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rgreig

I am an amateur pianist and I went through a process of trying to figure out how much I should spend on a piano about a decade ago (and I posted questions on this forum too!). My advice from that experience would be to go to several different piano dealers and try a number of different instruments a...

rgreig

Interesting thread.

If you don't mind my asking, how much is all the repair work likely to cost? Depending on that I imagine it's an interesting dilemma whether to repair it or trade it in for something else.

Robert

rgreig

What are your parameters for determining a good buy? Are you looking for an instrument to practice on daily? Do you currently own a piano?

I presume you have seen this piano at a dealer (and if so are you converting the price into euro)?

Robert

rgreig

Ian,

Very interesting! Has anyone played the Bluthner model S? How does it compare with the model B?

Robert

rgreig

Ian,

140cm is large - I was not aware of many uprights taller than 132cm with the exception of Steingraeber. It must have an excellent bass.

Robert

rgreig

Perhaps someone who is a Kawai dealer can comment further but I really think that the suggestion that the K5 was designed for the Japanese market (in terms of size) is just complete rubbish. It's a 125cm piano versus the 132cm of the K6 - which will affect the sound but not whether tall people can p...

rgreig

So the K5 was modified/custom built to have a lower keyboard? I don't think I have ever played a piano that was modified in such a way. Seems very odd.

Robert

rgreig

You mention value, but do you mean resale value at some point in the future, or (perceived) value for money now? Is this a purchase to last 30 years? I would have thought the Hoffman would be around 24k new? I am not sure what the Schimmel would be, but a friend of mine bought a new Schimmel C182 (i...

rgreig

The tricky bit I think is knowing how good the piano will be in 10 years time.

I would suggest calling Richard Reason at the London Piano Auctions and asking him how much he would expect a 10 year old W&L to go for.

Robert

rgreig

This is a very interesting discussion. Going back to the original question, it is the case that some things sit under the fingers more easily in one key rather than another. One example that springs to mind is Schubert's very well known impromptu Op. 90 no. 3. It was written in G flat, but the publi...

rgreig

I have not played one but this page provides useful info: http://www.marksonpianos.com/acoustic/hoffman_u/default.htm On that page it states it is made in the Czech Republic. The Piano Buyer also states they are made in the Czech Republic. FWIW my questions would be: 1) Are you sure that a 112cm pia...

rgreig

I didn't visit Besbrode when I was looking for a piano (mainly because I had already by that point decided against a Steinway K having tried it elsewhere) but I did go to Yorkshire Pianos and I'd recommend a visit there if you do go to Leeds since you can try a variety of Bechstein, Bluthner and Sau...

rgreig

Did you really mean 20,000 USD for the Bluthner C? Or GBP? If you assume an exchange rate of 1.5 that would make the model C around 13k GBP which I don't think is unreasonable new. If however it is GBP then they are lying. I visited the Bluthner showroom in Berkeley Square when I was looking (it is ...

rgreig

When I was looking for an upright I initially thought I would be able to buy a good second-hand model. However I found the market in high quality nearly new second-hand uprights isn't very liquid, and I ended up buying new. I did play a second hand Schimmel (the top of the range model, 132 DT), whic...

rgreig

Robert, Now a few months on, how do you feel about your Grotrian Steinweg, and how is it settling? Is it living up to your expectations of one of the very best high-grade uprights? Funnily enough, it is being tuned tomorrow (second tuning). It is taking a while to settle down (I have no idea howeve...

rgreig

Some chinese pianos ie Brodmann are very good quality indeed. I would be interested in the view from the forum tuners on Brodmann. When I was looking for a piano, I visited a dealer who was an agent for Brodmann (amongst others). I did not particularly like the tone, but in any case the dealer was ...

rgreig

Snoot, If you have room for a grand piano in your house, I would certainly look seriously at what is available in your price range. A grand piano has an action that is quite different - and superior - to an upright. The key is to get one that is a decent size in order to get a sound that is as good ...

rgreig

Carlos, I would be surprised if many professionals would want a 5 foot baby grand. Are you expecting to be able to restore this in order to sell it? Maybe people in the trade can comment but I would expect (and this is just my own impression) that a large proportion of baby grands of that size are d...

rgreig

If you haven't looked at it already, I would take a look at the past sales at the Conway Hall piano auctions: http://www.pianoauctions.co.uk/past_sales.php?Date=16-06-2011 Although you clearly cannot tell the condition of a piano from the descriptions it does generally say if the piano has been rebu...

rgreig

I would not get too worried about this if I were you. Being asked to play on an unfamiliar instrument completely cold is difficult but you have a chance to practice on the piano and that will help a huge amount. In terms of conveying the emotion, I am sure that you will find the Steinway grand - ass...

rgreig

When you ask if the chipped keys will affect the playing quality, what level of playing quality are you expecting?

Robert

rgreig

Out of interest, what did you end up buying?

I bought a (new) Grotrian Concertino.

Robert

rgreig

This page may be helpful: http://www.robertspianos.com/pinao-makes-knight.html Do you know how old the piano is? I suppose a key question is whether you have space to accommodate another piano in your house, or are you trying to decide whether it should replace the piano you already own (what do you...

rgreig

When I was auditioning pianos I found there were considerable differences between the same model at different dealers. I suppose this reflects the variability of the materials used in piano construction plus the differences that result from the manual processes in the manufacture. Therefore I would ...

rgreig

Reading my wording on this thread, I agree that it is misleading and I apologise for that. I should really have stated that the Academy series actions have parts that are from China. When I was researching which piano to buy I did look into this as best I could. The PianoBuyer website (which has a l...

rgreig

The obvious question is why the current owner bothered getting it restrung?? Presumably that cost more than the asking price and more than it was ever going to be worth....

