Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Charles Walter Grand Owners... Post Videos!

Please... if for anything than for posterity.

Everyone knows you can't truly enjoy the sound of an instrument on a video but for whatever reason there doesn't seem to be any really good videos on this forum or YouTube of the 175 or 190 and considering how amazing these pianos are to play and hear it seems a crime. Also I don't see any on the manufacturer's website either unfortunately.

So I am requesting that owners please take the initiative and post and share your videos with us.

Hopefully this thread doesn't end here.

Good idea! I'd love to hear more Charles Waters.

That's too bad

Yes it is.

None of my clients are members here. Very few members here, have Walter grands.

I don't ask them (my clients) to join PW to tell you all, they made a purchase from me and blah blah blah.

There are other dealers that don't use this site as their personal sales brochure
to give them or thier product credibility.

Unless I missed something, the website for Charles Walter Pianos does not have any videos or sound samples. I wonder why they are missing this simple opportunity? Crafting a good recording on HD video does not cost very much these days, and a video with high production values could be featured prominently on the web page.

Rod, perhaps a dealer could suggest this to them?

I have
Marketing is so important. You can make an amazing product but it has to be promoted and best done by the manufacture.

Many maker websites don't have sound samples as best as I can recall. To name just two others, I believe Steinway and Mason Hamlin don't have them. In fact, I think having is sound samples is the exception at the maker's websites.

I wonder why this is the case? There are certainly numerous YouTube videos showing great pianists playing different makes, especially Steinway. Personally, I find a video of some great artist playing a certain make much more interesting and convincing than just a list of pianists who have played that make.

The Grotrian web page opens with a short audio clip, presumably of a Grotrian.

They could certainly do more.

Stuart & Sons has a full page of demo videos and audio clips:

One example ....


Stuart sound sample video

I give their page a gold star!

For Fazioli, if you wade through six pages of "philosophy," which is really a set of videos about how their pianos are built, on the last page you get a video entitled "The Concert."


The Concert

After a lengthy wait for loading, the Bechstein homepage opens with a short video with piano accompaniment (again, presumably a C. Bechstein playing in the background). But I did not see any other audio or video examples of the pianos on their website.

Sauter's website is bare bones. Very little information at all. They need a professional to help them ....

Förster has a link to "tone." Alas, "tone" is talked about, but not demonstrated.

Personally I have not heard a clip that was true to what I hear in person for almost any brand.
Bluthner has a CD collection of some artists playing their concert instruments. Great, they are all on 9 foot +
instruments and when I was selling them not one sounded close to what was recorded.

Great brochures and a great web site is a must. The Walter site recently did get a upgrade, much better than the old one but still not great.

With a piano like the Walter it is hard to promote them in concerts being only 6'4" the perfect home piano. Without a roster of artists endorsing them, public appearances on T.V. and hype on this site, it take a musician to appreciate them. And for the most part that is who purchased them.

BTW the price reflects this, the owners are not paying for advertising and promotions or name recognition.
They pay for a quality US manufactured instrument that is made to last. The Walters are not interested in changing the models every year to create a "Have to have the new Model syndrome" they build a great product and don't mess with it. Many mess around because the need messing with. I can think of one particular brand that needed tweaking because the older models just did not cut it.

Truth is hype sells. Most purchases have no clue so they purchase on what they heard, read or were told.
That's why stores need sales staff. Most people can't choose without them.

Sales staff are taught what to say and read the client. Close the deal. Get the money. Some care, some care less.
A crappy piano can be sold by a good player. Just gotta know where to play and what and how long.

Sorry - not true.

Sorry - not true.

Websites and videos on websites of high end piano manufacturers are of limited importance, believe me.

I am sure Paolo Fazioli doesn't lose much sleep over his website.

The same is true to an even greater extent for piano dealers. Some of the finest and most successful dealers I know have very basic websites.

You don't sell pianos on the web.

You discuss pianos on the web. Ad nauseum.

What do you base this statement on?

He may not have lost any sleep over it but someone did because it's incredibly good and well designed.

And some of the best dealers have very elaborate websites.

Well, I compared quite a number of web sites and I formed my opinion. You are free to disagree.