10 Piano Brands To Avoid (Buy These Instead!)

There is a special feeling when you walk into someone’s home, and there is a piano sitting there waiting. However, it can be disappointing when you find that it’s only for decorative purposes.

Many reviews and advertisements cover only the good stuff because they want you to buy their name-brand product. The ads will not tell you what is wrong with them. The buyer only finds out after purchase, so which brand names of pianos should you avoid?

When buying an upright or digital piano, avoid brands like Wurlitzer, Daewoo, Kranich & Bach, and Samick. Also, Marantz, Linder, Williams, Arestia, Gewa, and Suzuki. Pianos from these brands consistently have issues like cracking sounds, resistance when playing keys, and overall sound quality issues. Instead, buy Donner, Yamaha, or Alesis Melody pianos.

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The Wurlitzer piano models that you should avoid include the Wurlitzer 120, Wurlitzer 200, and Wurlitzer 200A. Overall, these particular models are known for the poor sound, the need for constant tuning, and electrical problems that ultimately seem to have no sure fix.

When the Wurlitzer 200 first came out, there were a lot of electrical problems associated with the piano, and unless it was rewired, there was no way to fix this. When the new and improved 200A came out, it was built poorly and needed constant tuning and maintenance.

Lastly, the Wurlitzer 120 seems to have a fat and poor sound. Furthermore, it’s an expensive piano. Not to say these pianos aren’t valuable, but if you’re looking for a piano to play, these models are less than ideal.

Daewoo is a Korean manufacturer brand that has produced and exported pianos since 1976. Pianos manufactured from Korea were notorious for their low-quality parts, especially before the 1990s. The primary issues with these pianos are sticking keys and the lack of ability to stay in tune.

Once people purchase this piano brand, it is not easily fixable. Piano technicians cannot repair most of them because the parts are almost impossible to find. It doesn’t help that customer service for the Daewoo brand seems to be non-existent.

After pouring through numerous Daewoo piano models, the two worst models you need to avoid are the Daewoo DU4RP Upright Piano and the 1987 Sojin Daewoo. The DU4RP is prone to warping due to the way it was built, and the 1987 Sojin Daewoo sounds out of tune even when it’s in tune, and the keys like to click.

Keep in mind that these issues only get worse over time. Unless you’re planning to purchase and completely revamp, it’s not worth buying either of these models if it’s not strictly for decoration.

Of all the other brands on this list, the Kranich & Bach brand is the oldest. This brand manufactured pianos from the Civil War era in 1864 and lasted until 1985. However, the reputation is not good.

The quality is poor, and the keyframes are poorly designed. Well-established brands can last what seems like forever, but not this name brand. Regular maintenance has no chance of keeping these pianos going.

Anyone who purchases this piano will have many different issues to deal with. The company closed its doors in 1985, so there are bound to be issues if you find one of these pianos.

The model that Marantz is most known for is the Marantz Model PC 1145B PianoCorder, which you should avoid if you’re looking for a piano that’s friendly to play. The sound and construction were inferior when they came out; imagine how they sound 40 years later.

While the concept of this piano is interesting, the execution of bringing that concept to life failed as they didn’t focus primarily on the build, and they built it with poor quality materials. Had they honestly tried, this piano could’ve been one of the best on the market.

This is another upright brand of piano to avoid, and for a good reason. The keys are made of plastic and break as the piano ages. Lindner made a poor decision when they were forced to make lighter pianos.

They are known as one of the worst brands of all time. The experiment with placing revolutionary plastic or see-through plastic in their pianos destroyed their company’s name. Not to mention, there are no parts available when something breaks because the company has shut down.

There is no particular model to avoid for the Lindner brand, as the brand should be avoided altogether. These Irish pianos were created with revolutionary plastic and break very easily. Beware that the Lindner brand is also sold as the brand name “Cameo.”

The plastic that Lindner is created with does a very poor job at functioning with the demands of the piano keys and foot pedals. Think of those plastic hooks used to hold cheap children’s toys together; that’s the plastic used in these pianos.

Suzuki is famous and well-liked in the automotive industry, but not in pianos. It is a separate entity independent brand labeled under Suzuki. This is another piano that has horrible key action with weighted keys.

Acoustic pianos can put forth the sound according to how hard the keys are pressed, and Suzuki brands do not have this feature, and it takes away the realistic feel and timing of the music.

Professionals and music teachers say it takes away from experience for beginners. Those who are experienced can somehow manage, but it is not the same.

The Suzuki piano models you should steer clear of include the MDG 400 BL, MDG 300, and Suzuki CTP-88. There have been various reports, such as the foot pedal not holding the proper positioning, software issues, and poor realistic dynamics.

The foot pedals for the MDG-400BL are too long, so when you press them, there’s too much slack to where the foot pedal is more or less ineffective, without in real way to fix it. And when it comes to the MDG300 and CTP-88, the loud to soft-touch response was very weak, which made them hard to play overall.

Reviews call the Williams piano nothing more than a “piano-shaped object.” It is a digital piano that is made of plastic. It may have the features of over 150 sounds and instruments, but this doesn’t make up for the poor quality of sound.

Players notice the soft sounds as they hit the keys. One key may be louder than the other. Many musicians labeled Williams as a disappointment.

Digital pianos with the same features are under $300 and sound and play better than this brand and have better key action. The black keys feel too much like plastic, making it noisy unless you drown the sound out by cranking the volume.

Many people discuss the discomfort of playing this brand of piano. Along with the rest, it has low-quality parts that break easily. The acoustic piano is challenging to play due to the rigid keys, which are hard to press.

The keys of a piano are meant to play smoothly so that they can flow with the music. Bad reviews state that the keys do not even belong on the piano. The sound is terrible and goes out of tune often.

With the digital piano, the professionals notice the tempo is altered from the MIDI playback songs. Other digitals have this feature but not the Artesia brand. Players call it a huge deficit.

The Artesia models you should avoid include the PE-88 Digital Piano, PA-88H, Harmony 88, and the Artesia AG-50 Digital Grand Piano. There have been problems across the board on these specific models, including everything from poor key structure to poor sound quality.

Many shoppers often rely on the top brands blindly. Some people have continued to buy or subscribe to a particular brand for decades, and they feel the product held up to its word and name. Pianos are no different when it comes to certain brands.

Some professionals need their equipment to be reliable in performances and others for show and tell. No one wants to look like a fool if they put all their glory into their piano, only for it to malfunction. It has happened to many performers and those learning at home.

Therefore, it’s important to learn about the different brands as two brands can cost the same, but one will be notorious for poorly built pianos, while the other brand can be rated as one of the best!

Brands that create their piano parts poorly and are expected to break at any moment are considered bad brands. False advertisements can lose the public’s trust, especially when you look at the reviews only to find out how poor the piano is.

All parts must be made with the highest quality material for the name brand to be trustworthy. When the manufacturers put all the pieces together, the piano should hold a tune. Some pianos are unsuitable for beginners and discourage future pianists when they do not function properly.

Upright pianos can either work off of electric or acoustic sounds. They stand upright and are made out of the finest wood products for show and stability. There may be keys added to the keyboard depending on the size of the piano.

A digital piano looks almost as fancy as an upright but is mainly for a corner and saving spaces. These run strictly off electricity and battery power. They come flat and can be placed anywhere, like a tabletop or in your lap.

There are many more buttons on a digital because they are made to be synthesizers. Different sounds and other instruments can come out of it while playing with the keys.