Choosing my new baby grand piano

[Barry98]

I was taught to play from 6 years old but stopped when I was 16! So now at 67 I have 50 years to catch up. The playing is coming on fine SO I have taken the plunge to replace my old trusty Bluthner upright.
I want a grand because I am fed up of looking at the wall just behind the music and also because I KNOW it will turn me into a world star as well as taking 50 years off my age!
Size was a deciding factor (price also) and I had to limit the piano to 5'6". I tried Kawai (GE20?), the action was heavy and the tone uneven, Estonia, lovely action but the sound was if there was blanket over the strings, Boston, action OK but the middle register was dull, Weichbach straight out of the box. The action was good and responsive but the colour was wrong!!!!!!!!!! - I wanted black. Petrof, Action so-so and tinny sound, Several Yamahas. The sounds were too bright and harsh for me.
I have finally settled on an Irmler made in Poland. The action is excellent as is also the sound. Time will tell if my decision was correct.
While trying all the pianos I really learned a lot about how I play.
I conclusion I must give thanks to all the dealers who let me "test drive" the various instruments.
Comments?

[richarddale]

Is a baby grand that much better than a good upright, most of the ones I've heard have a very harsh mid range (the 2 octaves up from mid. C)
at least they look like a proper piano as you say

great that you've rekindled your interest in playing I did the same about 5 years ago, practised 10 mins a day until I regained my former "skills", now I concentrate on composing

[Barry98]

A "good upright" should have "better" basic tonal qualities than a baby grand. If the upright action is weighted correctly then it should be similar to a correctly setup grands'. On sound ouput the babies have to compromise because of their size. However an upright cannot project its sound as well as a grand (any size). It is normally against a wall, which restricts the sound output, thete is no output from the front and the output from the top is dependant on the size of the opening. On the other hand the sound from a grand reflects more or less from the floor (depending on the rug/carpet,solid floor) as well as from above the strings.
I did try a Steinway 6ft grand.It was magnificant. No way could a Steinway upright have been as good.
BUT I suspect a Steinway upright will sound better than the Estonia grand I tried.
As other members of this forum have commented try a piano and then accept that for waht it is.
Musical sounds are very personal. I know my hearing has lost its high frequencies to s certain degree. So If I think a piano is bright some much younger than me will think of it as ear splitting!
Sorry about the ramble above, somehow I think I went off topic.
Barry

[Barrie Heaton]

The Irmler piano is to Bluthner as is the Boston is to Steinway. The ones I have looked at were very good for the price range some of the finishes you can have on the uprights were very good for the price. One fault I did find on some of the grands was the bass treble change over was noticeable However, that can be rectified by the visiting tuner on the first after call

See
http://www.bluthner-piano.co.uk/grand-p ... index.html

for the full range of pianos

[Melodytune]

Given the choice I would rather a baby grand than an upright.

Some interesting points above as to the benfits of either a grand or an upright; grand pianos' actions are generally more efficient than uprights as gravity plays a more prominent part especially with the hammer return. There's less to go wrong with the action (or playiing mechanism).

[Barry98]

Barrie, thanks for the comments.
Steinway have the Boston and also the Essex. I know the Boston is made by Kawai and I have read it is delivered straight to the importer?
Bluthner have the Haessler and the Irmler. The Irmler range is "Professional" (made in Poland) and the "Studio" (made in China)
Bluthner are trying to improve the quality of the Irmler pianos by having them delivered to their Leipzig factory for "fiddling" - a technical term, before going to the dealers.
It certainly has produced good results on all those I have tried.
Your comments on the bass treble change are also interesting. On the grand I am buying I heard/noticed a resonance/beat whatever on the Gflat below middle C. However it was also there to a lesser extant on the very expensive Bluthner grands. Not serious but there.
Finally they have redesigned the iron frame for the professonal model. I wonder why?
It's a pity that on lower cost pianos the company logo is not cast into the frames- this goes for all the pianos I looked at. In the case of the Irmler I liked there was onlt an Irmler logo on the fall board and no model type anywhere!

[Barrie Heaton]

All manufactures make adjustments to pianos some things look good on paper but just don’t cut it - To look at you would think the Steinway Grands have not change since the models were lunched you would be wrong! I think it is 150 changes have been made since the 50’s and a few to the frame.

Barrie,

[Barry98]

It has been some time (like 4 years!) since I wrote saying I was buying an Irmler F164 Professional Grand.
Well, I have not been disappointed at all.
It was delivered in May 2004 and since then has been tuned regularly by Ken Forrest from Leeds.
The first tunings were at 3 monthly intervals, then 4 monthly and since late 2006 every six months.
The base is still rich & deep whilst the top is not overbright.
5 dampers have been changed. They are the dampers on the first 5 notes when the stringing changes from 2 strings to 3 strings. The dampers have been changed from flat ones across the strings to V shaped dampers with a cut down the centre of the V. This modification has considerably improved the tone around this section.
There has been a pin which worked loose on one note of the action (Ken replaced this), a few sympathetic vibrations (cured during tuning) and a very annoying squeak finally traced to the dry leather in the foot "loud" pedal.
Stunning piano
Barry

[PianoGuy]

It's a pity that on lower cost pianos the company logo is not cast into the frames- this goes for all the pianos I looked at. In the case of the Irmler I liked there was onlt an Irmler logo on the fall board and no model type anywhere!

That's because the Poles that build them will sell them to anybody with any name, or more often no name at all on the fall. The last one I was was badged as a "Kemmler".