Posted on 11/17/2011 8:51:59 PM PST by freespirited
Edited on 11/18/2011 9:51:41 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
I am saving for a Fazioli. Now there boys and girls is a PIANO! Entry $86,000 or you can get the Sequoia Burr wood with mother of pearl and precious stones for $409,000. Thank God this school didn't think precious stones and pearls were a requirement for their black brothers and sisters.
Decent electronic makes have support from their manufacturers for decades. I know because I just sold a 20 year old Roland HP2700 and it sounded and played like new, though the case had some wear and tear. In that time, I spent maybe $300 for maintenance parts, some of which were improvements over the originals.
Steinway is the best piano ever built. Good investment. Aspiring musicians will want to buy one for themselves. :)
Some of the best piano recording I’ve ever heard was by Turiasound in the sixties. It was from a Baldwin.
Well, in that case they got ripped off.
Those pianos are not worth rebuilding. They last maybe 10 years then you have to throw them in the fireplace.
No doubt they are a good investment. As to whether Steinway is the best piano ever made...my understanding is that there is a sincere difference of opinion. For some, Steinway is the only piano they would ever want. For others...a Steinway is what they play until they can afford to trade up to a Bosendorfer.
A noted musician? That's a bad pun and a gross exaggeration. Marty Owe'Malley is a carpet-bagger politician who just happens to have or have had a band (O'Malley's March - they play Irish music). His musicianship is at best mediocre. He's a noted musician like ØbaMao is a noted "constitutional scholar".
If Marty ever decides to leave politics (HA!), he better not count on being a "noted musician" for a day job!
I'm a disgruntled resident of Maryland - as well as a multi-instrumental musician, vocalist and luthier - and I am counting the days 'til I can call another state home! Bugger off Owe'Malley!
Yeah, Young Chang by Steinway or some such thing.
You might get a good piano by chance out of a Chinese factory, but there are so many variables.
Personally I almost wish I could find another upright Huntington (Shelton, Connecticut around the turn of the century). I learned on one of those puppies until it had suffered enough basement floods that it literally fell apart. But I’ve been too spoiled by the sustain pedal of conventional grands since. It really does make great effects, holding massive chords while doodling around in the upper register, possible.
But ya know having to choose is a good place to be. :-). Let me be there.
Baldwin. Made in the USA.
One of the most amazing intstruments I ever had the pleasure of working on was a Muhlbach piano made in Saint Petersberg Russia (before the commies took over). It was a 5'2" baby grand that had a really really powerful sound. It was just amazing. We couldn't figure out how they did it. It sounded like a Steinway B and was a foot shorter. It had a really cool action that made regulating it a 10-15 minute operation.
The best designed piano ever made IMHO was the pre-depression Mason and Hamlin B.
It’s not THEIR money, after all. WHAT DO THEY CARE?
With my tin ear, I probably couldn’t tell the difference.
Glenn Gould preferred Yamaha. He’s not going to get any arguments from me.
That is why most top end recording studios have Steinways (or Yamahas). The soft European sound is nice for your living room but it doesn't record well. Steinway is a bit harsh in the middle registers but that it what makes it record so well. In a small room setting it can be a bit grating. If I wanted to just have a piano for casual playing, I think I might prefer the European sound. Kawaii is built on a European stringing scale. It has a softer and more bell like quality. Yamaha uses a similar scale to Steinway.
Be still my heart. :)
I had my guy voice it with a bit more brightness and it is a great compromise.
Love your information. I have a large room and high ceilings and it just occurred to me this is partially why that brightness works so well. The acoustics are excellent.
I know.... :-)
If I sound a bit nuts for Roland, it’s because I’ve had great experiences with them, ever since they stepped into the truly realistic piano emulation world around 1990 with their “ASA” simulation. The early Rolands from that era were built like tanks too, and it showed in the sound quality from the cabinets. The patents from that time have expired, and still I don’t hear the equal from Yamaha, and some of the other digitals out there frankly sound like dirt. In the meantime Roland finally figured out a more durable design for their little bitty buttons (that had little plastic legs inside that broke after about a thousand operations or so). Also they figured out that they should filter the make-up air that goes into the otherwise clever velocity sensing switches, because a bit of dust will delay the first contact and BAM! it sounds like you hit the key with a hammer.
Wow. What a fantastic experience. Also what a wonderful knowledge base you have of the piano and clearly a love as well.
I’ve always loved the middle register on the Kawaii. It has a sweet quality that is very pleasing to the ear. Steinways are built to be heard in the back row of a concert hall. Kawaii’s are built to sound really good in a smaller room setting. IIRC the total string tension on a Kawaii is several thousand pounds less than Yamaha or Steinway.
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