Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Practice Rooms in New York

http://www.yelp.com/biz/nola-rehearsal-studio-new-york

Another place close by. Shame they don't have a website. They said they had rooms with Steinway Bs in them for only 19 an hour. Their lack of a website is really a problem I think, like I said earlier in the thread this is freaking 2010, people rely on the internet to get all their basic information.

It seems atrocious.

Well, from the reviews it sounds like they have nice pianos, which is all that really matters. It doesn't matter to me that the acoustics suck, they suck in my house, and they suck in a lot of concert halls even.

Looks like you're not considering the "environment" (aside from acoustics). Maybe for you that really won't matter, but I think it would for anybody.

And BTW the acoustics will matter a lot too even if you think they won't.

I wouldn't go near that place, and I'd bet that if you do, you won't again. Among other things, it can be demoralizing.

Not having a website these days is the equivalent of not advertising in the Yellow Pages a few decades ago.

Regards,

@BruceD yea and sadly none of the studio renting places around Carnegie Hall have websites except 853. No idea what they're on.

@Mark C Of course I'd rather have a place that had nice acoustics, good decor, good "environment", but the fact is, Nola has much better pianos than 853, and their rooms can't be that bad or else they'd be out of business already. Since concert pianos are basically all Steinway Ds, it'll give me a better "feel" of the keys if I use a Steinway B to practice (besides, it'll be a treat since it's only once in a while that I get to use a really nice piano like that).

Also Propiano which is a distributor of Hamburg Steinways has practice rooms in lower Manhattan.

Alright guys I'm in Manhattan, and damn you were right, things are pretty expensive.

I rented out one of the rooms at 853 for 2 hours, and I honestly have to say that although the room was nice, the people were nice, there was much to be desired from the piano. I got a room with a Weber grand and 4 uprights, one of which had a broken sustain pedal which rendered it unusable.

The piano was in good shape, yes, it was in tune, yes. However that doesn't make up for the lack of quality in a piano like that in the first place. The action was sluggish, and the keys were made of a particularly annoyingly slippery plastic. I did sneak into Carmen and try their Charles Walter for 1 minute. That piano was VERY nice in contrast, although sadly they only have one room with it.

I'll get back later about Nola Rehearsal Studio.

Okay, so second update:
Nola Rehearsal Studios was somewhat of a disappointment. They did have a very nice guy on staff, but the rooms were quite horrid. The acoustics for my room were actually great, but I don't know who designed that place, but the ventilation is...well there is an air conditioning duct, and no duct for air going out! When you close the door, you can feel the air pressure in the room rise, and the air starts gushing out the cracks in the wall and the light switch and other places. Quite scary if you ask me.

The piano was a Steinway B, but...it was a VERY old Steinway B, with redone action/hammers/keytops. It was very dirty, and needed new bass strings, probably some small action adjustments, but other than that it was all I could ask for.

So between 853 and Nola, I don't know which one I'd take, to be honest. If I was here for longer I'd try out Merkin Hall/Kaufman Center, which I heard was quite nice actually. Their rates are lower too.

How can something that had seemed so atrocious be a disappointment?

What we saw about it screamed "stay away."

Oh yes, Nola Studios! I practiced on a poor old Steinway in a medium sized room with seemingly eroded sharps, just a sad piano- sort of in-tune, very heavy action...quite the beast. Frankly, I didn't mind as I was just happy to spend time practicing!

Hey there, PIANO!
Good to see you!
I guess you've been busy with other things, hopefully in a good way.
So.....will you be coming to hear us in Chicago??

There is a place on the Bowery in Chinatown that rents rooms with Chinese uprights for four bucks an hour (as of a year ago). You might try that. It's called the Rome Piano Company, located at 43 Bowery. It's not pretty, but it's clean, cheap, and the lady there is nice. I have not tried the pianos, though. The number is (212) 431-4747.

There's also Steinway Hall; I'm pretty sure they rent rooms, though I imagine it's pretty expensive.

Mine had a pretty light action

I wouldn't say to stay away from it, I mean the piano is better than the Weber POS that I got at 853. Like I said, between the 2 I don't know which one I'd pick. If you can get your hands on Carmen then that's a good idea, but the other pianos at 853 I believe are all Korean, which is sad

If anyone's looking for anything for next Monday, what about this (article in NY Times):

"Pianos as Public Art, and the Public’s Playthings"
(Anyone can play.)

Great find, Mark! Now I know where I can go practice for free the next time I am in NY.

Oh I will need to find practice rooms for my brother as well. He will be staying near Arlington in Washington and then Riverdale in New York. It's okay as long as they have a proper piano. Can someone please help?

No, only if you come that day.

It was really nice to find this thread before traveling to the states and deciding where to practice in New York. I did try 853, and it was a disappointment. I wouldn't return there unless I absolutely had to. The exaggerated decoration, the paintings, the lamps, the curtains and the nonfunctional old clocks almost felt like an attempt to overcompensate for the lack of quality, because the instruments themselves were a great let-down (the website's vague mention of "grand pianos" without a brand name or a close-up picture of the instruments should have been enough hint). As others mentioned before, the left pedal wasn't working, the response left much to be desired, and the rooms were not soundproof at all. All of this is apart from the fact that I didn't get the room I wanted and was moved from one studio to another, which I'll pretend to forgive after all their apologies about a certain emergency with a piano that should have been returned that day. I had asked for a grand but played an upright for two thirds of the time I reserved, and I was still made to pay the same amount of money. The way the person in charge spoke to me though, it felt like she assumed I didn't know the difference because of where I came from. I would go for Nola's very old Steinways in plain, otherwise empty studios labeled A, B and C over fancy furniture and fancy names like Boheme and Madame Butterfly anytime. Singers seemed to love the place though.