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The New Coffee Room

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

Piano shopping...

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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    SD Tav
    wrote on last edited by
    #35

    Very nice piano Klaus! I've hardly played any Euro uprights since dealers here have a harder time selling them compared to Yamahas and Kawais. I have played Schimmels which are just OK. In which city are Grotrian's produced?

    KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
    • S SD Tav

      Very nice piano Klaus! I've hardly played any Euro uprights since dealers here have a harder time selling them compared to Yamahas and Kawais. I have played Schimmels which are just OK. In which city are Grotrian's produced?

      KlausK Offline
      KlausK Offline
      Klaus
      wrote on last edited by
      #36

      @sd-tav said in Piano shopping...:

      Very nice piano Klaus! I've hardly played any Euro uprights since dealers here have a harder time selling them compared to Yamahas and Kawais. I have played Schimmels which are just OK. In which city are Grotrian's produced?

      Schimmel has two different lines of upright pianos. The cheaper line is "just OK", as you say. The "Konzert" line is significantly better. Not on the same level as Bechstein/Grotrian/Bösendorfer, but really nice.

      Grotrian's are produced in Braunschweig in Lower Saxony.

      S 1 Reply Last reply
      • KlausK Klaus

        @sd-tav said in Piano shopping...:

        Very nice piano Klaus! I've hardly played any Euro uprights since dealers here have a harder time selling them compared to Yamahas and Kawais. I have played Schimmels which are just OK. In which city are Grotrian's produced?

        Schimmel has two different lines of upright pianos. The cheaper line is "just OK", as you say. The "Konzert" line is significantly better. Not on the same level as Bechstein/Grotrian/Bösendorfer, but really nice.

        Grotrian's are produced in Braunschweig in Lower Saxony.

        S Offline
        S Offline
        SD Tav
        wrote on last edited by
        #37

        @klaus I must have played the older type Schimmel upright. My reaction to a Konzert grand that I played a few years ago was very positive. I really liked it. Older models not so much.

        1 Reply Last reply
        • KlausK Offline
          KlausK Offline
          Klaus
          wrote on last edited by
          #38

          Here's an interesting shopping experience:

          When I tried the Grotrian, I liked it a lot initially, but I was irritated by a range of about 2 octaves in the treble. They sounded too subdued and lacked brilliance. I told the sales person (who turned out to be the owner) that I was in love with everything but these 2 octaves. He also tested the piano and agreed with me. He asked me whether I have 30min of time. He took his box of tools and began working on the hammers. First, he made a few tries with a single hammer and asked me a couple of times whether it already has the tone I'm looking for. When I agreed, he worked on all the other hammers and voiced them in the same way. When he finished and I could play again, I knew : This is it.

          That's the difference between a sales weasel and a proper piano technician.

          LuFins DadL 2 Replies Last reply
          • jon-nycJ Offline
            jon-nycJ Offline
            jon-nyc
            wrote on last edited by
            #39

            That's great.

            Only non-witches get due process.

            • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
            1 Reply Last reply
            • MikM Mik

              No answer. Must be banging away.

              F Offline
              F Offline
              Friday
              wrote on last edited by
              #40

              @mik said in Piano shopping...:

              No answer. Must be banging away.

              😆

              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

                F Offline
                F Offline
                Friday
                wrote on last edited by
                #41

                @klaus

                Happy piano Klaus!
                (haven't said that here in a long time)

                1 Reply Last reply
                • KlausK Klaus

                  Here's an interesting shopping experience:

                  When I tried the Grotrian, I liked it a lot initially, but I was irritated by a range of about 2 octaves in the treble. They sounded too subdued and lacked brilliance. I told the sales person (who turned out to be the owner) that I was in love with everything but these 2 octaves. He also tested the piano and agreed with me. He asked me whether I have 30min of time. He took his box of tools and began working on the hammers. First, he made a few tries with a single hammer and asked me a couple of times whether it already has the tone I'm looking for. When I agreed, he worked on all the other hammers and voiced them in the same way. When he finished and I could play again, I knew : This is it.

                  That's the difference between a sales weasel and a proper piano technician.

                  LuFins DadL Offline
                  LuFins DadL Offline
                  LuFins Dad
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #42

                  @klaus said in Piano shopping...:

                  Here's an interesting shopping experience:

                  When I tried the Grotrian, I liked it a lot initially, but I was irritated by a range of about 2 octaves in the treble. They sounded too subdued and lacked brilliance. I told the sales person (who turned out to be the owner) that I was in love with everything but these 2 octaves. He also tested the piano and agreed with me. He asked me whether I have 30min of time. He took his box of tools and began working on the hammers. First, he made a few tries with a single hammer and asked me a couple of times whether it already has the tone I'm looking for. When I agreed, he worked on all the other hammers and voiced them in the same way. When he finished and I could play again, I knew : This is it.

                  That's the difference between a sales weasel and a proper piano technician.

                  Nice..

                  The Brad

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • KlausK Klaus

                    Here's an interesting shopping experience:

                    When I tried the Grotrian, I liked it a lot initially, but I was irritated by a range of about 2 octaves in the treble. They sounded too subdued and lacked brilliance. I told the sales person (who turned out to be the owner) that I was in love with everything but these 2 octaves. He also tested the piano and agreed with me. He asked me whether I have 30min of time. He took his box of tools and began working on the hammers. First, he made a few tries with a single hammer and asked me a couple of times whether it already has the tone I'm looking for. When I agreed, he worked on all the other hammers and voiced them in the same way. When he finished and I could play again, I knew : This is it.

