REVIEW - Wyman Grand Pianos

Wyman Piano is a piano company who has been making very nice grand pianos in China for a number of years. There are many companies who have some of their pianos made in China including Kawai, Yamaha, and even Steinway with their Essex pianos. I have included a couple videos here (below) of people who recommend Wyman incl a local respected, long time piano technician, and also a nationally known & respected doctor (and professional musician & studio engineer) who currently resides in Nashville. There are other fine musicians & piano teachers who recommend and enjoy playing Wyman pianos. None of these people are paid or given anything in return for their endorsements. 

I personally like them simply because they're very good pianos pianos for a low price, and in this challenging economy, that's important to have. If the piano wasn't worthy of owning, I would not recommend them. And just for the record, my favorite Wyman piano is the 5'7" grand in polished ebony. Beautiful to look at & play. 

For more info as well as getting very low prices on new pianos, please contact me at tim@azpianowholesale.com 

REVIEW - Casio PX830 Digital Piano - Very Nice for the Price

UPDATED REVIEW - October 1, 2012 - The Casio Privia PX830 is now discontinued and will be replaced by a new upgraded technology in a compact cabinet model scheduled to come out sometime in later this month October 2012.

Although the Casio PX830 was a good piano when it first came out, Casio has just released the new Privia PX750 compact digital piano with a much improved key action and acoustic piano sound over the PX830, and it's currently selling for just $799 internet price. Although the speaker system on the PX750 is somewhat less powerful than the PX830, the volume is quite adequate for most homes and the improvements in sound and touch over the older PX830 are amazing, especially for the price. There are some discontinued PX830's on the internet right now for less money and they are good deals compared to what they were, but I would suggest you may be better off getting the brand new PX750. Read my review of this model and you'll learn why: Casio PX750 review 

Casio PX850

And if you are willing to wait until near the end of October, Casio will be releasing it's top of the line Privia cabinet piano called the PX850 and it's internet discount price is just $1099. I will be posting my review of this model soon but for a few $100 dollars more, this piano is amazing! With its astounding 256-note piano sound polyphony, USB flash drive audio recording & playback system, brand new upgraded synthetic ivory & ebony keytops, and console grand piano lid sound projection for an even more natural organic sound, in my opinion it's worth moving up to the new PX850 over the PX830. If you cannot go up to the price of the new PX850, then I would still suggest you consider the new PX750 over the discontinued PX830 if you're wanting to get an even more realistic acoustic piano playing experience at a low price. 

I did like the PX830 however, and the price was reasonable for what it had including the older 1st generation ivory feel piano keys an SD card slot for storage of recorded songs on SD memory cards, a 40 watt audio system with 4 speakers, and fairly realistic piano touch & piano tone and more.  Also, the top folded down flat when closing the piano cover, which was kinda cool although I personally like the sliding key cover better because it's more practical in my opinion because you don't have to remove things off the top of the piano when closing the lid on pianos with sliding key covers.

The PX830 does offer a USB computer/iPad connection which has the new CoreMIDI USB instant "plug & play" software inside the Casio piano and is also available on the new models too. This allows the Privia pianos to be easily and instantly connected to an Apple iPad or computer which many people are using these days for in-home or studio educational piano lessons, composing, arranging, and many other exciting things. The fully compliant CoreMIDI USB connection is not available on Yamaha, Roland, or Kawai in this price range or on many off-brand pianos.

So before you buy a Casio PX830, I would strongly suggest you consider the newer models which will not only sound better but also put you ahead of the technology curve too, and that's almost always a good thing:)

If you want more info on this and other pianos like the newer Casio's and Lower Prices than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

REVIEW - Casio PX130CSSPW White Digital Piano - "Limited Edition model"

Updated REVIEW - August 21, 2012: Casio America has just discontinued this model and come out with a new & improved replacement due out in mid September 2012.  Go here to read about it: Casio PX150 Review

This "limited edition" Privia PX130 digital piano in a special contemporary off-white cabinet finish (with silver keyboard trim) is available in limited supply 1st come 1st served from Casio and is discount priced at $599 including the matching stand and pedals (the new model is called the PX350 as stated above). That is really a very low price in my opinion for an attractive custom color like white with silver trim, and no other manufacturer has anything like it in this price range that I know of. The good piano brands that do have a white model are more than twice the price and don't look near as good (I've seen this one in person). With a realistic simulated acoustic piano hammer touch (very nice for this price) and convincing stereo piano tone (with 128 note polyphony) with a wide dynamic range along with additional instrument tones, educational features, built-in speakers with 16 watts of stereo power (which sounds surprisingly loud and full) and reliable electronics, the Casio PX130CSSPW Privia piano in custom white incl stand & pedals is a super nice piano to own at it's low price. And something else that I am impressed with is the Casio piano stand and 3-pedal system is very sturdy and durable and makes this piano feel like the real thing. And it's all about what you can get for a low price and Casio has done a good job on this one.

