As Seattle’s largest used piano store and the only JUPA authorized Yamaha store for pre-owned and certified Yamaha pianos, Northwest Pianos has been the leading provider of Yamaha upright and grand pianos to the Seattle and surrounding area. With thousands of pre-owned Yamaha grands and uprights sold over the years, we are familiar with the many questions and concerns that customers have when looking to buy a used piano.
Here are answers to some of the more frequent questions we receive from customers interested in Yamaha used pianos:
Should it matter if a used Yamaha is JUPA certified and what does it mean for the piano?
JUPA, which is short for Japan Used Piano Association, is an organization dedicated to train technicians and specializes in evaluating pre-owned Yamaha and Kawai pianos made in Japan. Northwest Pianos is an JUPA Authorized Dealer of Pre-Owned Yamaha instruments. JUPA specialists who conduct a complete quality check. This check transitions the Yamaha piano from a merely used piano to a pre-owned certified instrument and gives us the confidence to offer a 10 Year as New Warranty on the instrument.
What Warranty does the Pre-Owned Yamaha Center Seattle offer?
If you buy from Northwest Pianos it is like buying new. The Warranty is 10 Years. Parts and Labor.
We have thousands of Yamaha customers and every single one of them is happy with their choice. We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee on our products.
Has Yamaha Corporation expressed concerns about Pre-Owned Yamaha Pianos?
Like with any manufacturer of an excellent product, the main competition for new Yamaha pianos also comes from used Yamaha pianos. The Yamaha Piano Corporation would of course prefer that only new units are being purchased but not everyone can or wants to afford a brand- new Yamaha. Sometimes older models are better designs and have better sound properties.
Where can I compare Pre-Owned to New Yamaha grands and uprights?
A few years ago, Classic Pianos Seattle, the authorized Yamaha Dealer for Washington, moved into our neighborhood and opened a Yamaha store two blocks away from Northwest Pianos, on 20th Street in Bellevue. Classic Pianos Seattle is an excellent store and we recommend it to anyone looking for new Yamaha instruments. It is also now easy to test a new Yamaha grand at Classic Piano Seattle and then compare it with one from Northwest Pianos’ Pre-Owned Yamaha Center.
What about purchasing a used Yamaha from other stores?
Used Yamaha pianos can be found in many stores. In order to make a good decision, always inquire where the particular used Yamaha upright or grand piano came from and what its history is.
Piano manufacturing is, by its nature, a materials-intensive craft. A modern grand piano contains roughly 12,000 individual components. It requires carefully selected hardwoods — spruce, maple, beech, walnut — sourced from forests in multiple countries. It uses felt, leather, metal alloys, and chemical finishes. Building one well takes skilled labor spanning months.
In January 2026, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas included something that would have seemed out of place a decade ago: a piano technology exhibit generating genuine buzz alongside the televisions, smartphones, and AI gadgets that dominate the show floor. The products on display — connected instruments, app-integrated learning systems, multi-device MIDI setups — weren't novelties. They were the direction the piano industry is heading.
For years, the piano world operated on a fairly clean division: acoustic instruments for those who could afford the space and maintenance, digital pianos for everyone else. That division has been eroding steadily, and by 2026, it has given way to something more interesting — a category of instruments that refuses to sit neatly on either side of the line.
