In the UK there are still many fine small upright pianos made by English firms from about 1960 to 1990. These are generally far better made than the same size piano made today, as from about 1920 to 1985 (uprights from about 1960 to 1985) many British firms specialised in making small pianos. With much competition, high skill levels and great demand, the quality of the best ones was extremely high. The most common good ones are by Knight and Welmar with some of the small uprights made by Kemble, Rogers, Broadwood and Chappell also being well made. As a rule, these English pianos were far better made than the equivalent new ones from the Far East. This is because most of the far eastern small uprights are scaled down copies of the taller ones, and often produce an uneven and brash thin tone. Recent examples of this are the Yamaha E108 and LU101 and B1 which in our opinion don’t have a pleasing tone. Small modern upright pianos date from about 1960 to the present day and the best period of manufacture was from about 1965 to about 1990. Some of these can be quite worn, so much advice is needed before purchasing. Another fine small upright found in the UK that we like very much is by Fazer, made in Finland from about 1975 to 1990.