This model is exactly the same as the standard Casio PX130 in black as far as specs and playability. It has 16 nice instrument tones, a digital recorder, editing features, a USB 2.0 plug & play for direct connection to a computer, and a smooth and natural piano touch with is actually very impressive given its low price. I believe piano teachers, schools, musicians, and recreational piano players would this PX130 as an inexpensive piano and a great alternative to a used acoustic piano. With the full size piano style stand and traditional 3-piano pedals this piano is a winner.

If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864

Casio Celviano AP620 & Privia PX330 digital pianos - REVIEW - Played "LIVE" with General MIDI songs! Great for music education & ear training

UPDATED REVIEW -  Feb 12, 2013 -These pianos have now been discontinued and a new model called the Casio PX780 piano is available soon that will be significantly upgraded in most every way but will be a lot less money! Go here to see my recent review of this new 2013 model: Casio PX780 review. 

If you want more piano info and LOWER PRICES than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

2010 NAMM music dealer trade show with new Video!

OK, here it is...my video (and audio) of just some of the sights, sounds, and experiences from the 2010 NAMM trade show. It's a private show but here's a chance for you to get a look a what it's like! Fun, exciting, noisy, music & 1000's musicians & music products from around the world, a non stop musical Disneyland for 4 days. The first part of the video is from the huge Yamaha exhibit at the Marriott Hotel a few hundred yards from the massive Anaheim Convention Center where the main manufacturer exhibits were located. The last part of the video is a sampling of displays & exhibits from inside the Convention Center main halls. I took this video with a small hand-held digital camera, but it was good enough for this. I walked lots of miles all around and up & down escalators & stairs, but if you love music like me, it's no problem...as long as you have very comfortable shoes on! By the way, you can make the video screen "full size" if you just click on the button with four little arrows on the bottom right side of the video. But you already knew that didn't you?:) Contact me at tim@azpianowholesale.com

REVIEW - Yamaha YDPV240, YDP181 & DGX640 Digital Pianos.

Yamaha YDPV240

UPDATED REVIEW - February 11, 2013: The Yamaha DGX640 & YDPV240 are nice pianos and essentially the same as far as controls, sounds, and electronics with one being portable and the other in a furniture style cabinet. The YDP181 is a much more basic piano although it does have a better key action and piano sound than the other two. Yamaha makes reliable and fun to play digital & acoustic pianos and for many years I have played them professionally and enjoyed them very much. They are generally well built and have a big following among musicians and families. The Yamaha company started in Japan in 1887 founded by Mr. Yamaha, and built their first Japanese piano in 1900 (over 100 years ago). They were a piano company long before they started producing motorcycles, wave runners, ATV's, snowmobiles, tennis rackets, golf clubs, speakers, stereo's, etc.

Yamaha YDP181

Yamaha has a well known and respected name in the music industry and it is well deserved. The YDP-V240 (top left pic) is internet priced at $1999, the YDP181 (middle left pic) is selling for $1699, and the DGX640 is selling for a new lower price of $699 (incl stand). The DGX640 is improved over the previous model by having a better piano tone (especially important) and nicer cabinet & color options. However, it still uses the basic lighter weight GHS key action as does the YDPV240. I have played this key action many times on various lower priced Yamaha digital pianos and although the action feels good overall, it is a bit noisy with some rattles & shakes (plastic sounding) occasionally, and is not as quiet or solid of a feel as the Yamaha GH action found in the YDP181.

