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Hi all!

I am hunting for my first piano and have really liked the sound of pianos that I don't think are the first choice of jazz and pop artists (my favorite music, and that which I hope to play most). I am curious what you think about this. I have liked the Boston 126, Charles Walter 1500, a Petrof 125 (?) and have thought Kawai k3 would work ok too. I think these are all considered warmer, which I like, but I am concerned that they might not have the clarity I'll want eventually. I am looking to buy a piano that I don't deserve now as a total newbie, but that I won't want to sell for 5 or 10 years.

I love piano rock and jazz. Should I be looking for a Baldwin dealer? I don't like Yamaha (tooo bright for me, though I know Jazz pianists generally love them) but I am afraid that what sounds right to me now as a novice might NOT sound right after practicing 'Bennie and the Jets' for a year.

I was a ballerina in my high school days, and my dad was a piano tuner, so I suspect that I have been listening to pianos that are suited to classical music for most of my life, which might lead me away from the perfect match for me now that I am a frustrated rocker . I am looking seriously at the Walter, so I could also hunt down nice Baldwin upright in this pricepoint, but haven't bothered since I thought my taste was leading me away from that. But I thought I would ask you all before I stop the hunt!

I would love to hear your thoughts! What do you play? Do you play jazz on a 'european' piano? Hope you don't mind me posting this here, the 'jazz on a Walter/Boston etc' question wasn't getting much action on my otherwise very helpful 'help me buy my first piano ' thread.

Thanks in advance!

Liza

You can play jazz and rock on any piano. If you've never
played a note before, there are some things you should be
aware of about acoustic pianos, that might not be apparent
when you're trying them in a showroom and being subjected
to a sales pitch. They weigh a ton. You'll
need movers just to get one into, or out of, your house.
(There's a harsh fact life with the piano: the dropout
rate is high. Try selling an item that the buyers
are going to need to hire movers just to get it home.)
They are loud, capable of being heard a block away.
If you live in an apt., condo, or townhouse, this
all but rules out an acoustic piano. Most new uprights
today have a silencing pedal that shifts a piece of
felt over the strings, but playing in that mode is
unsatisfying--and what's the point anyway of buying an
acoustic piano if you can't play it normally?
They need to be tuned at least twice yr., at ~$90-$150
per tuning. Repairs for sticking keys and buzzing
strings are common.

If you want to only play jazz/rock, that's going to complicate
matters, because almost all piano teachers are classical
teachers. There are a few non-classical teachers, but
they typically expect you to have taken some classical
piano, that is, they aren't going to be too keen on
teaching beginning piano to a student.

I would generally recommend that an adult student get
a digital piano. These offer many advantages
over an acoustic piano: volume control, light weight,
instant record and playback, durability and reliability,
freedom from tuning and maintenance. You'd need to spend
around $3000 to get a decent new upright, but $3000
will get you a digital that will play like a concert
grand and knock your socks off.

Thank you for your thoughts! I must admit, I have ruled them out, due only to an affinity for things made of wood and things that feel 'real'. I sort of avoid plastic/electronics/metal in my life (with the exception of my laptop!) This by no means means to disparage the digital piano, I am just much more excited by the acoustics. Clearly though, it's the more practical choice! I just don't think it's for us.

We won't mind having a piano. We have a big old house and a musical family, so even if I quit (which is unlikely but possible! I am tenacious more than anything else) pretty much everyone else in our family plays and we often hire pianists for parties at other family members homes- which is a tradition we would like to continue at our house. Also, my husband is returning to playing, so it's not likely to become a dust catcher. I also have a teacher lined up who is fine with my lowbrow taste

So anyway, we are excited to get a piano, and my biggest fear is just that we will get one that isn't just right. The huge/ heavy/PITA to move and sell factor is just encouraging me to get something that will serve us well for a long time since I know getting rid of it and buying another would be painful. Any opinion on the acoustics uprights? Or perhaps you are a die hard digital aficionado?

Liza

Gyro, I'm sure you're trying to be helpful, but this comment is kind of insulting to the OP's intelligence. Have you ever honestly, truly met someone of average mental ability who thought they could toss an acoustic piano in the trunk of their car and drive home with it?

Well, this past May I enjoyed "Bennie..." played on a Yamaha, in the 80's he normally played it live on a Steinway and I'm not positive but I think the record was origionally recorded playing a Bosendorfer. Whatever you choose should work fine, the song appears to be quite flexible!

Unfortuneately, I don't have enough experience playing pianos besides my own to really have any definate opinions about the different brands.

