. Free 1st tuning in your home
2. 5 Year Guarantee (parts & labour of course)
3. Large smile on your face (sorry to be cheesy but it’s true!)
The Yamaha U1 piano can be thought of as the little sister of the Yamaha U3 (click to view my Yamaha U3 Sales Page). The main difference between a U1 and a U3 is just that the U3 is just slightly bigger. This gives it 2 main advantages. First, the extra height means that it can house longer strings which result in a warmer, richer sound, especially in the bass region. Second, it has a larger soundboard which is good for a richer, more resonant tone. Other than that, they are equal. The action is just as good, the build quality and component quality is just as good so in reality it doesn’t create a show-stopping difference and the U1 will serve any pianist perfectly well.
If you have a particularly big music room I’d recommend a U3 or even if you simply MUST have the best model then again, I recommend the U3. Otherwise, the U1 will satisfy the needs of most pianists perfectly well for the rest of their musical life.
Used Yamaha U1 Piano Stocklist
Yamaha U1 Dimensions
151cm (w), 121cm (h), 61.5cm (d). See below for my scribbled sketch of the profile view. If you think that your house has some tight corners or narrow doorways you can create a cardboard cut out of the below diagram, lie it flat on the floor and then see if you can turn it into the room or around the corners without touching any of the walls.
There are many reasons why you should be very careful when considering buying a Yamaha U1. The most important is that the piano may not have been reconditioned properly, even if the seller claims that the piano has been reconditioned.
There is one quick way to tell if the piano has been reconditioned. Check its loop cords! If the piano still has its original loop cords then it definitely hasn’t been reconditioned. This is most significant for pianos from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Pianos from the year 2000 onwards are not likely to need extensive reconditioning.
More about those loop cords…
There are 88 loop cords in a Yamaha U1 and their job is to force each key to spring back to its resting position as quickly as possible after being played. The loop cord is a simple piece of string that is hooked inside the action and generates the force that pulls the key back into place. This creates the amazing feeling of a delightfully responsive action that lets you play fast passages of music in a comfortable, musical way.
Loop cords are very cheap but they are very expensive to renew because they must be fit by an experienced technician.
Loop cords have a lifespan of around 20 years. After this age they will start snapping off one by one until you end up with an uneven, unbalanced, unpredictable action that won’t do justice to the Yamaha U1 or to your piano playing.
I’m proud to report that each and every one of our U1s have had all 88 of their loops cords replaced with brand new ones which will perform flawlessly for another two decades or more.
Not all pianos dealers replace the loop cords in their U1s so you need to ask for proof. Thankfully that’s very easy for a piano dealer to do. They just need to unscrew the 3 bolts that hold the action in place and show you behind the action where the loop cords are. If you are buying online ask for a photo proving that new loop cords have been fitted.