Yamaha DGX640

The YDPV240 and DGX640 have all "the bells and whistles" on them incl multi-track general MIDI recording a playback with USB flashdrive feature that can be fun for piano students and recreational players. These two models also have hundreds of cool instrument sounds, drum rhythms, one finger automatic chord styles, and other interactive features which some people use but many do not. However, the YDPV240 is over $1000 more than the DGX640 (when optional pedals & bench are added) which in my opinion makes the V240 way overpriced for what you're getting. Yes, it does have a few more electronic features than the portable DGX640, but not enough to justify the price... and yes, the V240 full size cabinet is more substantial along with its 40 watt speaker system as opposed to the portable cabinet and 12 watts of total power the DGX640 has, but that does not add up to over $1000 more, not even close. The key action movement and polyphony of the both the YDPV240 & DGX640 is also not near as good as the YDP181. The YDP181 has 128-note polyphony along with a heavier & quieter key action movement as opposed to the low 64-note polyphony and basic and lighter weight GHS key action in the DGX640 & YDPV240. If the V240 had the better key action & polyphony aspects of of the YDP181, then the V240 would have been a much better value, but unfortunately it does not.

I do like the larger, easy to see back-lit screen (left pic) on the Yamaha YDP-V240 (also on the DGX640), the music minus one play-along features, the "wait til you play" lesson function, on-board music notation in the screen (although it's still small and not very easy to read), and lots of "easy-play" functions and automatic chords which many people do not use. Also, the V240 has extra instrument sounds which is cool, but how many instrument sounds can you possibly use:)? However, the the Yamaha V240 is internet priced at $1000 more than the new Casio PX780 which is just coming out in April 2013 so that price difference alone makes the new Casio a much better buy in my opinion. I would recommend you check out my recent Casio PX780 review: Casio PX780 review

As far as the Yamaha YDP181 goes, it's really quite basic (same cabinet & sound system as the V240) and has almost none of the functions of either the Yamaha DGX640 or YDPV240. But it was not built for that as it's main purpose is to give you a good replacement for an upright piano which is what it tries to do and is certainly much better in that way than the other two Yamaha pianos. However the YDP181 does not have a USB ipad/computer output connection on it which is a big drawback in my book. Even the YDPV240 and DGX640 has the USB connector although it is not the new "plug & play" system that the new Casio pianos have which is even better and makes interactive play with an iPad more intuitive. If you have not seen the latest available music & piano educational apps available for the iPad, then you should. They make learning and practicing fun and enjoyable while speeding up the learning process dramatically.

Casio PX850

In addition to the new Casio PX780 piano, Casio has recently come out with their new 2013 model PX850 which at just $1099 internet discount price is a huge competitor now with the Yamaha YDP181 in nearly every way, and it's $500 less too. Yes, Yamaha does have the more popular name in pianos (they make great acoustic grands & uprights), but name isn't what you will be playing...it's the piano itself and with that in mind check out the new Casio models because I think you'll be impressed. Go here for my Casio PX850 review: Casio PX850 Review

At the end of the day you can be happy with any of these digital pianos because they all do a good job. But some are just better than others in their price range and that's what you need to be aware of when you make a purchase decision. At the rate digital piano technology is going, regular acoustic upright pianos may become a thing of the past one day and it's just a matter of time. But until then, acoustic pianos are still a great investment and can be a very enjoyable playing experience although they have high upkeep costs, are heavy, loud, and cannot be played with headphones, nor can they be connected to laptop computers or iPads. No wonder digital pianos are far outselling acoustic upright pianos these days:)

For more info on digital pianos and how to get one of these models for LESS than any advertised US price on the internet, please contact me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864 

PIANO REVIEW NEWS - Acoustic Grand Pianos

UPDATE: July 1, 2011 - Did you know there are about 50 different acoustic & digital piano brands these days (give or take a few)? That's not really a lot because there were literally hundreds in years gone by. Many of the older brands have gone out of business or simply stopped selling in America altogether.  I've talked about this before, but when it comes to most OFF-brand pianos, the advice I give is to "stay away" There are many reasons for this, but the 5 biggest reasons are:

1. The key action plays bad and doesn't respond to velocity changes well
2. The reproduction of the piano sound is bad (ie: tinny, shrill, thin, inconsistent, etc)
3. Some brands use old, antiquated piano technology because it's cheaper
4. Parts and repair service are hard to get and some brands simply are unreliable
5. Resale value is bad

This would be true for both acoustic & digital brands. Many brands are made in China (a good place to make pianos as long as there is good oversight and quality control), Italy, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Germany, Russia, Sweden, France, U.S., the Czech Republic, Austria, Canada, and other countries. And one thing is for sure...the good acoustic pianos keep going up in price and the good digital pianos are improving in quality while costing less. Some pianos are priced really cheap and they show it. You generally get what you pay for, but price isn't everything.

My 4 favorite digital piano brands are Kawai, Casio, Yamaha, and Roland (with some made in Japan, China, & Italy). There are a few others behind those that I like which I call the 2 K's (Kurzweil and Korg in that order), but the first 4 brands cover it very well and have superior product.

