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I recently mentioned to a piano dealer and a piano teacher/technician, that I liked an Albert Weber that I tried (baby grand), and they both said (I will try to say this right) something about the climate here being different from where they are made, and that those particular Asian pianos ( I must assume Young Chang and the like) have all kinds of problems after only a few years.

Of course the dealer had no AW's on his showroom floor, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is wrong. I was impressed with what the Weber dealer told me of the history of YC and the Albert Weber, and of course how it sounded to me, which for the size and price I really liked.

I have had a hard time replacing my golden age upright with a beautiful base and sweet tone with what I can afford. I would be happy I think with the Albert Weber if it would stay the way it sounded when I first tried it. I'm sorry if I am going over old ground. Any advice would be appreciated, or a specific link on PW that I haven't found yet. Thanks.

Melly

You will soon learn that you are sometimes told all sorts of nonsense by people that you would generally take to be otherwise truthful.
Now they may be telling you what they truly believe or just dumping a bunch of hearsay on you that they themselves heard.

As the owner of a Hailun I am familiar with how people generally dump on Chinese pianos but I've had a few techs who have looked at my piano (closely) and then begrudgingly change their mind about "Chinese pianos" (at least this brand) and confess to how surprised and generally impressed they were with the build quality.
Of course neither of them had really looked at one before but were just going by what they had heard.
Once of them had told me before I purchased it to stay away from "all Chinese pianos".

But being the person that I am I decided to go by the various INFORMED opinions I was hearing and reading about from various sources instead of what one (or two) people would say.

Some salesmen will lie through their teeth sometimes just to put down a piano that they don't sell.
And just because a person is a piano teacher that doesn't mean they know a damn thing about pianos.
(Heck the teacher I had for a short time has never even heard of a Hailun, yet people would ask her all the time for piano buying guidance).

Remember, people used to say the exact same things about Japanese pianos once upon a time.

I am very interested in an Albert Weber grand piano myself. It is a large one, however: a 7'6" semi-concert grand the AW76RSES, sometimes called the AW228 here on the PW. I have been searching for information and have only found a little but so far it sounds like they are a good piano brand. The one I played was very nice and cost way less than other large pianos I could find in this area. Let me know if you find out anything negative from a reliable source. I would not let a competing dealer talk me out of a piano. I have heard a lot of lies are told to get rid of competition. Who knows? I wrote a question on the tech part of PianoWorld hoping a technician could tell me if they had run into any problems with AW. No one responded.

Thank you, Sparky and Chopin, for your responses. Maybe the jury is still out until more time goes by?

Melly -

This isn't a "time will tell issue." The piano dealer and piano teacher/technician were simply feeding you a bunch of baloney. I owned a nice Weber baby grand about ten years ago - and it did just fine here in the desert of Arizona (which is a far cry from the climate of Korea). Be advised, however, that the Albert Weber pianos of today have nothing in common with the Webers built between 1852 and 1930. Today's Webers are Young Chang products. Young Chang pianos have come a long way in the past 50 years - and can be very good quality instruments - particularly for home use. The new Albert Webers are definitely a step up from the Webers built in Korea and China over the past 20 years. They also come with an excellent warranty. If you like the instrument - and it fits your budget - go for it !!!!!!!

Qestion: how come nobody's here ever complained about an Albert Weber before?
They're very nice pianos, great value.
End of story.

Norbert

What size was the Albert Weber? My dealer had a very nice 5'5" model as well as the beast I am considering and it was very nice. Reasonable, too. (Low teens I think but I did not ask for his best price or anything.)

Norbert,

Well....there it is then.....


Chopin,

I know this sounds bad, but I don't remember. I tried so many that day, and Weber and Albert Weber, and different sizes, etc., and it was a few months ago. It was 10K and I didn't think I could afford it. I have been hanging out on Craigslist, and have checked out a couple from here and there when I can fit it into my busy schedule ( a couple have gone that I was very interested in). It is very slow going, but I just really don't want to make a mistake on this one. I wish I was in love with Yamaha....it would make things a lot faster and easier to find something! Anyway, my budget seems to have grown, so I am looking again, and so the question. It might actually have been a 5'. (iknow, I know....not supposed to go that small!). Anyway, I have been wanting to go back and see what I liked about it. The other one that stuck in my mind was a 6' Petrof, but I was playing around as I new that was way out of my price range. Not helpful.

If I wasn't in So Cal, the low teens deal would be tempting. By the way, I haven't forgotten.......if I hear anything more about AW I will let you know. Maybe we should just go with what Norbert said. After all, he sells Sauters, Estonias and whatnot.


