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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. Piano shopping...

Piano shopping...

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  • KlausK Klaus

    OK, I've now boiled it down to two pianos.

    It's either going to be a 2009 Bechstein Classic 124, or a 2012 Grotrian Classic 124.

    I like the sound of the Grotrian a little better - it has a cleaner more delicate tone - but the Bechstein would be significantly cheaper, and it's also a killer piano. My brain says Bechstein but my gut says Grotrian.

    This has been an interesting piano search, with some surprises:

    • I tried two August Förster pianos, which are often described as a kind of hidden gem. They were a total disappointment to me. These weren't obsessively bad pianos, but nothing special either.

    • Steingräber pianos are really nice, but I don't understand why they charge significantly more than other premium makers.

    • The lower-prized Bechstein pianos ("Academy") are nice pianos, but not nearly in the same league as the "full" Bechstein line. Their second line, Hoffmann, is nice, but not necessarily better than a good Yamaha, for instance.

    • Biggest surprise: Petrof. I remember trying a couple of Petrofs a decade ago, and I wasn't impressed at all. Very unrefined sound and feel. But the Petrof 131 I tried today was phenomenal at that prize point. It's not the kind of sound I was looking for, but for less than 15K or so you get a quality that isn't quite at the same level but amazingly close to the likes of the big Bösendorfer or Bechstein uprights, which are in the 40K region. A real powerhouse.

    • Yamaha's upright range doesn't have anything that even remotely plays in the same league as Grotrian/Bechstein/Bösendorfer.

    • I stumbled upon a couple of Ibachs. I can now see why they went bankrupt.

    AxtremusA Offline
    AxtremusA Offline
    Axtremus
    wrote on last edited by
    #10

    @klaus said in Piano shopping...:

    OK, I've now boiled it down to two pianos.

    It's either going to be a 2009 Bechstein Classic 124, or a 2012 Grotrian Classic 124.

    I like the sound of the Grotrian a little better - it has a cleaner more delicate tone - but the Bechstein would be significantly cheaper, and it's also a killer piano. My brain says Bechstein but my gut says Grotrian.

    I suspect affordability is not really an issue for you in this case, so go with your gut. Your brain is smart enough to amortize the price difference over the N number of years you expect to hear the piano and come up with a "it's only x Euro per day" argument to rationalize the gut's choice. 🙂

    1 Reply Last reply
    • jon-nycJ Offline
      jon-nycJ Offline
      jon-nyc
      wrote on last edited by
      #11

      Interesting takes, Klaus.

      I’m with Ax on this.

      Only non-witches get due process.

      • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
      1 Reply Last reply
      • KlausK Offline
        KlausK Offline
        Klaus
        wrote on last edited by Klaus
        #12

        It's about a 4K prize difference between the Bechstein and the Grotrian. I've managed to rationalize about half of that prize difference with considerations that are still somewhat rational (age of the instruments, amount of required prep work, differences in list prize when new etc.). For the remaining 2K, I'd have to resort Orwellian self-deception measures. I'll read the "How many fingers am I holding up" scene again for some inspiration.

        1 Reply Last reply
        • MikM Offline
          MikM Offline
          Mik
          wrote on last edited by
          #13

          For 2K get the one that speaks to you.

          “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

          markM 1 Reply Last reply
          • MikM Mik

            For 2K get the one that speaks to you.

            markM Offline
            markM Offline
            mark
            wrote on last edited by
            #14

            @mik said in Piano shopping...:

            For 2K get the one that speaks to you.

            I agree.

            1 Reply Last reply
            • KlausK Offline
              KlausK Offline
              Klaus
              wrote on last edited by
              #15

              OK, the dealer managed to bridge another 1K of the gap, and I pulled the trigger.

              This is the baby.

