Yamaha YUS5SH upright piano review and information

The Yamaha YUS5SH is a Yamaha YUS5 with a ‘Silent option’ built in. They are a brilliant full-sized piano but can be difficult to come by. If you can find one, you would not be disappointed. If you have any technical info or corrections for this article, please email mgpianos@gmail.com.

The Pros of buying a YUS5SH

  • It has the same basic frame as the popular Yamaha U3, so you really are getting a lovely upright.
  • It has a Silent Option built in, meaning that you can use headphones while playing!
  • It has lovely long strings, creating a clear and resonant tone.
  • It is the biggest and best of the YUS series.

The cons of buying a YUS5SH

  • The YUS5SH is a relatively young model and not many were made which means they can be tricky to find.
  • It has the older ‘Silent Option’ fitted, which technologically speaking, may be a little outdated. The SH2 would be better.

When was it produced?

The Yamaha YUS5SH was made in the mid 2000’s and was replaced with the Yamaha YUS5SH2 in 2018.

Where was it made?

The Yamaha YUS5SH was made in Yamaha’s Hamamatsu factory, in Japan. Yamaha makes all of its top pianos here, including their very best concert grand pianos such as the Yamaha CFX, which retails at £140,000.

Videos

Quotes from blogs, forums etc.

Here’s a quote we found on a Piano World forum have:

“I have played one and it would be my choice if I could not have the C2 Baby Grand. It sounds just as good. Actually, this is my plan for retirement in four years: the newest version of the C2 Silent or a YUS5SH – which is the YUS5 silent.” – http://forum.pianoworld.com//ubbthreads.php/topics/2113487.html

Who should buy them?

The YUS5SH will suit anyone who wants the best piano with a silent option, be that professional pianists or ambitious students and all those players in between.

Will I need to upgrade at some point?

No. The YUS5SH is good enough for professionals and has been built to last, although you may want that newer SH2 silent system. The next step up from this piano is a medium to large grand.

Dimensions

Height: 131cm
Width: 153cm
Depth: 64cm

New and used prices.

The Yamaha YUS5SH is not easy to find. You’ll be paying a higher price because they are very rare and because they have that silent system fitted. I imagine you should budget above £9000.

Alternative models to consider similar to this.

If you don’t have £9000 to spend, you might want to buy a U-series instead, such as the U3, U300, U30A, U30BL or U3X. If that doesn’t bring the price down enough, try the Yamaha U1 which is smaller, but still a great piano. Many of these models come with the Silent system option, so you can still have that if you really wish

Conclusion

The Yamaha YUS5SH is an outstanding upright suitable for the very best pianists and the silent option can definitely be a useful feature if you have close neighbours, but they are hard to find secondhand and are usually quite expensive.

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I hope this summary was helpful. Feedback, thoughts and questions are welcome.