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Hello. I found a new Seiler ED-168 Virtuoso grand piano at the local piano store for $16,000 (tax not included). I tried it out and really liked it, but I have no idea if this is a good deal or not. Also, I do not know much about Seiler grand piano. The salesman said that the parts are made in Germany and assembled in Indonesia.

I got a super slimy salesman who was really annoying, so I decided to come home and research about Seiler pianos before I make a decision.

Does anyone have any ideas regarding Seiler grand pianos and their prices?

Thank you

I've never played a Seiler but they appear to be a midrange piano made by Samick[0,1]. Seiler was originally a German company but was aquired by Samick in 2008 and they do indeed appeared to be built in Indonesia. It looks to me like Seiler competes with Pramberger and some of the other Chinese brands like Perzina, Brodmann or even other Samick builds like Knabe or Kohler and Campbell.

RE price you checked out pianobuyer.com? Your price on the Seiler is exactly 1/3 off the suggested price of $25,000 suggested by [2], which generally qualifies is a pretty good deal. What exactly did the price include? A bench, delivery, a free tuning or two?

Finally - if you search this site there are a few threads mentioning the ED-168. Frankly I find it easier to just use google to search the site as shown in [3] but of course there is a search box on this very page.

Good luck,
Jason




[0] http://www.pianobuyer.com/spring12/44.html
[1] http://www.pianobuyer.com/spring12/191.html
[2] http://www.pianobuyer.com/spring12/245.html
[3] go to google and search e.g. "site:pianowork.com Seiler"

Jason,

Thank you for your reply. The price includes a bench, shipping and one free turning.

I googled and found the websites you mentioned. I was not sure how accrate those prices are...

Anybody I know does not own those cheaper grand pianos made in China/Korea/Indonesia. It is a bit scary to buy something I am not too familiar with. I usually practice with Steinway, Mason & Hamlin or Yamaha at the college. I really want to have my own piano at home, but these brands are out of my budget.

I asked my friends, professors and a piano technician at school, and they are all negative about economic grand pianos.

Well, I should do more research and think about it. I wish I had more money to spend on a piano!

The price range in Piano Buyer is usually very representative of the market. However, the new, Fall 2012 edition will be out in the next couple of weeks and some prices have gone up.

Welcomed C-Piano,
The ED-168 Virtuoso it is musically a very successful instrument as SMC has been able to properly manufacture this Seiler scale design. The design has been part of the Seiler family of pianos that was re-developed in 2005 in Kitzingen prior to the takeover by SMC. The company puts a lot of attention in maintaining high quality standards and applying manufacturing techniques properly. However the back-bone is in the great design of these instruments.
Prices could fluctuate depending on a number of factors; 16K it is a good price for this piano.

The ED-168 offers the typical sound of small Seiler pianos. Clean powerful bass registers; the mid and upper registers have sort of a strong attack and very gradual changes in tonal quality across the dynamic range. The pianos tend to have good sustain and not much reverb. The tone is clean and defined.
I have seen many ED168 across the country; quality control has been excellent at the factory in Indonesia as the pianos arrived to the dealers in very good condition but yet they require minor regulation of the action.
The most important factor about these instruments is the design that leads to the characteristics of the tone in Seiler pianos. This model is a great piano in the price range.

Dear C-Piano,

First I must say that the only exposure I have had to the ED-168 is at a piano technicians convention and Roger Jolly himself showed it to me (right before we had a sandwich together).

The instrument can perform. It is that simple.

Second - to be fair, I believe that Roger himself prepped the piano for display, so I definitely saw the instrument in it's best light.

Good luck,

Are there still any German made Seiler Pianos And are they available in the USA??

Steve,

Thank you for the comment. If the price range in Piano Buyer is pretty accurate, $16000 must be a good deal!

Kurtmen,

I really appreciate your detailed comment on ED 168! I am going back to the store sometime soon, and decide which one to buy.

I also liked Pramberger JP series at the store. It will be under 16K and I could get a bigger one than ED 168.

Rich,

Thank you for your comment! Yes, I think the ED-168 can perform really well. I just wish I could try it out more at the store.

I should go back to the store!

K-52SM

According to my slimy salesman at the piano store, they could get the German made Seiler pianos. It could cost 2-3 times more than the ones assembled in Indonesia, he said.

Hmmmmm...sounds like the walls of your glass house are being shattered. Just sayin'

Yes, the factory in Germany is in full swing. Seiler Pianos Made In Germany are available in the USA.

Kurtmen,

That picture is from your photobucket account. How old is that picture? And what does it have to do with what Seiler is doing today in Germany?

The Seiler factory in Germany is realy in full swing and they are growing. The other day I saw an add in Europiano offering jobs and apprenticeships in Kitzingen.

The pianos are available in USA, but obviously these are different models than here in Germany. Here we have the Eduard Seiler upright line. These pianos have Eduard Seiler as fallboard name and are identical with the Seiler branded line. The only difference is, that the action in the Seiler line is Renner and the action in the Eduard Seiler line comes from Asia but is built in in Kitzingen. Both lines are completely made in Germany with German parts only (excepted the action in the Eduard Seiler line). The third production line is called Johannes Seiler and is completely made in Indonesia, but prepped in Kitzingen for the sale in Germany.

Gregor

by R. Galassini

I got these pictures this Summer at a presentation I had with Ludger de Graaff (Seiler Betriebsleiter).

The pictures are from my photobucket. You are right...
Photobucket is really cool they let you upload pictures even if they are one day old.




These pictures are in relation to people working at the factory in Kitzingen. You see Richie...


Posted By Gregor:

Thank you Gregor. Also there was an article in regard to Seiler making a comeback where Mr. De Graaff speaks about the current factory in Germany.

Yes, in the journal Das Musikinstrument from April 2012:

http://www.das-musikinstrument.de/5220.0.html?&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=29931&tx_ttnews[backPid]=5216&cHash=168271b348

Sorry, link does not work. I googled for Seiler comeback. I have the reprint fo that article because Seiler sent it to all Seiler dealers. I am one of them

Copying and pasting the whole URL works for me. But magazine articles on the web can disappear overnight....

Nicht gut