You can actually get playable uprights for free in
many areas. Thrift stores are also a good place
to shop, because they often get good used uprights
as donations and then sell them for a couple of hundred
dollars.

I have long experience with pianos, and I don't
see much difference between them. You can
learn piano literally on anything with keys.
For example, because the striking bars on a
xylophone are laid out the same as the keys on
a piano, a good xylophonist, who has never played
any instrument but the xylophone, can sit down
at the piano and play it without instruction.

I've had a top-quality acoustic upright piano in
storage for many years--a similar model today would
be in the ~$20,000 price range--but I play a
$600 digital piano, because it's more practical.
And frankly I think it's a better instrument overall.

Well, I see I was right about that you are an ardent fan! Gotta admit, it's not what we'll buy, though I agree that yours is the more logical choice. Having grown up with a piano tuner (who is no longer in my life, or I would ask him!) I do have a taste for the acoustic, which I can hear the differences in and which I am sure I will only continue to refine my appreciation of.

Glad to hear not all of us have to go through the trouble of loving these big beasts! Unfortunately, I think I'm stuck just plain loving acoustics.

So, what do you all play your Billy Joel on?

Roland FP4 is ideal for jazz. PM me for the secret EQ that makes it really sound like the real thing. It can be had for $1100

Classical wooden piano is irreplacabe. I have one laid (austrian franz oeser cca 1930) at my parents home (the first piano I ever played) and one upstraight (russian tschaikowski, cca 1965) at my appartment. I also have one Roland RP101 digital brand new.

And I play those classical pianos all the time. I bougt RP101 just in case I feel like playing at 2AM in the morning. Than I play with my earphones while everyone is sleeping, that is the only advantage of digital.

But the feel is completely on the classical piano. Irreplacable instrument.

besides, since you asked what is best piano for jazz sound. I dont know. But if you want a real blues feel, go for the oldest you can get. That 1930 Franz Oeser sounds really good when playing blues. Remember blues was invented on crap pianos. Pianos that were in humid and weren't properly maintained

My suggestions: Purchase what sounds and feels right to you now. Each of the pianos you have mentioned are good quality instruments. Sit and play them, and if they feel right and sound good to you, go for it. Other than getting a piano that is built well, touch and sound are very personal, and no one can really guide you. Just take your time and try lots of pianos, and then buy the one you feel is right in your gut. You'll probably feel that way years from now.

By the way, do not apologize for wanting an acoustic piano. I have played acoustic pianos all my life and recently had to get an electric for jazz gigs. To me, electric pianos don't have anything like the quality of sound you can get from an acoustic. As an example, I play in a jazz vocal class each week where I accompany vocalists on an electric keyboard. Then, when it comes times for the recitial, I get to play a real piano, and the vocalists always comment how much better I sound. An acoustic piano has a depth to its sound and nuances you simply can't get out of an electric keboard, in my opinion.

The touch on the Walter was awesome, and the sound reminded me of something powerful. I feel like the Boston sounded better, but didn't affect me so viscerally, for whatever reason. I think we are honing in on the Walter!

lvp, I saw your other thread in the Acoustic Piano Forum,
and I find it amazing the thorough way you're conducting
your search, never having played a note on a piano. That
Walter upright is of course a fine piano, but for
the same price you could get the new Roland V Piano.
This is a concert grand that you can carry from
room to room. I suspect you're concerned that at
family gatherings the piano players might look
disapprovingly at a digital. On the contrary,
you'd be the envy of everyone with this.

You know Gyro, your likely to convince me to get both! My family would be jealous (they are the 'early adopters') I just wouldn't be done buying pianos and would still want my Walter or Boston.

My dad took me to piano tunings when I was a little girl, and I think I developed a good piano ear and sense, even though I only fiddled around on them and never took lessons. It might also explain why having an acoustic is a easy choice for me! It's totally a visceral thing. Plus I have a research degree in historic preservation, so 'old fangled' things just draw me in. That explains my thoroughness....child of pianos + graduate research degree have made me very, very thorough. Perhaps to a fault! My piano teacher said he is excited that I am so interested in becoming a 'tone nerd'. Me too!

I like the way I can feel each note and chord vibrate through my fingers on the keys, each key different. I enjoy the little "dips" that are worn in my keys from ever 100 years of being played. These are things no digital can reproduce. I don't think Gyro gets it...

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

That's exactly my point What a thing of beauty! Where on earth did you find that?

Steinways official site, legendary collection

Here's another hot one:

Speechless! Too cool. Looks like what they would play in the bar on the starship Enterprise.

lvp, from your other thread, I would be wary of a piano
that a teacher steers you to, especially if it is at
a dealer. They often get a commission on such sales.