Steinmeyer vs Steinmayer

[composimo]

Hi everyone.

I've recently tried out a Steinmeyer piano and was quite impressed. I've tried to do some research on the brand and have found a lot of information on the brand Steinmayer (with an a) and several articles which interchange the 2 spellings so now I'm confused. Are Steinmeyer and Steinmayer 2 separate makes of piano or are they the same company which use 2 different spellings? I know they're not just typos as I've seen pictures of pianos with the 2 different spellings on the front. From what I've read, SteinmAyer pianos aren't particularly well made and don't have the best tone but this wouldn't seem to apply to the SteinmEyer piano I just tried. The current owner said the piano was roughly 20 years old and had been sold by Kensington pianos.

Any help greatly appreciated!

[Colin Nicholson]

Hi composimo

Firstly, I wouldn't get too 'fussed up' about the names, and the different spellings.
In my eyes, any mention of a Steinmayer spells 1. AGE 2. OLD and 3. Around 1900

Steinmayer is actually a very old name, and somehow been revived onto modern-day pianos.... but this is just a name etched/inlaid/ transfered onto the fallboard. Both "original" sounding names are from the Victorian period, and I believe Steinmayer is a stencil piano (google "Stencil pianos" for more info).

I've seen loads of new and newish pianos - basically like a "blank piano" when they leave a factory - and then someone adding a name later. It may transpire the "Steinmayer" name on the 20 year old piano is a factory, using the Steinmayer name under license.... rather like cars.

I always tell punters to remember this phrase.... "It says typhoo tea on buses, but they don't sell it"!! .... even an authentic-looking name on a fallboard can fool the novice.

I wouldn't be shopping on-line either and just comparing spellings - but best to open the pianos up, play them both, attempt to part-tune them, then having the 2 pianos side by side, THEN being able to compare them. To be honest, I cant remember what a Steinmeyer looks like - but I believe its origin is from UK or USA.

Both pianos "scream" German! However, I completely restored an old-style Steinmayer about 10 years ago, and it had all the signs of German qualities - for example, each treble string had its own hitch pin & eye/ ogee-shaped back checks/ purple & dark blue felt.... BUT the hammers were poor in sounding. I got a company to recover the hammers, new springs, leathers, repin etc etc.... and it played beautifully once tuned and regulated. Keys were original ivory - but many had cracked and fallen off, so replaced them for cream plastic key tops.

So.... I would fully check out the internal workings/ names/ decals etc of all pianos - the name on the fallboard (these days) is just an advert to print "I sound like a German piano"....

hope that helps

[composimo]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

You're exactly right about the name on the piano just being an advert to make it sound German and that's what made me a bit wary about this brand "Steinmayer" to be honest. The original Steinmeyer brand was fairly reputable but modern pianos made with the name "Steinmayer" seem to be fairly cheaply made Chinese pianos which, as you say, aren't German pianos at all.

I do agree that it's not always the brand that's important if the piano plays well but as a professional pianist and piano teacher I don't really want to go buying a brand I know nothing about if you know what I mean, so I was just wondering if anybody knew the history behind the two names!

Cheers,

Imogen

[Colin Nicholson]

There isnt any kind of "history book" (or blue book) for many pianos - including these, except of course the big names like Steinway, Bechstein etc.... The only info you are likely to find (even the big names) are anecdotes from tuners or piano restorer's experience of tuning/ repairing these instruments. In most cases, 'history' about some pianos is very limited to things like serial numbers & dates, the year the company became established, factory address & telephone number, who took over the company in "such and such" a year, and possibly some general information about their family members, alias names, and certain wholesalers. Many companies were destroyed in the wars, leaving nothing but rubble where their factory was - and much info was lost, or never reached the main head quarters in New Mexico (Pierce Atlas).

You can always try this website: http://www.piercepianoatlas.com
however.... you have to pay in advance (no refund) - even if they cannot find any info - and sometimes your request MUST be backed up with photos - of the whole piano, lid open, the serial number and the internal mechanism with the front panel completely removed.... without this info, they may not reply..

If you are considering buying one of these pianos, then simply forget the history aspect - there isnt any. Steinmayer is a very OLD name and often reused.
Some chinese exports like Samick, Reid Sohn and quite good pianos, solid wrest plank and reasonable to tune.... however, what they will be like in 20 years will be guess work. If you are relying on a "purchase with history attached" - then go for the big names. Others like Grotian Steinweg, Carl Ecke, Lipp, Kawai, Yamaha .... good pianos.... but only if looked after well. Some chinese pianos use cheaper and inferior materials/ cloth/ felt/ for the mechanism parts - but this is too technical for here, and you need a tuner to point you in the right direction. Forget history!

[mdw]

Quite a few Yamaha are pretty duff after 20 years as well, mainly the small ones.

[joseph]

The Steinmeyers I've tried were chinese pianos from the time before chinese pianos became acceptable.

Pretty dreadful actually.

I haven't tried any new ones, and of course there have been big improvements in chinese manufacture.

[Colin Nicholson]

Its a bit like buying a brand new flat-pack wardrobe from Ikea.... looks nice & shiny, does its job.... but has no history, value or provenance, and no assett when it comes to sell.