Piano upgrade time

NobodySock

@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?

Axtremus

You may be able to get an European piano cheaper in Europe. No trans-Atlantic shipping, no Trump tariff.

NobodySock

@Axtremus awwww, now you're talking!

NobodySock

@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?

NobodySock

Oh, and what happened with Petrof over these last 20 years? They are now Tier 1 priced pianos! What happened?

Klaus

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, Steingräber, C. Bechstein and every other decent brand I could get my hands on.

LuFins Dad

The S6X is “meh”. You need to find an S7X to try… And a CF6. And a Bosie 214VC. You’re not going to find a new B for under $140K but might find a 5 year old piano.

Mik

There is so damn much variation on the B's. I played one that was the best piano I ever touched. It was magical, made me better, but it had been prepped for a concert artist. The rest of them have mostly been varying shades of unpleasant and erratic.

kluurs

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.

blondie

I bought a Sauter Delta (6’something) ~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 7’ 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 don’t know what Sauters cost now.

Copper

You can find lots of MSRPs here. I have no idea if they are accurate.

https://pianopricepoint.com/

blondie

Holy guacamole. Prices have really gone up for new pianos.

LuFins Dad

@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 couldn’t replace the strings for $5K

blondie

Can a person buy a new NY Steinway in Italy?

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

I checked that site. Seilers are made in Indonesia?

Copper

@George-K said in Piano upgrade time:

Seilers are made in Indonesia?

The SE278 says Germany - $340,636

Some others say Indonesia, I didn't look at all.

LuFins Dad

@George-K said in Piano upgrade time:

I checked that site. Seilers are made in Indonesia?

There’s the German limited production instruments (150 or so pianos per year), there’s the CNC production models using the German parts (Eduard Series, rated slightly above Yamaha CX and Kawai GX series) and there’s the Johannes Seilers… Indonesian built through and through. Roughly equivalent to the Prambergers and Knabes.