              327937a5-e4de-4813-bc35-3b237f4d0bf1-image.png

              LuFins DadL F 2 Replies Last reply
              • AxtremusA Offline
                AxtremusA Offline
                Axtremus
                wrote on last edited by
                #16

                Next, you are expected to post piano moving videos and your performance recorded with that piano. Congratulations! 🙂

                1 Reply Last reply
                • MikM Offline
                  MikM Offline
                  Mik
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #17

                  Beautiful. Enjoy!!!

                  “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • KlausK Klaus

                    OK, the dealer managed to bridge another 1K of the gap, and I pulled the trigger.

                    This is the baby.

                    327937a5-e4de-4813-bc35-3b237f4d0bf1-image.png

                    LuFins DadL Offline
                    LuFins DadL Offline
                    LuFins Dad
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #18

                    @klaus said in Piano shopping...:

                    OK, the dealer managed to bridge another 1K of the gap, and I pulled the trigger.

                    This is the baby.

                    327937a5-e4de-4813-bc35-3b237f4d0bf1-image.png

                    Nice!

                    The Brad

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • markM Offline
                      markM Offline
                      mark
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #19

                      Beautiful! Congratulations.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • George KG Offline
                        George KG Offline
                        George K
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #20

                        Very nice, @Klaus !

                        "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                        The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • JollyJ Offline
                          JollyJ Offline
                          Jolly
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #21

                          Congrats!

                          “Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”

                          Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • KlausK Offline
                            KlausK Offline
                            Klaus
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #22

                            Thanks! I'm not sure whether congratulations are appropriate, but I figured that life is too short for suboptimal pianos 🙂

                            My family will regret this. They'll soon have to endure more of my strumming it in the living room.

                            brendaB 1 Reply Last reply
                            • kluursK Offline
                              kluursK Offline
                              kluurs
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #23

                              Can't wait to hear that. Now, if you only dedicated as much attention on that piano as you do for the kazoo...

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • HoraceH Offline
                                HoraceH Offline
                                Horace
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #24

                                Beautiful piano, Klaus.

                                Education is extremely important.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • jon-nycJ Offline
                                  jon-nycJ Offline
                                  jon-nyc
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #25

                                  Very nice.

                                  Only non-witches get due process.

                                  • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • KlausK Offline
                                    KlausK Offline
                                    Klaus
                                    wrote on last edited by Klaus
                                    #26

                                    I find it interesting that, if you look at the Grotrian website, depending on whether one chooses the English language option or not, the decal changes.

                                    0a11f71b-f3d3-4f9d-9ba2-1b24e1de4338-image.png

                                    4b74a31b-3aa5-4f1e-96a3-5a7880e655c1-image.png

                                    I personally prefer the "Grotrian-Steinweg" decal.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • kluursK Offline
                                      kluursK Offline
                                      kluurs
                                      wrote on last edited by kluurs
                                      #27

                                      I believe that Steinway had issues with Grotrian-Stenweg back in the day, alleging that Steinweg was an attempt to confuse the US audience into thinking they were getting a German Steinway. As I understood it, as a result of a settlement, Grotrian agreed to not use the Steinweg name in North America. At least that's the story I was told. Larry or one of our other pros would know if that's true.

                                      KlausK LarryL 2 Replies Last reply
                                      • kluursK kluurs

                                        I believe that Steinway had issues with Grotrian-Stenweg back in the day, alleging that Steinweg was an attempt to confuse the US audience into thinking they were getting a German Steinway. As I understood it, as a result of a settlement, Grotrian agreed to not use the Steinweg name in North America. At least that's the story I was told. Larry or one of our other pros would know if that's true.

                                        KlausK Offline
                                        KlausK Offline
                                        Klaus
                                        wrote on last edited by Klaus
                                        #28

                                        @kluurs I think you are correct. In my opinion, they are justified in using the Steinweg name. Henry Steinweg co-founded the brand (before founding Steinway) and the naming rights were properly transferred and maintained.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • taiwan_girlT Offline
                                          taiwan_girlT Offline
                                          taiwan_girl
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #29

                                          That is awesome @klaus. Hope you have many hours of happy playing!

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