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Fly to London or the factory in Australia, try one, and let me know if you change your mind

Best build an addition to your home first!

Most impressive. These pianos have a laser clarity in their sound, but without a trace of coldness or hardness. For me just a 3 hour flight across the "ditch" to visit this piano heaven.

Kind regards,

Robert.

It just might really be the Ultimate Piano (â„¢)!

Don't let Bechstein overhear you saying that! Especially if they might infer that you mean everything else is a joke.

OOPS!

CJM,
Very interesting. But hang on a minute, can this be really true?

It has often been said (by Gyro) that the acoustic piano is essentially obsolescent today - we are living in the Digital Piano Era, and digitals are sending the acoustic piano the way of the harpsichord and clavichord........etc, etc

This uncertainty has just brought on a terrible migraine, and I just don't know who to believe anymore.......

lilylady,
I have the carpenters lined up!lol!




Terry

Well Terry, I hope they are cute carpenters!

But weren't you going shopping today?? To a certain piano shop?? I am sure that you can make room for a Stuart & Son's and another Tier 1 piano, then we can all come over and play piano quintets!

M

Marcus,
Why hire ugly carpenters when during this economy the cute ones work for the same rate? LOL!
I merely said that i was taking a visit to the piano shop to"just" look at some new inventory that had just arrived. Bosies,Feurichs and Steingraebers oh my! I felt just like a drug addict fresh out of the treatment center! Can you say TEMPTED? After saying the AA serenity prayer numerous times i came up with a very "logical" thought. When one passes the Godiva Chocolates one does not simply walk by them without at least a look and a smell,right? After reciting the serenity prayer a few more times,i made my way through the maze of lucious pianos. Yes i admit it,i broke down. Not only did i look and smell,i bit right down into the center of each one i could get my fingers on.Each one had their own destinct chocolately flavor.I played and played and each new note was as lucious as the next. For a moment i thought i had died and gone to Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. Oh yes the oompa loompas(however it's spelled)were there and Marcus can you believe that good looking Johnny Depp and i even played a duet? Well,to bring myself back to reality i simply clicked my ruby red shoes togeather(wait is this scene from another movie?LOL)three times and said the serenity prayer a couple more times and then repeated there's no place like home! When i awoke,the dealer was standing over me and said "Terry you were on fire. Your playing was so hot it heated up the atmosphere and created a whirling wind of pianos(yes,i am a lengend in my own mind, lol) and one knocked you out. The entire sales staff was also standing over me with piano bills of sale.We all know how some of those dealers can be.lol!
Fearing i would not be able to resist,i noticed my ruby red shoes were still there. So i clicked them three times and POOF, i was back home with the two lovely pianos that i love best.The moral of this story is "THERE IS TRULY NO PLACE LIKE HOME AND NOTHING LIKE CUTE CARPENTERS THAT ARE BUILDING AN EDITION ONTO YOUR HOME FOR A STUART AND SON"S PIANO. LOL!


Terry

Marcus,Now that i think about it a piano quintet party may not be a bad idea!

Oh, you made a funny Just to clarify, though, I wasn't referring to small, boutique piano companies like Bechstein. However, every piano I have played since I encountered these pianos has been a disappointment.

So basically you weren't referring to Bechstein, Bluthner, Fazioli, Steingraeber, Boesendorfer, Sauter, Mason, Shigeru??

If the 'ultimate' piano will be played by the 'ultimate' pianist at the 'ultimate' concerthall I'll come and become the 'ultimate' guest.

Giving the 'ultimate' report later about it to the 'ultimate' Piano Forum in the world....

Something tells me that I think was just right on the last one....

Norbert

Has anyone else listened to the tracks on the Stuart and Sons website? I was blown away. I think this may be the ultimate piano. I'm just glad they're not available here because I'd probably sell my house to get one.

And, just to comment a bit about 'classical repertoire' and how it doesn't go outside the range of 88 notes: for g@d sakes people, hasn't anyone ever considered that pianos might be played in a non classical setting? Free improv? Jazz? Grrr...

I think Wayne Stuart should be congratulated on his achievements, not criticized for his innovations.

Well said newguyonforum! Congratulations Wayne Stuart on your achievements!




Terry

I wish the Stuart website would have sound samples from classical composers besides Bach. This would make sound comparisons for listeners easier. From what I've heard so far, the piano does have a very beautiful voice.

.... or Seiler, Grotrian, Steinway, Forster, and heck, maybe even Walter.

Who does that leave? I guess Kawai and Yamaha.

For those of us not tied quite so tightly to the written score, I would LOVE to have more notes above and below the usual 88 to use and play with. There's a whole world outside prewritten music!

The issue, I think, isn't whether or not classical repertoire goes beyond 88 notes, but rather how useful the notes may be, given the already large range of the standard piano, and the limitations in the sound of the notes that go beyond the standard range.

For example A0 on a standard piano has a frequency of 27.5 Hz. That's already down to the point where sound is mostly felt and not heard. More importantly, even on a 9-ft piano, the lowest couple of notes really don't sound that good (at least to my ear). At A0, there is very little fundamental produced, and I can only assume that that problem would get worse for even lower notes.

On the high end, sustain at C8 is very short indeed, and at 4186 Hz, most people will only hear 2 overtones max, and people over 50, probably just one. A few more notes above C8 may have a pleasing tinkle, but I can't imagine them to be musically important.

Consider also that even if one did find some occasional use for them, you would hardly ever be near a piano that had those notes available.

I'll stick with my previous post--I think the extra notes really are not very useful. No "Grrr" from me, just some practicality.

You make some good points Roy.
On the Stuart website, Wayne mentions that there are 102 notes available.
Is that correct, with our hearing the way it is that there are only 102 notes in the equal temperament scale?

Marcus