My favorite acoustic piano brands these days (in different price ranges) are Steinway, Mason Hamlin,Yamaha, Kawai, Petrof, Young Chang, Samick, and Wyman. There are other good pianos out there as well, but in their price categories, I like these best. Many of the new Yamaha & Kawai pianos as well as the Steinway Essex (from the Pearl River company) are now made in China, when they all used to be made exclusively in Japan or Korea. Even the Japanese have some of their models made in China now...so it can't be all bad can it?:)... although I have played some newer, lower priced Kawai Baby Grands that didn't sound good or play well (in my opinion - and we were surprised by that) and even had reports of cracking soundboards in the past from some local dealers. That simply means that it's not the country but the quality of the builder. Domestic Steinway's are still individually hand-built in New York. Each Steinway is slightly different than the next which is typical of hand-built custom pianos. So when you purchase one, you must be careful because of those differences, unlike production line pianos which tend to be more consistent (which is not a bad thing).

I put Wyman piano company on the list because when it comes to lower priced acoustic grand pianos, they are very nice in my opinion as compared to other brands. The Wyman's are produced in China in a very large and experienced piano factory with years of  piano building.

In other piano news, Baldwin was purchased awhile ago by the Gibson guitar company (you know the Les Paul's, etc) and Gibson shut down all U.S. production and is making all pianos now in China as far as I know. The "new" Baldwin's including their other brand called Howard, don't come close to the quality of the older U.S. made models and are (in my opinion) just adequate as far as Chinese built pianos. So much for American built pianos anymore. There are just a few now and they cost big bucks.

Stay tuned for more news and contact me at tim@azpianowholesale.com.

REVIEW - Casio AP220 & AP420 Celviano Digital Pianos - Very Nice for their low prices!

                                                     

AP220

UPDATED REVIEW - December 6, 2012 - CASIO AP220 & AP420 models including the satin black are now DISCONTINUED! - However, Casio America has just introduced the brand new 2013 model Privia PX750 & PX850 digital pianos for the same pricing as the old AP220/420 (see more info at the bottom of this page!) These new models are a huge upgrade over the 220 & 420 in terms of piano key action movement, the keys themselves (brand new synthetic ivory & ebony key tops - very impressive), the quality, response & expression of piano sound (much improved acoustic piano sound realism, more realistic pedaling sound reproduction, and upgraded internal speaker systems. The new attractive compact cabinets (PX750 available in satin black, brown, and white and the PX850 available in satin black only) are also an improvement in my opinion  (although cabinet design is somewhat subjective). In other words, I would not recommend the AP220 and AP420 at this point because the new PX750 & 850 blow them away:).  
 
AP420 & AP220 now discontinued - PREVIOUS REVEW - Casio is a famous electronics company from Tokyo, Japan using the latest in robotic and digital manufacturing technology for their digital pianos and other products. I know this because I had the privilege some years ago to visit the Casio piano factory in Osaka, Japan and I very impressed with what I saw. Casio has been making their digital piano line for 30 years which is a very long time in the world of digital piano technology, so they know what they're doing. And as just about everyone knows, Casio is well known for good quality, low priced calculators, cameras, watches, keyboards, and many other electronic devices. I have personally owned Casio products through the years and they have been reliable and useful.

AP420

The Casio AP220 & AP420 digital piano models have improvements from previous Celviano models including much better piano tone quality and dynamic expression along with 128-note polyphony (for better & smoother tone playability), nice acoustic piano touch, fairly good action response, improved piano sound, 16 instrument sounds, an SD memory card slot in the AP420 for standard midi song recording and playback), USB output for computer & iPad connection, and layering & keyboard split of 2 tones at one time, & 

I believe these new Casio pianos are the leaders in their price range when it comes to cabinet digital pianos for under $1100. They also include sliding key covers and matching padded piano benches. The cabinets are in a simulated medium brown wood grain finish as well as a satin black color as I mentioned earlier  (above left pic). The AP420 has 40 watts of audio power using 4 speakers as opposed to 16 watts and 2 speakers on the AP220, although the AP220 still sounds better than other digital pianos in its price range. That means the AP420 has a better piano tone than the AP220 but both pianos would be good choices.

