Upright Piano
Yamaha U3
Price: 4.344 EUR – 5.690 EUR
Price history
Cheapest seen
Most expensive seen
Availability: 2/10 (Very rare)
The Yamaha U3 is a 52" professional-grade upright piano built around a solid spruce soundboard hand-selected at Yamaha's own Kitami mill, long regarded as a benchmark instrument for studios, conservatories and serious home players who want grand-piano-like depth from a vertical cabinet.
About the Yamaha U3
At 131cm (52") tall, 153cm wide and 65cm deep, weighing 235kg, the U3's greater height over smaller uprights directly enables longer strings and a larger soundboard - the structural basis for its signature full, resonant tone. That soundboard and its ribs are solid spruce, hand-selected at Yamaha's own Kitami mill in Hokkaido, contributing to balanced resonance, warm overtones and stable tone across the full range. The cast iron frame uses Yamaha's V-Pro Vacuum Shield Mold process for a strong, stable structure, while the 88-key action combines Acrypet white key surfaces with phenolic resin black keys; modern U3 units add an aluminum action rail that helps the mechanism stay consistent despite humidity and temperature swings. Three pedals cover soft, mute (practice) and damper functions, and the cabinet includes a soft-close fallboard for key protection plus a generously sized music desk.
Where to buy
Platforms
Price
–
-
Reverb Yamaha u3 upright piano 19XX - Black Perfect Condition 4.344 EUR Best price View details
-
eBay YAMAHA U3 M KLAVIER. ATEMBERAUBENDER SOUND 0 % FINANZIERUNG MÖGLICH 5.690 EUR View details
No platform selected – pick at least one above.
Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Source: https://reverb.com/item/83663480-yamaha-u3-upright-piano-19xx-black-perfect-condition
Sound character of the Yamaha U3
A warm, round and singing tone with robust bass and sparkling highs, delivered through smooth dynamics from pianissimo to fortissimo without abrupt tonal shifts - the product of a larger soundboard and longer strings than most uprights offer.
What owners of the Yamaha U3 say
Dealer, reviewer and user feedback are consistently glowing, with particular praise for the warm, round and singing tone, the smooth dynamic range from pianissimo to fortissimo, and the overall build quality. Independent user reviews reinforce the professional consensus rather than contradicting it, and comparison discussions against the smaller U1 consistently favor the U3 for anyone with the room and need for its bigger, fuller sound. No significant criticisms turned up in the sources checked.
Playability & handling of the Yamaha U3
Players and dealers describe a precise, ultra-responsive touch paired with a clear, full-bodied tone - the direct result of a soundboard and string length larger than most uprights offer, which lets the U3 deliver robust bass lines and sparkling high notes without strain. User reviews specifically highlight smoothness: every note comes out evenly, and dynamics move easily from pianissimo to fortissimo without an abrupt shift in tonal character, leaving an overall impression reviewers describe as warm, round and singing. That combination has made the U3 one of the most widely respected upright pianos in the world, a long-standing top pick for studios, conservatories, teachers and serious home players chasing near-grand performance from a vertical cabinet. In direct comparisons with the smaller U1, the U3 is consistently recommended for larger rooms and more demanding players specifically because of its bigger soundboard and fuller sound.
Recommended accessories & strings for the Yamaha U3
As a high-end acoustic upright, the main ongoing requirement is professional tuning on a regular schedule and stable room humidity to protect the solid spruce soundboard and action over the long term.
Technical data for the Yamaha U3
| Height / width / depth | 131cm (52") / 153cm (60") / 65cm (26") |
|---|---|
| Weight | 235 kg (517 lbs) |
| Soundboard | Solid spruce, Kitami mill, Hokkaido |
| Frame | V-Pro Vacuum Shield Mold cast iron |
| Keys | 88, Acrypet white keys, phenolic resin black keys |
| Action | Aluminum action rail (modern units) |
| Pedals | 3 (soft, mute, damper) |
| Other | Soft-close fallboard, large music desk |
Price history for the Yamaha U3
Cheapest seen: 4.344 EUR · Most expensive seen: 5.690 EUR
Cheapest seen
Most expensive seen
The history of the Yamaha U3
Yamaha's U3 has become the most widely used size in the brand's U-series uprights, a standard instrument in music schools and conservatories globally.
About Yamaha as a manufacturer
Torakusu Yamaha, born in 1851 in Wakayama, Japan, originally trained as a watchmaker before a job repairing a broken reed organ in 1887 set his career on an entirely different path - just two months later, he and a colleague had produced the first reed organ ever made in Japan. That same year he founded Nippon Gakki (Japan Musical Instrument Manufacture) in Hamamatsu to build organs and other instruments, becoming Japan's first domestic reed organ manufacturer. The company built Japan's first piano in 1900 and its first grand piano in 1902, and was later renamed Yamaha Corporation in his honor. The U-series, including the U3, carries that century-plus piano-making lineage forward as Yamaha's established professional and conservatory-grade upright line, still built around soundboards of spruce hand-selected at the company's own Kitami mill in Hokkaido.