Melly

By the way...how do I know a reliable source when I see one (sort of tongue in cheek, sort of not )?

I guess you never know although I think many times you can evaluate whether a person seems to be making self-serving comments. I have found some piano dealers are very fair toward their competition and prefer to concentrate on the qualities of their own piano instead of knocking someone else's. I tend to trust those people more, don't you? I remember a Yamaha dealer telling me Steinways were junk because they didn't use computer-driven machines to drill perfect pinblock holes like Yamaha. Well, I know not everyone likes a Steinway, but I happen to think they're pretty nice. Just too much money for me. The dealer I am talking with on the Albert Weber is a tuner/tech as well and rebuilds Steinways, Masons, etc. He will maintain the piano and handle all issues if I buy it. He has a small business and gives very good personal service. I trust people like that. However, I have to be fair and say that the local Steinway dealer has been great, too. If I could find something there that I could afford and liked a lot, I would not hesitate to buy from him either.

Your last comment brings up another thought. Maybe I should start another thread, but you know more than I do so I will give it a shot. I would not be hunting for a piano if the touch on mine wasn't so gone. I know what I like when it comes to how a piano sounds, but I don't know what to think about touch. THey all feel heavy (if that's the right word) to me, as did my teacher's Kawai growing up. What do you think about the touch on the Albert Weber? And........does the touch on a rebuilt Steinway feel new?

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Melly

I am not an advanced player so others may speak with more authority on touch, but I went to a very good rebuilder who had about 20 Steinways done and ready for sale. The touch varied a great deal from piano to piano. Some played "loose" and felt old still. Others were moderately heavy like the new Steinways I have played. A few felt lighter than new ones. I know this rebuilder uses Steinway hammers on some and Renner on others so that may be part of it. I don't know. The main reason I didn't buy any of them was cost. I liked most of them a lot. I imagine the touch on Webers might vary a bit. I only played the small and the large one. The small one seemed to be in the middle, not heavy, not light. The larger one seemed a bit on the lighter side, good for repeating notes, etc. I really felt comfortable with it.

Thanks for your opinion. Let us know what you get!

I will. I am going back to play the Albert Weber AW76 again in about a week or so and also will be trying a new Kawai RX-2 that he is prepping right now. Unless there is a lot of difference, I think the Weber will be the first choice.

BTW what is the difference between Albert Weber (AW) and Weber (W) pianos???

Hello,
I am a piano technician here in New York, and I have had the pleasure of working on three Albert Weber pianos "right out of the box". The 5'2" grand, the 6'1" grand and the 52" upright. I did complete regulations, voicings and tunings on them, and I played each for about an hour afterward. I would have no hesitation highly recommending these pianos based on my experience with them. The materials used, the workmanship and the scale designs were extremely impressive, especially given their price points. In my opinion, you cannot go wrong with one of these instruments.

I believe the W (Weber) is a little lower level piano than the Albert Weber. Check the prices on Larry Fine's Piano book here. The Albert Weber is YC's top line now.

i guess timing is everything. i bought an Albert Weber 52" upright a year and a half ago. it's a good value and i enjoy playing it. i live in so. cal. and the weather affects it at times--also my old house contributes to that. the action is fairly light, which is good for me as i'm trying to learn to play without so much tension. the albert weber brand is young chang's "handbuilt" model. my tuner likes it and he's not trying to get me to buy anything else. i happened to be looking on the forum as i'm always thinking about upgrading (who isn't?). there were no threads on PW when i bought it and it was a hard sell, believe me. but i like it and i would look at one of their grands as well if i had a good place for it (and a bit more money...) you can see and hear it if you go to my youtube channel (mrfabienlloyd's channel). good luck with your search. it's really hard to buy a piano....

john

Welcome to the Piano World Forums, John (forealizst)!

Also, my very first post here on Piano World about 6 years ago was to ask questions about a new YC Weber upright piano I was thinking about buying.

I got several excellent responses and warm welcome from Monica Kern (our official greeter ).

I didn't buy the Weber, but I've been here ever sense! Actually, I decided to buy a pre-owned grand piano instead of a new upright, although the Weber sounded and played well.

This is a wonderful forum and you can learn more about pianos here than anywhere else I know!

Take care,

Rick

thanks for the welcome. i see that you like to tinker with old pianos. my favorite upright would be an old case with new innards. my Al Weber has a tropical hardwood case that's ok, but there's too much lacquer on it for my taste. if i'm going to see the grain, i'd like to get the feel of it too.
anyway, thanks again and, by the way, nice climb up "Blueberry Hill".

john