I have written some detailed blog reviews of the new 2013 model Casio PX750 & PX850 (which are available now) so please click on the the links below to find out more about these impressive pianos:)

Casio PX850

Casio PX750 review
Casio PX850 review

If you want more info on digital pianos as well as lower prices than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864 

REVIEW - Casio AP620 Celviano Digital Piano

UPDATED REVIEW: March 30, 2013 - Casio AP620 - This piano has now been discontinued and a new model called the Casio PX780 piano is available now that is significantly upgraded in most every way but is a lot less money! Go here to see my recent review of this new 2013 model: Casio PX780 review.

Here is my review of the (now discontinued) Casio AP620. Casio has a long history in the digital products business selling millions of popular products including beginner & professional keyboards, calculators, digital cameras, watches, commercial electronic equipment, and other digital products. In fact I have personally owned a Casio digital camera, TV, watch (a few), music keyboard, and calculator (many) over the years, and I have had good experiences with those things as well. It is true that many people do not associate the Casio brand with producing good digital pianos as they might with a brand like Yamaha or Kawai. But that does not mean that Casio doesn't know how to build them or offer competitive features for less money. After playing very popular digital home & pro keyboards as well as furniture cabinet digital pianos for years, I can tell you that the AP620 is a good instrument.

Casio PX780

The main thing that most people are looking for when searching for a digital piano is something that reproduces a traditional acoustic piano sound & key movement action, and this model does a pretty good job. Reproducing an acoustic piano sound in a digital piano is very complex, and in my opinion, Casio has done a good job overall in this area although the new 2013 model PX780 is much better.

The key action movement in this model has been improved from previous years but all major (good) brands of cabinet model digital pianos have different key action mechanisms and overall do a pretty good job of recreating a decent piano keytouch once you get to the $1500-$2500+ price range. The AP620 key action feels responsive, and is overall a good moving key mechanism but is still not quite up to recreating an acoustic piano in terms of overall sound and sustain as compared to the new PX780. Although many of the higher priced digital pianos over $3000 are more advanced and sound great, there are digital pianos under $2000 that are more than adequate for an exciting piano playing experience including one of my favorites from the Kawai piano company, the CE220 (see below).

The AP620 offers 250 instruments and percussion tones (Yamaha has just 10 instrument sounds in this price range)  including a wide array of electric pianos like Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzers, soft bell pianos, and Yamaha DX7's. There are also some organ tones and other sounds incl clarinet, sax, acoustic steel and classical guitars, banjo, harmonica, violins & french horns, bells, and other tones. However after awhile most people tend not to use all of those instrument tones and go back to the most important tones, the pianos and a few of the other fundamental instruments

There is a chord accompaniment section for people (adults like this sometimes) who want to play with 1-finger or fingered chord styles without having to learn much or taking formal lessons. Also on board is a 16-track General MIDI recorder/player with built-in SD card storage which allows you to record 16 tracks of music one at a time and then play them back simultaneously. This can sometimes be a complex feature to use so it just depends on your musical goal and ability to use technology. There are also 360 drum patterns for rhythm training, which can be helpful if you don;t want to use a metronome, however connecting a good digital piano with a high speed USB connection to iPad can give you this and much more.

As far as cabinet design and color go, the AP620 is attractive in my opinion and well built (I've assembled them myself as I have with other digital pianos) in its contemporary satin black cabinet. It also has a good 4 speaker built-in audio system to deliver good descent and tone as compared to some other digital pianos in this price range.

Oh and another thing; Casio has designed the Celviano AP620 keys to duplicate the look and feel of satin ivory piano keys. However the new PX850 keys have been upgraded further with even better ivory feel keys along with ebony feel black keys. The new synthetic ivory key material gives a better tactile, solid touch for the player's fingers (instead of regular plastic top keys), which is a very nice feature and one not found anywhere else in this price range.

Finally, you can connect the AP620 (and the new PX850) directly to a laptop/desktop computer using the piano's USB output for interactive piano lessons with great learning software (available from music software companies). And now you can also connect the Casio pianos to the Apple iPad with Casio's built-in "Class Compliant" USB CoreMIDI connection software for instant plug and play using the latest intuitive music apps on Apple's iPad for exciting educational and composition tools (left pics) including the famous Garage Band program. That is a very cool thing and motivational for piano students to use.  There will always be people who find that another digital piano brand, model, or price range is better for them, but when you add up all of the features of this Casio AP620 piano, it is certainly worth considering although this piano came out in early 2010 and as I said earlier, it is a discontinued model now and it would be even better to consider the new 2013 PX850 with a substantially better key action and piano sound and then using an iPad to get the interactive technology. If you put the AP620 on a 1-10 scale comparing it as a "piano" to the new PX850 (and also the new PX780), in my opinion the AP620 would be about a 5 or 6 as compared to a 9 or 10 for the other two...it's that much of a difference.

