The "C" in front of Sauter, Bechstein

[Pianist685]

What is the difference between a piano that has "C. Sauter" written on it and an instrument with only "Sauter" on it (same for "C. Bechstein"/"Bechstein", "W. Hoffmann"/"Hoffmann")?

[Colin Nicholson]

It sometimes depends on ownership/ affiliations / other names taking over a company such as brothers/ alias names.
Hoffmann have over 15 different manufacturing names (some not related), some made in Germany/ Austria/ USA/ Sweden, however they are made in China now. a company buying and taking over, so names vary.

You would need to stand next to each other 2 pianos (more or less identical), one without and one with the initial letter and only then could you tell the difference both externally and internally/ casework / mechanism/ stringing.
Some Kawai pianos have "Kawai" or "K.Kawai" .... both the same I think.

[marcon]

In the case of Bechstein, the C presumably stands for Carl (Bechstein), the company's founder. In the current Bechstein range, the 'C Bechstein' pianos are the premium range, and the 'Bechstein' ones are the next range down (followed by W. Hoffmann and then Zimmermann).

We have a 'Hofmann' in the family, which is a totally different thing from 'W.Hoffmann' even though we're not really sure what its origins were. And it's different from the various guises of Hoffmann too.

[vernon]

In the 30s was C Bechstein London that were prone tp frame cracks. Best avoided

[NewAge]

What is the difference between a piano that has "C. Sauter" written on it and an instrument with only "Sauter" on it (same for "C. Bechstein"/"Bechstein", "W. Hoffmann"/"Hoffmann")?

Unlike Bechstein, the 'C' in Sauter does not imply a premium model.The 'C' in Sauter indicates the founders first name, Carl. It was some time in the 70's I believe that the initial 'C' was discontinued.

[RWAS]

Kawai uses K. Kawai after the company's founder, Koichi Kawai, for all acoustic grand pianos. All the vertical and digital pianos have just Kawai.

Regards,
Robert.