A certain user, 音乐真相探长, posted on Baidu in mid-August some pretty damaging claims against the Terence V70 — their flagship foldable piano.
My first question is, how about V50? It seems well regarded.
A user on Douyin, 咲不出来, complained the C2 sounded very electronic. I was skeptical. Now I think it can be true — this piano is intended for beginners, so no point having good speakers. If so, it is a waste. If it is 500 yuan, so be it. But it is 2,500 yuan!
Out of the tens of videos (definitely over 50), I saw only three videos playing the piano. I thought it sounded okay. I don't know if they are using the built-in speaker or direct recording — I always suspect the latter cos the sound is so good.
I also found a channel by 喵乐萌一南昌. He is a seasoned piano seller. From his videos, I understand that even popular brands like Betsy and Terence are also 'rubbish' brands.
His criteria is simple. What is the sound source and what is the hammer key tech used. It does not matter if they are not good, but they must be own technology. All the low-end ones are bought off-the-shelf, but they try to hide that fact. Their specs are also often inflated and even outright lies. They market based on finishing and famous influencers.
For hammer key, he recommends getting 210 mm length to approximate grand piano feel — there is no getting around physics. But this is at 10,000 yuan (S$1,808) price point.
Terence released a new foldable piano in June, although I just saw it by chance now.
C2 is based on the V50 — exact size and weight, but there is a striking differene: the keys are lighted! But unfortunately, it is not a superset. Some features are removed — likely to keep the cost down.
Pros:
Cons:
There is no mention of polyphony.
The lighting effect is done well, unlike cheaper pianos. The bottom half of the white keys are illuminated evenly.
There are three lighting modes:
The biggest downside is the lack of LCD panel. This makes it hard to change settings. Unfortunately, it does not make use of lighted keys to indicate the current selection — a missed opportunity.
It is marketed as a learner piano as well as a sing-along piano. For example, it show cases a one-finger follow-the-lights as a song is played — and you press only one key in every 5 notes or so. I'm not sure how this helps learning.
Amazingly, there are tens of influencers on Douyin who are showing off the C2. Previously, I already noticed Terence has a strong presence on Douyin compared to other foldable pianos.
The C2 should be a loaned unit — I don't believe so many people bought such an expensive piano just for a 1+ min video. And they all start their videos the same way: unfolding the piano and turning it on, showing off the colorful lighted keys as it boots up. I think this step must be mandated by Terence. :lol:
Unfortunately, 95% of the influencers can't play the piano. Many of them are good singers, though. They demo singing a song, then pressing lighted keys once every few notes. If anything, it turns me off buying this piano — if this is its unique selling point, I don't want to pay a premium for it! :lol:
I want to see people playing it, how it sounds and how the lights work.
There is one Douyin video of a person who bought a C2 with her own money. She has the V50 as well. She is very critical:
I disagree with #2. I like smooth finish.
I'm surprised with #3, because I thought it would have the same or better sound quality.
For the app, can't expect too much. Lifetime is pretty good already. Other pianos normally bundle 30 or 60 days free trial only.
So a recent Malaysian celebrity hairstylist planned to give up his Singapore PR at 55 to cash out his CPF and retire back in Malaysia.
And some netizens are jealous. Is this a gaping loophole to be closed?
I understand why they feel this way. They don't have a chance to touch their CPF.
There are two things they overlooked.
First, all PRs can withdraw their CPF immediately when they leave Singapore for good. West Malaysians are the only ones who need to wait until 55. So, being jealous of such a person is rather misdirected.
Second, in the past, everyone could get their CPF as a lump sum at 55 years old. What happened? They spent it within a few years. So it is not always a blessing.
Here is a rule of thumb: if you think the money in CPF is large, the more likely you will misuse it.
Even now, you can widthdraw above the minimum sum. If your CPF is not above it, you can only blame yourself for earning too little or using it for housing.
Apparently Vol 1 is available as D Prize (re-issued for FF7 Rebirth), but without the secret figure. I was able to get a set for 230 yuan (S$41) on Xianyu.
Unfortunately, I had already bought Tifa and Aeris separately for 147 yuan (S$26.30). The consolation is, they seem to be from Vol 1 and are a little different — slightly better colors and print? I must say, they are very small!
I printed their signature CG backdrop to use as background. It is also to prevent direct sunlight on the figures — in case the colors fade. They are very expensive, you know. :lol:
Vol 2 is also known as G Prize, only comes in blind boxes for now. As noted previously, they exceeded my budget. I managed to get Yuffie and the Save Point for 30 yuan, though. :-D
My YBR125 bike should be among the last 5% bikes to convert. I see almost every bike is using OBU now.
It used to have a v2 IU. My workshop damaged the original one while doing some maintenance, but played dumb. I had to replace it for $160. I'm still a little angry over it, even after 6 or so years.
In hindsight, it should be the fuse that blew. I should have asked the workshop to check, but I was in a hurry.
Similarly, I'm still a bit upset having to pay $500+ to repair a shared car for damage I did not cause — because I did not realize the car was damaged before I drove it. The previous driver played dumb. It really soured me over shared cars.
On a separate note, BlueSG has gone belly-up. I last drove it in July 2022, but had been paying $8/mth all along. I should have stopped long ago. I was quite apprehensive to use it after hearing high repair charges incurred by other users.
BlueSG's main attraction is that it is point-to-point: you can return the car elsewhere. But in practice, I could never find a return location where I want to go, e.g. Botanic Gardens, Gardens by the Bay.
If you cannot return the car, it gets expensive really fast at $0.50/min. One hour = $30! And this is for the time you are not using the car.
I'm not sure if I'll join another car sharing scheme in the future. The cars are fine when they start out, but their conditions get worse and worse as time passes by.