However if you want to move up even further to something better than the Casio AP620 or PX780 in terms of key action, in my opinion the choice there would be the Kawai CE220 available in satin black with sliding key cover and bench ($1899 internet price - left pic). On a 1-10 scale in my opinion the Kawai CE220 would be a 10 against the PX850 coming in at at about a 7 or 8 in terms of authentic acoustic grand piano sound, acoustic-like key action, and cabinet style. Kawai is well known for making concert grand pianos used around the world by professionals and the Kawai CE220 piano tone and authentic acoustic wood key action and is very good and may be the better "long term" choice depending on your skill level and music background. I have a CE220 review on this blog if you want to get more info on that model. But no matter what, the bottom line is, please get you and/or your family involved in playing music and do it on the right piano so you can enjoy the experience even more!

If you want more info on these and other pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.

PIANO SALE - PIANO SALE - PIANO SALE! Oh really?

UPDATE: Sept 15, 2010. Is there really such a thing as a "PIANO SALE" at a piano Store? Well...yes and no. A sale is anything that is less than manufacturer's retail price. So in reality, there's always a sale on nearly everything. When was the last time you bought a big ticket item like furniture, a vehicle, or jewelry at "regular price??" Maybe never. The simple fact is...a piano store or any kind of music store can sell whatever they have for what ever they want at any time. It's really up to the consumer to get the most product and service for the least amount of money.

So the next time you see a digital or acoustic piano advertised "on sale," please understand that you could get that price most anytime assuming that model is available. There is always the case of a used or damaged item which the dealer is willing to take less money for, or even a "going out of business" sale (which unfortunately is happening more frequently these days). But generally speaking on regular piano inventory, the advertised sale price can be had almost any day, and in many cases the price can go lower depending on how well you negotiate and when & how you're willing to pay for it.

An exception might be on a high demand item with very limited availability. You may pay more for that kind of product, but it just depends on how bad you want it. Sometimes it's just really cool to get something new & exciting when it first comes out and at that point, maybe price doesn't matter to you? Also, just because a product is brand new doesn't mean it costs a lot of money. In many cases a new or updated model can actually be less money than last year's model, it just depends on the manufacturer and dealer.

But if you see an ad that says "SALE 10-50% off", or "Piano Sale up to 75% off", or Pianos from a school, college, or concert now being sold off "1st come 1st served at huge savings", just remember, the dealer can sell anything he/she has for whatever he/she wants at any time if they really want to, not just at the special event.  It just depends on their motivation and your ability to make a good deal.

I will say that dealers who offer a product or package deal at a fair price while offering great service are worth doing business with. Although I believe honest, friendly dealers who can also provide their customers with great support and service are somewhat rare to find, they're a pleasure to work with and even paying a little more money for that piano. You never know when you might need them. "Internet only" stores, generally speaking, aren't always the best way to go, (even for less money) if you can't get great service and support. And in the case of digital pianos, many of these "on-line piano web sites" don't really have anyone who knows what their pianos do or how they work. They're just order takers and won't really be able to guide or help you except for taking your money.

So think twice before buying a piano "on sale" or from a business who does not specialize in that kind of product  It just might not be the best deal for YOU!

Contact me with any questions at tim@azpianowholesale.com for more info on how to get great pianos for even LESS money!  

2010 NAMM Trade Show - Where new music gear is shown to dealers and musicians

Coming up in a couple of weeks is the annual winter NAMM show that takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. This is a private dealer only music product show where manufacturers & suppliers introduce their newest products & services. And this is the time when very cool new pianos, keyboards, guitars, drums, recording & sound gear, and other music equipment can be played, heard, and seen in person... by ME! It's an exciting place to be gathered together with thousands of musicians (both famous and not so famous) over a 4 day period of time running around endlessly checking out all the cool stuff from Casio, Yamaha, Roland, Gibson, Fender, Greg Bennett, Wyman, Taylor, Ibanez, Kawai, Gretch, Alesis, Zoom, and thousands of others. But it's worth it because then I know what's really good, and not so good. Just because someone makes it doesn't mean it's good or competitive. After going this show for almost 30 years, I think I know what to look for by now:) I will post an update sometime after the show is over. Contact me at tim@azpianowholesale.com