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An enjoyable tour... imho Bechstein and Grotrian are much closer to each other than
either is to a Bluthner, so I think your final preference is quite consistent. Will be interested to learn your eventual choice!

The Steinway model K is undoubtedly a fine piano but other high-end uprights are just as appealing in different ways. Ibach was mentioned further up in the thread but I thought they had ceased production a year or two ago. A sad consequence of the decline of the piano retail trade is that unless you...

Hope this turns out to be a false alarm:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009 ... ha-closure

The only disadvantage is that Brodmann UK is in receivership and warranty problems may be difficult to sort out. The pianos themselves are superb.

Is this a little local difficulty or is the whole Brodmann group in trouble? (Didn't they try to buy Bosie?)

I am no tech nor a particularly good pianist but I am always surprised by the number of older pianos on sale for quite high prices in shops. They sound like old bangers and one lift of the lid is enough to reveal even to me that no real work has been done to them. They seem to sell, so I can only ho...

http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,2271591,00.html mentions Bechstein apprenticeships as an example of the German training system. I suppose the cynic would note that even Bechstein is now doing a lot of its production outside Germany but the training system may be one reason there s...

We have a Yam C7 at the school where I work and we got Jeff Shackell to voice it; it's beautiful and rich in the bass and creamy mellow at the top; delicious!

Out of curiosity: how long ago was it voiced? Has the voicing lasted?

They are generally excellent if you like that sort of thing. Personally I like the smaller C upright than the flagship B. If you're off to Blüthners' place in Davies Street, try the Haesslers which offer near- Blüthner quality at a much lower price. Do you mean A rather than C? The C is rather smal...

Perhaps there is some confusion between musical and commercial
value. The Challen might be a superior instrument to a Bechstein of the same era which would sell for 10k plus but if the name recognition isn't there it will be hard to sell.

PG - many thanks, that's very informative.

New hammer felts 400

Slightly off topic but sometimes the hammers seem to be replaced rather than trying to recover the old ones. Not sure of the relative merits/cost of doing this?

On prep, the estimate PG gives here and on another thread is that a day of a tech's time is required for prep, so say 2-300 pounds. Assuming this is true for all pianos, the incentive to skimp on this seems less for more expensive pianos like a U3 than a bottom of the line Yamaha. For the same reaso...

The one I saw was more like Zimmermann price than regular Bechstein price, so depends on one's view of 'reasonable'!!

The Zimmermann Z1 struck me as a bit mellower than a Bechstein 124 and with a slightly lighter action when I tried one but not sure if this is representative. It was certainly a very nice piano and as PG says much more reasonably priced than the equivalent Bech model. I have also come across a Bechs...

Current Bechstein grands seem to have roughly the same names (A to D etc) and sizes as the pre-war models. The uprights though seem to have changed - there used to be models 6 to 10 but now there seem to be 118, 124, Concert 11 and Concert 8. Does anyone know when the change in upright lines took pl...

This is partly inspired by the thread on the best upright but seems a separate issue. Once prices reach 10k, some reasonable but not top quality grands become affordable. For example a Yamaha SU-7 upright probably costs roughly the same as a Yamaha C3 grand. It seems generally agreed that a large en...

Jacques Samuel in London seems to stock Ibach now
- they had a couple when I was there in January and they now list Ibach on their web-site.
The big Ibach seemed pleasant but nothing special.

Does anyone have views on the quality of Haessler
and Zimmermann, the second-line pianos produced
by Bluthner and Bechstein? I'm looking for an upright
which is somewhat mellower than a Yamaha but doesn't
have an astronomical price tag!