                    That's the difference between a sales weasel and a proper piano technician.

                    LuFins DadL Offline
                    LuFins DadL Offline
                    LuFins Dad
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #43

                    @klaus said in Piano shopping...:

                    Here's an interesting shopping experience:

                    When I tried the Grotrian, I liked it a lot initially, but I was irritated by a range of about 2 octaves in the treble. They sounded too subdued and lacked brilliance. I told the sales person (who turned out to be the owner) that I was in love with everything but these 2 octaves. He also tested the piano and agreed with me. He asked me whether I have 30min of time. He took his box of tools and began working on the hammers. First, he made a few tries with a single hammer and asked me a couple of times whether it already has the tone I'm looking for. When I agreed, he worked on all the other hammers and voiced them in the same way. When he finished and I could play again, I knew : This is it.

                    That's the difference between a sales weasel and a proper piano technician.

                    Buuuut, if he was a musician or an instructor he would have reminded you that every time you practiced on an upright you were damaging your technic as the action would require you to overcompensate for the single escapement which blows your repetition AND your dynamic control, and that you would be better off with a Sejung or Dongbei 4’8” grand than the world’s best upright in terms of the touch, which ultimately drives your progress…

                    Sorry, went sales weasel on you!

                    The Brad

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • KlausK Offline
                      KlausK Offline
                      Klaus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #44

                      🙂

                      If one has the space, there is the consideration to get a grand piano instead, of course. Say, a Yamaha C2X, which is in the same price range. It would have a bigger sound and all the advantages of a grand piano, but it wouldn't sound as clean and delicate.

                      LuFins DadL 1 Reply Last reply
                      • KlausK Klaus

                        🙂

                        If one has the space, there is the consideration to get a grand piano instead, of course. Say, a Yamaha C2X, which is in the same price range. It would have a bigger sound and all the advantages of a grand piano, but it wouldn't sound as clean and delicate.

                        LuFins DadL Offline
                        LuFins DadL Offline
                        LuFins Dad
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #45

                        @klaus said in Piano shopping...:

                        🙂

                        If one has the space, there is the consideration to get a grand piano instead, of course. Say, a Yamaha C2X, which is in the same price range. It would have a bigger sound and all the advantages of a grand piano, but it wouldn't sound as clean and delicate.

                        The balance is tone vs. touch. Kluurs (I think) touched on the trouble the higher end European pianos have against Yamaha and Kawai in the US, but I don’t think that’s quite accurate. I think their problem is competing against the Yamaha and Kawai baby grands…

                        Heck, I bet Yamaha sold more of their N3X Avant Grand hybrifld piano than all of the Schimmel, Grotrisn, Bechstein, et al uprights combined..,

                        The Brad

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • KlausK Offline
                          KlausK Offline
                          Klaus
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #46

                          Over here, German high end uprights are pretty common, whereas baby grands don’t get much love. You can buy them, of course, but my impression is that these pianos are bought by people who want a piece of furniture and not a musical instrument.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • kluursK Offline
                            kluursK Offline
                            kluurs
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #47

                            What about the hybrid instruments like the Yamaha N1X which has a conventional Yamaha action in a cabinet not too different from a studio upright? I came close to buying one this year - with the thought that I could use the headphone capabilities. It's also nice having an instrument that never goes out of tune.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • KlausK Offline
                              KlausK Offline
                              Klaus
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #48

                              It’s true, but for me personally even the best digital pianos don’t come close to the experience of an acoustic one.

                              If I would have use for a silent mode I’d have bought an acoustic piano with silent system.

                              Luckily we live in a house where I can use an acoustic piano basically 24/7.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • KlausK Offline
                                KlausK Offline
                                Klaus
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #49

                                Finally it arrived.

                                A first attempt at banging the shit out of it. The non-butchered version of it is Schumann's "Aufschwung".

                                https://drive.google.com/file/d/104VVFdK-CF34NNm71cDWDElW89vojctO/view?usp=sharing

                                markM 1 Reply Last reply
                                • KlausK Klaus

                                  Finally it arrived.

                                  A first attempt at banging the shit out of it. The non-butchered version of it is Schumann's "Aufschwung".

                                  https://drive.google.com/file/d/104VVFdK-CF34NNm71cDWDElW89vojctO/view?usp=sharing

                                  markM Offline
                                  markM Offline
                                  mark
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #50

                                  @klaus said in Piano shopping...:

                                  Finally it arrived.

                                  A first attempt at banging the shit out of it. The non-butchered version of it is Schumann's "Aufschwung".

                                  https://drive.google.com/file/d/104VVFdK-CF34NNm71cDWDElW89vojctO/view?usp=sharing

                                  👏 👏 👏

                                  Sounds great!

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • kluursK Offline
                                    kluursK Offline
                                    kluurs
                                    wrote on last edited by kluurs
                                    #51

                                    Nice! I've always liked Fantasiestücke though I've not learned all of the pieces. I have arthritis in my thumbs, and Schumann seems to beat them up more than most other composers.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • taiwan_girlT Offline
                                      taiwan_girlT Offline
                                      taiwan_girl
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #52

                                      Wow!! That is really good!!!!!!

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • jon-nycJ Offline
                                        jon-nycJ Offline
                                        jon-nyc
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #53

                                        Very nice!

                                        Only non-witches get due process.

                                        • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                                        George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                                        • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                                          Very nice!

                                          George KG Offline
                                          George KG Offline
                                          George K
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #54

                                          @jon-nyc said in Piano shopping...:

                                          Very nice!

                                          Indeed!

                                          "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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