Robert

rgreig

.. your pricing is way out,as you are a retailer invovled in the sale of these pianos would expect no less,the OP should phone the piano consultants at Piano Auctions and that way will get a fair price to what the piano is worth in the open market without any vested interests advice.£1000 is about ...

rgreig

Mike, I recently bought a new upright piano and I can give you some thoughts based on my "journey" with that. At one point I considered a grand,and I played a few, but I concluded that I just didn't have the space to accommodate one. You are very fortunate to be able to dedicate a room to ...

rgreig

Tenor1,

Have you tried the Bluthner with the Flemming action and decided you would need to replace it? It would be interesting to know how you think it compares with other instruments (I presume you are a demanding pianist if you are looking for a concert grand?).

Robert

rgreig

Was it one of the instruments for sale here? http://www.pianoauctions.co.uk/past_sal ... 14-04-2011

Do let us know how you got on!

Robert

rgreig

Johnkie, I'm interested in a couple of your comments. Your comment about tuning never being able to be undertaken by a robot is one that was (in essence) brought up on one of the threads I read discussing Don Gilmore's invention. I am genuinely interested in understanding why. If a machine had the a...

rgreig

Slightly at a tangent, this got me thinking about mechanical devices that could tune a piano, or even how a piano could have some kind of modified pin block so that a combination of electronics and mechanics could tune the instrument "automatically". The idea of a device that listens to th...

rgreig

Yiota, I am not going to attempt to offer advice on the particular models you have mentioned, but having just bought a piano recently (the long story documented on another thread) my advice would be to visit a number of dealers and try a wider range of pianos. I think you have a decent budget and ce...

rgreig

If you take a look here you can see a general opinion on the make:

http://www.robertspianos.com/piano-make ... enger.html

I am not a tuner but it doesn't sound very promising given your description of the condition.

Robert

rgreig

jordan2, Thank you for posting your very interesting and thoughtful comments. It sounds like it was a great experience, and I am somewhat regretful that I didn't get a response to my original email to Hurstwood and therefore did not visit. (I did however find another Steingraeber dealer so I was abl...

rgreig

Piano Heads, I have sent you a private message with the details. I am not sure on forum etiquette for this, so I would not want to risk upsetting anyone who might view it as advertising.

Robert

rgreig

I would try ebay. You'll be amazed at how many people with interest in niche areas trawl ebay looking for items. Presumably you know roughly how much it should go for so you can set a reasonable starting price.

Robert

rgreig

As far as actions go, have Kawai not been using carbon fibre for quite some time now? See http://www.kawaius.com/main_links/acoustic_brochures/carbon_fiber.pdf Does anyone know how the Phoenix carbon fibre action differs from the Kawai? I think it is commendable that a British firm is attempting to ...

rgreig

It is with much excitement that I can reveal that I bought the Grotrian today. I went back to the dealer this morning and played the instrument for quite a while. The bass really is powerful and it has a clarity in the upper register that is lyrical. It was equally effective with the Gershwin prelud...

rgreig

For what it's worth, I came across a US rule of thumb that the largest grand you can fit in a sittiing room is one fifth of the length of the room plus the width. My perception is that that is a bit generous, and that one seventh of length plus width is about right. This feels about right to me. I ...

rgreig

The Phoenix system is available on Steingraeber models as well as the pianos built/designed (not sure which) at Hurstwood. I found this page which gives a summary of some tests done in the USA of the system (admittedly by a dealer, so perhaps take with a pinch of salt): http://www.uniquepianosinc.co...

rgreig

jordan2, I was also interested in trying out the Phoenix pianos at Hurstwood farm (I had asked the questions about it on the linked thread earlier). However I am afraid they didn't bother to reply to my email asking for more information (fairly basic questions, nothing silly) so I did not ever go to...

rgreig

Mark, Yes I plan on making a decision (and buying my choice!) very quickly after playing the Grotrian again. Unfortunately I can't go back to the dealer this weekend due to other commitments so I think it will be next weekend before I can try the Grotrian again. I think I have tried all the models I...

rgreig

I have just returned from London, and while I was there I managed to fit in a visit to the Bluthner showroom. It is an extremely nice showroom, with many models available to try. For anyone looking to try Bluthner, it is definitely worth a trip. They had three model B uprights in the showroom and na...

rgreig

The question of grand vs upright is one that I have spent a considerable amount of time examining. Although my room is not tiny, I have concluded that it cannot accommodate a grand piano. I even cut some cardboard into the shape of a grand piano (full size) to position it in the room in various plac...

rgreig

I'm just back from a very enjoyable long weekend in Yorkshire! The main aim of my trip was to try the Bechstein Concert 8 and Sauter Masterclass 130 at Yorkshire Pianos. I started with the Sauter. My first impression was that the action was nicely weighted - I prefer a slightly heavier action and th...

rgreig

You could try Peter Smith and Sons in Paisley. I was in a couple of weeks ago (not looking at Kawais) and they had at least three new grands - definitely an RX2 and RX3, and I think the largest was an RX5 but I can't quite remember.

Robert

rgreig

Hmm, interesting question Joe. Right now for uprights, I think it would be Grotrian first, followed by the Steinway. I wouldn't buy any of the others I tried. What about the Bechstein? I really liked the tone and balance of the Bechstein Academy series upright that I tried and I have very high expec...

rgreig

Regular readers may recall that I was due to visit a fourth piano dealer in Scotland this weekend, in order to try Steinway and Yamaha models in particular. It turns out the the dealer in question is no longer an agent for Yamaha. They have moved on to Kawai now, which is not a brand that I had prev...

rgreig

NewAge,

I am very keen to try a Sauter Masterclass, particularly to compare the double repetition action. I am hoping that Yorkshire Pianos will have one?

Thanks,
Robert

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