@raagamuffin and @brdwyguy on the question of upright vs grand.... I am one of those people who prefers a grand even if it's smaller. I know the arguments for "a good upright is better than a small grand" but there's something emotional about playing a grand. And I say this as someone who had three digitals and three uprights (not at the same time! 😆 ) before getting my current grand piano.

Also, I own a 5'8" piano and was originally planning on getting one smaller than that, so I just don't worry about the trade-offs of a smaller grand, because you get that emotional experience of playing a grand....

Now having said that, if @raagamuffin is willing to consider an upright, then of course there are all kinds of great uprights to get, and that is a different conversation...

BTW, raagamuffin, when you are measuring out your space, I generally recommend people add 3 feet from the edge of the keyboard to where the back of the bench will hit. This allows a piano tech to remove the action, but it also allows a pianist to sit a reasonable distance from the keyboard. So be sure your space allows for that.

hang on, lemme go back to this....

raagamuffin The bench will protrude a few inches into a doorway, but that was a compromise we agreed on. I'm messing with her favorite room, moving furniture around, etc to accommodate it !

Is that protruding bench when the bench is pulled out for someone to play? IOW, when the bench is pushed in, it's not protruding? If so, I think that's ok.... But if the bench is always in the doorway, it might be a little bit much...

On the topic of closing vents, I have the vent behind my piano bench permanently closed in the winter, and in the summer with the AC on, I open that vent but I have a damper to direct the airflow from the vent at the wall. My piano's tuning stability tells me it's working. But it's a little chilly there in the winter! 😅 That vent is probably 4+ feet away from the edge of the keyboard...

    ShiroKuro, how many inches would a standard bench stick out if it's tucked in under the piano ? 6 inches ? I've added a pic to give some perspective. Thanks!

      raagamuffin ShiroKuro, how many inches would a standard bench stick out if it's tucked in under the piano ?

      I'll measure mine and post later.

      That is kind of a tight spot. You can't turn it so the straight side is on that back wall, can you? (IOW so the person sitting at the piano would have their back to the wall with the door)

          brdwyguy Just so you know that Boston and Kawai are made in the same factories in Japan. The Bostons then are inspected by Steinway to make sure it is up to their standards.

          I think that is Steinway marketing speak. When I was piano shopping, I compared Boston and Kawai instruments. I like the pianos from both brands. My impression was that Kawai's get more prep at the factory, and Boston's get more prep at the dealer. In either case, the quality of the dealer matters, but in the case of a Boston, I think it is particularly critical that the Steinway dealer one works with will stand behind the prep.

          My $.02 anyway.

            ShiroKuro That is kind of a tight spot. You can't turn it so the straight side is on that back wall, can you? (IOW so the person sitting at the piano would have their back to the wall with the door)

            I’d make the same suggestion. The player would be facing toward the room instead of the wall. You will need about 30”-36” clearance between the wall and the front of the piano so that the player can get in and out comfortably and that the action can be pulled out for service.

              The Steinway model S is at 5’1”. You may be able to find a good one within your price range, although that requires impatience and time. Ours was such a gem that sings like a bird 😃. It served well my son’s learning until he outgrew it. We traded it in for a larger size. I was sad to see it go and still miss it.

              Sgisela If one is comparing two pianos from the same maker then except for the price difference it's fairly common for all things being equal. This is a fairly common situation in piano buying.

                  raagamuffin Not a good location aesthetically in my opinion. And I would not like to play with my back Near the door either although one might get used to it. I've never seen anyone place a piano in a position like that. I would strongly consider removing a little furniture from the room and considering other arrangements.

                      pianoloverus I've never seen anyone place a piano in a position like that.

                      I have. It’s not that uncommon to have a piano coming into a doorway. I think it kind of depends on the doorway, what it leads to, the rest of the room…

                      @raagamuffin btw I measured my bench. When it’s in sitting position, the back of bench is 24 inches out from keyboard. When I push the bench in under the keyboard, the bench sticks out 4.5 inches from the keyboard.

                      Hope this helps!

                          pianoloverus If one is comparing two pianos from the same maker then except for the price difference it's fairly common for all things being equal. This is a fairly common situation in piano buying.

                          Most often in the threads that I’ve encountered with people looking at several pianos of varying sizes, people are comparing between pianos from different manufacturers, often of different ages and unknown condition. It is much more common for people to be looking at several different manufacturers and models than the situation of having honed in on a single manufacturer. These factors are very important. It was only after my post (which asked the OP for additional information) that they disclosed that they were considering 2 new pianos from the same manufacturer.

                              ShiroKuro pianoloverus I've never seen anyone place a piano in a position like that.

                              I have. It’s not that uncommon to have a piano coming into a doorway. I think it kind of depends on the doorway, what it leads to, the rest of the room

                              I don't doubt you have but in the many hundreds of piano rooms i've seen pictures of it has never occurred. Visually I would call it a disaster.

                                Sgisela When people shop at a dealer for a new piano I think it's quite common to compare two pianos from the same maker but with different lengths.

                                  @pianoloverus @ShiroKuro the door is an opening into the family room from the sitting room. The place I took the photo from (the camera) has a large opening into the foyer.

                                  The wall adjacent (to the piano cutout) has a forced air vent , so does the other short wall (by the foyer). The opposite side to the door has a large window .

                                  So I'm a bit constrained...

                                  Those pesky vents and windows… 😅

                                  @raagamuffin we can’t really tell if it will work or not without being in the room ourselves. Could you set up some boxes and other large items, drop them with a sheet or something, to try to simulate the actual 3D size of the piano? And put a chair just in the doorway. That might give you an better idea?

                                  pianoloverus So you are saying that if I were to compare a Kawai K300 with a K500 and a K800
                                  they would all sound the same and the only difference would be the height and the price?
                                  I don't think so! Because that is what you sound like you are implying!

                                      brdwyguy Not at all. Please read the comment I was responding to in order to understand what I meant. When I was talking about all things being equal I was saying that pianos like the ones you mentioned or any series of pianos from the same maker usually have the same "basic" design other than length and price. Just like there are great similarities between Mason A and a Mason AA. Of course not meaning they sound the same because if that was true why would any reasonable person by the larger more expensive piano?

                                          pianoloverus

                                          When I was talking about all things being equal I was saying that pianos like the ones you mentioned or any series of pianos from the same maker usually have the same "basic" design other than length and price.

                                          That is not always true. Using the Kawai upright example that Brdwyguy mentioned, the K-500 adds higher spec features beyond just height, string length, and soundboard area relative to the K-300, such as a partial duplex scale and bass agraffes. The K-800 adds a full duplex scale, a full set of agraffes (excluding the top octave as is customary) and upgraded hammer felt. One should of course focus on the overall playability and sound, and not on specs, but these differ in ways that often are associated with different product lines.

                                          Comparing a K-300 to a K-800 is more like comparing a Yamaha U1 to a YUS5 than like comparing a U1 to a U3.

                                              sweelinck
                                              Thank You sweelinck - an interesting video:

                                              and this one is also interesting: