A McBain Carnes Piano Company

We recently purchased a baby grand from Carnes and was very happy with their services. Our sales Mr. Ming Li was very helpful and also followed up with providing the info for the piano tune up, which was included in our purchase price. Their manager accompanied the delivery man to deliver our piano the same day. All were very professional.
The only improvement I would have liked from my experience was for them to educate me a bit more on the different pianos they had before making my purchase.

McBain Carnes Piano is a family operation that has served the Bay Area for many years in various locations. While they specialize in Kawai (including the high-​end Shigerus), they also carry other brands, such as the highly-​regarded Charles Walters (one of only three US companies that still manufacture in this country), and a variety of digital pianos. Their services include rentals, repairs, lessons and consignment sales.
My wife and I visited the store a number times recently to audition pianos in Kawai’s flagship Shigeru line. These are fantastic pianos, which should be on the short list of anyone seeking a high-​end grand.
We were greeted by Darlene Carnes, who is store manager and sister of the owner, Scott McBain. Darlene was delightful, and competently helped us navigate the various possibilities and price classes without pressure. She also introduced us to Dr. Ming Li, who works in the store but is also a professional flautist and a very competent pianist. Dr. Li played one of the pianos for us.
Darlene supplied us with quotes on two of the Shigeru pianos, including a trade-​in for our old upright. We found the pricing to be very fair.
Overall, a very positive experience.

Originally came in here just to browse their really cool piano selection. However I ended up talking with the guy who works here for about twenty minutes mainly asking questions I had about tuning my piano. He gave me some really good advice on which piano wire will sound the best in my Samick and I’m pretty much sold on having them install and tune it for me now.

Carnes Piano is a real class operation. Six weeks after purchase I had a warranty issue. I called Carnes and they’re response was essentially «Okay…we’re on it. We’re going to get it taken care of ASAP at minimal inconvenience to you.» Without going into details, the issue was not trivial and required significant time and investment to remedy, but Carnes made my situation a high priority and actively followed up at every step of the way to make sure the best outcome was reached as soon as possible.
When there’s a little bump in the road like this you find out whether or not you can count on a merchant, and now I know that Carnes is top notch.
Thanks, Carnes!

Do NOT ignore the negative reviews. I have been renting from this store for 5 years. I know I will buy a piano in the next year, but meanwhile I wanted to swap my rental for a different one from them.
Darlene was always wonderful.
I called FIVE times and each time the Chinese man that answered was rude, short and curt with one word answers. It was over the top obvious he did not want to answer my rental questions. Such horrible service. Maybe if he was helpful he would find out I have spent almost 5000 in renting and am a perfect new piano sale candidate. I felt rushed off the phone.
I am so upset I am going to return my rental and go someplace else.

I bought an upright 50″ Kingsburg at this store. It was delivered and set up in my house as promised. Contrary to a few negative reviews I found for the store, my experience was a positive one. Dr Ming Li was very professional answering my questions. There was no pressure to buy any particular piano; we tried several pianos in our price range. I later brought a professional tuner with me to get his opinion, and he was welcomed by the store owner and the sales person.
I am expecting the first free tuning in about a week, which was thrown into the deal for me. Hopefully, this will go without a hitch, — just like the delivery did.
UPDATE:
It took several phone calls to finally get them send the tuner to my house. Eventually, the tuner came out and did a good job. But i could not help it by feel they were hoping I would forget about this «free» service or give up trying.

We had a good experience here. Darlene helped us for over an hour to find the right piano – a Kawai K-​500. We then left and shopped at three other stores and didn’t encounter anything close to this level of service. When we came back, she located a K-​500 with the mahogany finish we wanted and arranged delivery for the next morning. We had our piano less than 24 hours later.
A few months on, I called in to follow up on the complimentary tuning that was offered when we bought the piano and less than a week later that was taken care of.
I’m really pleased. I felt that we were encouraged to take our time in the showroom, but that we were also guided toward a good choice and given information that was instructive. Our two children were with us, and they were encouraged to try out the instruments too.

My friend Bernard & Rachel rents a Piano for their wedding, and I have a chance to try on the piano couple days before to ensure everything is fine. Great quality, good service. The site manager works there is very awesome and I will definitely come back once I will get a grand piano for my place.

I luv the Chinx and the Special Midgy but the Hot Cougar is off the chain! She can sell some good «piano!» I went in ther wit my hoes and got two P’s for my studio — that shiz was deep! If you buy some Ps — go here.

I am glad that I chose to ignore some of the negative reviews posted here and give them a chance, because I had a wonderful experience buying a piano today from this store!
I first came here a few days ago, after visiting a few other stores in the Bay Area. I had the pleasure to be welcomed by Mr. Dave Dumont, who kindly took the time to show me different options and educate me about pianos. I am a first time piano buyer, so I appreciated his guidance. He helped me understand differences between pianos, without being pushy or trying to make me buy a more expensive piano than I wanted. Since I wasn’t ready to make a decision that day, I left without buying anything.
Today I returned to the store, because I decided to go with a Kawai — they are the representatives for this brand. They offered me such a good deal on the piano that I liked, that I couldn’t refuse it. Three hours later (!!!) the piano sits in my living room, filling my home with beautiful music :-)
Thank you, McBain Carnes company! I highly recommend them to you, give them a try!

A very polite and professional staff.
After having troubles with my piano, the store associate was able to address my issue perfectly, being nothing but helpful. His customer service was everything one could hope for. Definitely recommend!!!

Right across from Santana Row with easy parking. They were having a Santa Clara University music department sale with some decent discounts.
The gal that showed me around was super helpful. She did a great job of demonstrating the QRS PNOmotion system on a Kawai piano ($ 16k total). I liked how she could easily control the hidden player right from her iPhone. For $ 8k and two days they can retrofit a piano with the system.
They had the best selection of quality consignment pianos and she knew which owners had wiggle room to negotiate pricing. Liked that they use Naomi Piano tuning services and have a passion for finding good homes for their pianos.
Store is a bit jammed packed and I fear for the day they get an ADA complaint, but don’t let that stop you from dropping in and checking their inventory.

I’ve done business with the owner, Scott, and he’s a great, down to earth, honest guy. They have an awesome variety of pianos, and lots of experience to give customers good advice on a piano purchase. Plus, it’s in a great location, across the street from Santana Row.

I went in to look at a Shigeru Kawai piano. This is a professional, 70k+ piano. I sat down to try it out. I start playing the Ravel piano concerto for the left hand. 10 bars into the piece, the manager/​owner comes over to tell me I may only play softly, as otherwise i might break the piano! When I say that I am just trying out a standard piece of my repertoire, he tells me to ‘get the f@ck out of my store. If you want to abuse a piano, the Bosendorfer dealer is right down the street”!!!
The customer service was severely lacking, as I have never been treated more rudely in my life. How one expects to sell a piano, if it can only be played quietly, is beyond my comprehension. Stay as far away from this place as possible!

I don’t quite understand the the negative reviews for this place. I had a great experience with this business. I wandered in recently and met the owner, Scott. He spent a lot of time talking to me and explaining the different types of pianos. The piano room was beautiful and they gave my place of employment, Bella Viva, in Gilroy a great deal on our piano. Ask for Scott he’s so funny and offers great customer service, even to a laymen like myself.

If you’re looking for a new or used Kawai piano this is certainly the place. They’ve won Kawai dealer of the year multiple times.
I recently bought a used Boston piano and found the overall experience very positive and I highly recommend the store if you’re looking to buy a new or used piano. There was no sales pressure, but only a focus on getting you the right piano for your playing preference and within your budget. The store is large/​spacious and you can wander around trying different pianos. Price was excellent as I shopped for quite some time at different stores (and Craigslist of course). I also appreciated the quick replies to my email questions — overall experience 5 stars — thanks!

CHEATERS, LIERS!!!
The store is cheating customer, when I buy my kawai K3 from them, it’s just out of the box haven’t been tuned in the store, so the sales said I will get two free tuning.
And after a few months I called back about the tunning, the owner of the piano company said he doesn’t give away free stuff and said I as a customer is cheating him! He is very rude and threaten to fire the sales lady over the phone.
DON“T TRUST THIS DEALER, and whatever they tell you, ask them to write down on paper!
Is a disaster and frustrating experience with them as a customer. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE SERVICES OF YOUR PIANO, DO NOT BUY IT FROM THIS DEALER!

This review is 1.5 year overdue but I always intend to give my 2 cents regarding this very interesting place. I have a small house and there is no way to get a grand and not looking funny in the living room. On I went to search for a high end vertical piano. I have «test drive» Sauter, Schimmel, Yamaha, Kawai, Haessler, and Seiler. In the end, it was the clear, colorful, and unique tone of the Seiler 132 that won me over.
The store is relative spacious and there are a lot of pianos in there. I like how they have both high end European and Asian brand pianos. They have digital too but I was not interested. I was looking for high end vertical piano and they have good selections here.
My salesman, Bozkurt, was both wonderful and knowledgeable. I love piano and I enjoyed my conversation with him on this subject a lot. I tried a Kawai K8 but not completely satisfied, but still very nice. I was caught off guard by a beautiful Seiler 132. I did not buy it the 1^st time I walked in the store, I came back and play the Seiler a few more times before I made the final decision. Bozkurt and all the staff there were very accommodating and professional and I was always treated with respect. I felt secure and comfortable playing different pianos in the store (even though I played poorly) LOL. Sales pressure? Of course, all the store that I have visited trying to sell me something. But at Carnes, may be because they have so many pianos in there, you almost feel like therre’s nobody in the store when I sat down and played, so I did not feel any pressure whatsoever.
In the end, got a deal that I could not refuse. I offered cash with 2 payments in 6 months. No problem with them. And get this, the piano was delivered on the SAME DAY!
I know there will be a Grand Piano for me in the future. I look forward to the arrival of that day and I will be back to this store.
2014 April update — return to store asking for more info regarding Kawai grand. Had a great time !

I have had several great experiences here, particularly working with a former employee. He is extremely knowledgeable, not pushy at all, and best of all, he has a TRUE passion for music (piano AND guitar). There are many other stores where the staff can be rude, don’t know much about the pianos, or don’t even care for music, but Carnes is the exact opposite.
I didn’t end up buying a piano from them after my few visits, but every time I’ve had such a great, non-​pressured experience. I will buy from them in the future, for sure.

I have resisted the temptation to write this follow-​up, as my original review speaks for itself. However, actions taken by «Scott M» (owner??) drove me to reflect back on this experience…
I do not work for any piano store. I am a librarian and semi-​professional musician. In 2009 I was new to the Bay Area and looking to rent an instrument while I got settled in my new home. The treatment I received by the one salesman was simply unacceptable. I should point out that as a teenager, I played for fun in several local piano stores, with no immediate intention to buy, and nevertheless received better treatment than I did as a legitimate customer here.
Since then, «Scott M.» has contacted me twice: first to attempt to gain my personal contact information under dubious pretenses (claiming to have fired the salesman), then recently to threaten a lawsuit if I didn’t remove my review. I am simply stupefied at this behavior.
In 2010 I did eventually purchase a piano, from a piano company which treated me with the basic dignity I did not receive here. Had the business owner responded in a more constructive way to my review, I might have considered returning to this store, as the other salesman was friendly. Given «Scott M“s actions, however, I cannot imagine ever doing business here.