(Source: Yamaha Europe)

Jools Holland, one of the UK’s most popular pianists, has put his tour piano, a Yamaha GT7 digital piano, on auction. It’ll be auctioned at the Bonhams’ Autumn sale of Fine Pianos without reserve, and all proceeds will go towards the Drake Music Project.

FYI, production of this particular Yamaha GT7 model has been discontinued, so you’ll be getting a potential antique as well. On a related note, Holland has announced that he will be replacing this piano with a “similar upgraded model”.

[News via Yamaha Europe]

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(Source: GuitarGearHeads)

As a diversion from the ornate guitar-track into a more natural style, the Samick Remington OM13-CE does a great job. At least, according to GuitarGearHeads in their review of the acoustic guitar.

Construction was deemed solid, with clear tones and balanced sound - though only for light and medium strumming. Like most orchestra model guitars, higher tones were overly accentuated during aggressive strumming.

Overall, the sub-US$500 cedar top guitar was touted as a “great intermediate guitar”, and was awarded GGH’s Rig Ready and Approved Awards for 2006.

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(Source: Farley’s House of Pianos)

Charles Walter’s recently (relatively) unveiled a brand new grand piano model, the ebony-polished 5′ 10″ Charles Walter 175.

It is still in the mass production stage, but it has already made some good first impressions on the experienced guys over at the Piano World Forums.

An important point to note is that it’s only US$1000 cheaper than the 6′ 4″ CW190, though it is really hard to say what this price differential is supposed to mean until you get a chance to test the piano out, and compare the two yourself.

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(Source: JetSlide)

You might think only older and established things can be masterworks. But after reading this review on the new Alvarez Masterworks MD350C acoustic guitar, I’m certain you’ll be cleared of that misconception.

Well, with a recommended price of US$1699, I guess quality would have been expected, but even for guitars in this price range, the MD350C seemed to have performed admirably.

It may not be a guitar for a beginner whose passion for guitars has yet to be confirmed, but if you’re an experienced amateur or professional, I’m certain GuitarGearHeads’ final verdict with take you to the store:

The MD350C was a pure pleasure to review. I really enjoy playing this guitar and I will be adding it to my own personal guitar arsenal. Because of this, I award the MD350C the 2006 Rig Ready Award as well as the 2006 Guitar Gear Heads Approved award.

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(Source: Amazon)

There’s now one, or more accurately, four more reasons to get an Epiphone Les Paul Studio or Les Paul 100 electric guitar. According to a recent news release, Epiphone will give out an Electric Essentials Pack free with any one of the two guitars, from August 1st to September 30th this year.

The pack will contain a premium 20′ cable, a nylon guitar strap, a 12-pack of picks and a Masterbilt acoustic video. Admittedly, these are nothing to die for, but they are free.

P.S.: I wonder whether they’ll be giving out this pack to those who win a Les Paul through their recent sweepstakes.

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(Source: Yamaha)

Yep, this post was supposed to have been published around a month back, but after checking the post listings, it seems it never got out of the door. But better late than never, right?

The Yamaha DGX620 Digital Portable Keyboard - with a wooden-style design and all - was brought into the market not too long back, with all the standard keyboard features you might expect from one of the top piano and keyboard vendors in the world. To be more precise, it comes with Yamaha’s Graded Hammer action, 400 instrument voices and onboard effects, a pitch bend wheel and sustain pedal, plus stereo speakers and a 6-track onboard sequencer.

Software-wise, you’ll be looking at the Easy Song Arranger (which comes with 150 styles and 267 songs), Performance Assistant technology and the Yamaha Education Suite.

If you’re interested, you can get one now for about US$799.

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(Source: Musician’s Friend)

Acoustic-electric bass guitars are a tough nut to crack here at GuPiano due to the crazy number of categories they fall under. Yep, you’ll see this Rogue AB-304 categorised under acoustic guitars, electrics and even bass guitars. But the worst part of the whole thing is that the displeasure doesn’t stop with categorisation.

It’s reviewer over at Ultimate-Guitar.com goes so far to say that, “If it were to get stolen or lost I wouldn’t buy this bass again. I love how beautiful it looks but I hate how you can barely hear it without an amp and how touchy it is.” It’s a pity though, because with die-cast machine heads, piezo pickup and volume control, abalone rosette, top binding, plus mahogany sides, back and neck, the AB-304 looks like a pretty solid bass.

Overall, this Korean-made guitar scores a measely 5.8 out of 10 for its overall rating - though for features, it does get a more respectable 7 out of 10.

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