Piano upgrade time
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Yeah, "good" is pretty subjective with pianos. All of them you are considering are fine instruments. Might I ask if you are moving to Italy, why not buy there rather than shipping from CA?
@Mik In all my editing of this post, i accidentally deleted that notion Mik. Yes, in the end, I will most likely purchase the piano in mainland Italy , Rome or Naples. Plenty of vendors over there and I have a local FB friend who is in the biz who wants to help me find it. Especially since I'm not shopping for a cheap one. O sole mio if I could talk a Fazioli down to reasonable range! Of all my internet listening, as unreliable as it is, Fazioli's and Bechsteins sound best to me. Of course they are the 2 most exprensive brands for a reason I suppose.
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Good luck with the crawl!
May it be the S6X or the B, you are shopping at a level where it's truly a matter of preference rather than whether one is "good."
Since it's SoCal, maybe you can find a brand new but slightly charred 7-footer well within budget.
@Axtremus yes, I am hoping pianos are more negotiable in an area that has much competition. But like I said in response to Mik's question, I think it prudent in the end to purchase in mainland Italy. and avoid transportation costs for 1000 pound pianos
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I was in a very similar situation a few years ago, with similar size and budget considerations.
I played every grand piano I could get my hands on. My final short list was the Bösendorfer 214VC, Steinway B, Fazioli F212, Shigeru Kawai SK6, and Yamaha CF6. There are things I liked best about every one of them, but to me the Yamaha was the best of the bunch and I ended up buying it. Second best was the Fazioli. The Shigeru Kawai is the best if you consider "bang for the buck".
@Klaus Very Interesting! Yes, the Yamaha has gone through some changes in the last 20 years for sure. No longer the bright boy I was used to. Not to say a bright piano doesn't have its place. There is a reason people like Elton John, Chick Correa, John Legend, Alicia Keys, etc. play them in concert. They cut through the mix better than pianos made for classical music. But again, the Yamaha sounded like a different brand on the 1 I tried. The seller had made the bold statement that he was at the last NAMM and there was a S6X sitting next to a Steinway D, and he said the Yamaha blew the D out of the water. Of course the guy is a guitar player so I was a bit wary of his statement. It was soon proven to me at least that very day that the S6X is not the B killer he proclaimed. Yes, I know each piano brings unique details of voicing/reg/placment/etc. I will be giving Yamaha another chance as I crawl around, since they are ubiquitous in America. So Klaus, what did the CF Yamaha give you that the SX's didn't, besides the higher price?
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You may be able to get an European piano cheaper in Europe. No trans-Atlantic shipping, no Trump tariff.
@Axtremus awwww, now you're talking!
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I was in a very similar situation a few years ago, with similar size and budget considerations.
I played every grand piano I could get my hands on. My final short list was the Bösendorfer 214VC, Steinway B, Fazioli F212, Shigeru Kawai SK6, and Yamaha CF6. There are things I liked best about every one of them, but to me the Yamaha was the best of the bunch and I ended up buying it. Second best was the Fazioli. The Shigeru Kawai is the best if you consider "bang for the buck".
@Klaus said in Piano upgrade time:
I was in a very similar situation a few years ago, with similar size and budget considerations.
I played every grand piano I could get my hands on. My final short list was the Bösendorfer 214VC, Steinway B, Fazioli F212, Shigeru Kawai SK6, and Yamaha CF6. There are things I liked best about every one of them, but to me the Yamaha was the best of the bunch and I ended up buying it. Second best was the Fazioli. The Shigeru Kawai is the best if you consider "bang for the buck".
Even more interesting that the Yamaha won you over the top brands in the world! I need to try the CF's I guess. It's just that the guy was stark raving gaga over these SX's. Not quite sure of the main differences between the two lines , I heard same parts for the most part, but maybe the CF gets built by the veterans and gets a little more attention to detail?? A Bosie and Fazioli lose to a Yamaha. Who woulda figured? No testdrives on any Estonias in your search?
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Oh, and what happened with Petrof over these last 20 years? They are now Tier 1 priced pianos! What happened?
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I played a SX6 but I thought there was a huge difference between the SX6 and the CF6.
Estonias are not well represented in the market over here. I also tried Grotrian, August Förster, SteingrÀber, C. Bechstein and every other decent brand I could get my hands on.
