Welmar 116 versus Feurich 115

[Matthewianharding]

Hi all,

I am torn between a second hand Weimar 116 upright piano (1992 built) and a new Feurich 115 upright piano.

The Feurich is £1,000 more expensive and I prefer the sound of the Welmar, which looks in great condition.

I am an absolute amateur and novice player, so any advice from those more knowledgeable would be gratefully received, especially as regards whether there is any issue with Welmar pianos that I’m not aware of.

I had assumed (maybe wrongly) that the Welmar would hold its value better, given that they’re no longer made , but happy to be corrected.

Thanks all

[Barrie Heaton]

I have many 116 Welmar Pianos on my round and the vast majority have a wonderful mellow tone and in most cases, the bass strings are still quite sweet. However, they are getting a little long in the tooth and a few of them are beginning to lose the edge around the fifth Octave, and of course, the actions are getting very worn and tired.

As to the Feurich, they are not bad plans tend to be a bit harsh on the tone, Most of them I have on my round tend to be the122s and they do voice down very nicely.

If both pianos are in the same showroom ask the dealer is it possible to voice the Feurich down

Barrie

[chrisw]

1992 isn't desperately old for a piano and if it has had normal light domestic use I would hope the action is still crisp. If the Feurich is too bright I agree with Barrie to ask the dealer to tone it down (I am sure that the Feurich dealer in Oxford would do this as a matter of course). Then buy the piano you like the sound of and the key action the best. Welmars do have an excellent reputation and Feurichs offer very good value.

[Barrie Heaton]

The big problem with Welmar in the 90s was quality it was a tad hit and miss they lost a lot of key workers in the mid-90s and in the late 90s, there was uncertainty in keeping a job as the factory was getting ready to move to Gloucester many best key workers did not want to move to the sticks.

At the time if you got a good one it was good but they also produced some bloody rubbish at times, the closer you got to the millennium the worse they got and when they moved to Gloucester quality took a huge nosedive

Barrie

[pianotechman]

Spot on Barrie, Roger Wilson[the CEO] at the time was all for it, and it was a disaster, leading to the total collapse of the company in about 2002. Fortunately I'd long gone by the end.