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The S6X is âmehâ. You need to find an S7X to try⊠And a CF6. And a Bosie 214VC. Youâre not going to find a new B for under $140K but might find a 5 year old piano.
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I envy you the journey. Please do keep us along for the journey. Your Steinway B - would most likely be a Hamburg instrument - so a bit different than the US version. I'm not as big a fan of new Bechsteins or Bluthners. While I appreciate Faziolis, I've not fallen in love with any.
I have a B that was a custom rebuild that I got to check in on while it was being rebuilt. I also keepa digital with Pianoteq - and have access to a number of digital instruments. I've mostly been using the Bosendorfer 280VC as of late - works well with the music I'm working on.
I don't know that I'll ever be in the market for another acoustic instrument though I came close to looking at a Baldwin SD10 that I could have had for an incredible price last year. It was a rebuilt instrument - and supposedly in great shape - and less than $5k. I didn't want to try it - lest I think wrong thoughts. One of my favorite piano moments was playing an SD10 a few decades ago. It was delightful.
As for your journey - that $100k limit may be the challenge - but I hope you find your dream piano.
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I bought a Sauter Delta (6âsomething) ~2006. The Sauter Omega is the size up. I really liked mine but I was no pianist, just a grade 8/9 RCM student. In 2016 I consigned it, shipped it & it sold in a month to a jazz performer?/producer? I lost $0 on the sale of that piano. Norbert of PW used to tell me the 7â Omega Sauters were best pianos he sold. He really liked the sound of them, everything about them. I did too ⊠he drove me to a few client houses in Vancouver with Omegas to try out and to listen to. My piano tech told me that my Delta was 1 of 2 of his favourite pianos (the other being a German Steinway). I remember Mr Sauter came to my home to and played mine once. It sounded beautiful hearing someone play my piano in my own home. I donât know what Sauters cost now.
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You can find lots of MSRPs here. I have no idea if they are accurate.
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I envy you the journey. Please do keep us along for the journey. Your Steinway B - would most likely be a Hamburg instrument - so a bit different than the US version. I'm not as big a fan of new Bechsteins or Bluthners. While I appreciate Faziolis, I've not fallen in love with any.
I have a B that was a custom rebuild that I got to check in on while it was being rebuilt. I also keepa digital with Pianoteq - and have access to a number of digital instruments. I've mostly been using the Bosendorfer 280VC as of late - works well with the music I'm working on.
I don't know that I'll ever be in the market for another acoustic instrument though I came close to looking at a Baldwin SD10 that I could have had for an incredible price last year. It was a rebuilt instrument - and supposedly in great shape - and less than $5k. I didn't want to try it - lest I think wrong thoughts. One of my favorite piano moments was playing an SD10 a few decades ago. It was delightful.
As for your journey - that $100k limit may be the challenge - but I hope you find your dream piano.
@kluurs said in Piano upgrade time:
I envy you the journey. Please do keep us along for the journey. Your Steinway B - would most likely be a Hamburg instrument - so a bit different than the US version. I'm not as big a fan of new Bechsteins or Bluthners. While I appreciate Faziolis, I've not fallen in love with any.
I have a B that was a custom rebuild that I got to check in on while it was being rebuilt. I also keepa digital with Pianoteq - and have access to a number of digital instruments. I've mostly been using the Bosendorfer 280VC as of late - works well with the music I'm working on.
I don't know that I'll ever be in the market for another acoustic instrument though I came close to looking at a Baldwin SD10 that I could have had for an incredible price last year. It was a rebuilt instrument - and supposedly in great shape - and less than $5k. I didn't want to try it - lest I think wrong thoughts. One of my favorite piano moments was playing an SD10 a few decades ago. It was delightful.
As for your journey - that $100k limit may be the challenge - but I hope you find your dream piano.
A fully rebuilt SD10 for $5K? You couldnât replace the strings for $5K
The Brad
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I checked that site. Seilers are made in Indonesia?
"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.
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@George-K said in Piano upgrade time:
I checked that site. Seilers are made in Indonesia?
Thereâs the German limited production instruments (150 or so pianos per year), thereâs the CNC production models using the German parts (Eduard Series, rated slightly above Yamaha CX and Kawai GX series) and thereâs the Johannes Seilers⊠Indonesian built through and through. Roughly equivalent to the Prambergers and Knabes.
