Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum WORST piano's *ever*-which brand/type would get your vote & why?

The hammers didn't change, the strings didn't change, someone with a great deal of technique\control can play softer and thus it seems the piano is warm and sweet.

Amateurs have no problem playing loud, it's playing softly that's difficult.

Well, I know that this thread is very old, but it's interesting none the less. Unless I missed something, nobody mentioned the infamous Betsy Ross Spinet by Lester. I once had a piano salesman try to explain why the Belaruse was a "fantastic instrument with a massive iron plate". I used to work at a Wurlitzer store that had a new Kincaid spinet that was horrible. I also remember having a Horugal grand in that store that was mighty bad. I have run across some Hyundai pianos that seemed pretty bad to me, and many of the early Chinese pianos were horrific, but as much as we like to dis the early Korean and Chinese pianos, some of the American made pianos from the 60' through the 90's were just as bad and the companies couldn't say they were new to the manufacturing process - they either just didn't care or were such bad business people that they thought that cheapening their instruments would be the best way to compete with the Japanese.

My vote?

1. Anything by Kimball

2. Schaffer & Sons (Local LA brand by early Young Chang)

Funny story. I was playing a corporate party at the Venetian in Las Vegas, a smallish room, and all their good pianos were "taken". So I ended up with a Kimball 4' something "italianette" furniture grand they got ripped off on. Not one note was remotely in tune and twelve sticking keys all in the middle five octaves, a complete disaster. I panicked, they tried to find another piano, nothing doing. By the time I started there were already about 50 people in the room and they were loud. Thank God I thought. By the end of the first song, the place was packed from wall to wall and no one could hear a note I was playing. Saved. I duct taped down the sticking keys (better than trying to pry them up WHILE playing) and no one was the wiser. I couldn't hear what awful noise that thing was making, let alone anyone else.

And oh, the compliments afterward....

I can't believe that I'm about to post this, but I will defend the Betsy Ross Lester Spinet!

One must hear the results of the "Mighty Lester" and grant Rockford, IL as the home of the "World's Most Famous Lester."

Numerous recordings of this "astonishing" instrument have been posted by its owner, Cinnamonbear, after its 'triumphant' restoration. The restoration work was performed by Mr. Bear, with the help of Bill Bremmer.

(Actually, it's a decent little piano! Maybe Cinnamonbear will grace us with a link for an example.)

I actually like Lester pianos, I've sent several " Betsy Ross" spinets to recording studios here who have other pianos and they love them even though they look out of place next to the multiple C-7s lol. I've got one in the paint booth right now getting grain filled. I never got the Rounded over key front idea though but I have never seen any chipped.

My vote is anything with soybean plastic actions or Winter pianos with Aluminum plates. I went to pick one up once and almost threw it through the ceiling expecting mass not balsa type weight.

My favorites are not everyone elses but I have a soft spot for anything Jacob Doll & Sons , Behr Bros I also like those ancient Mason Hamlin Iron Spider uprights.

If a piano company noted for making poor instruments can sometimes turn one out that is good-it is most likely that someone took the time to pay attention and fit things properly. And most importantly they understood WHAT was important.

There is not much room for the appearance of "luck" as a factor in the musicality of a piano. The universe is not that random when it come to the organization of materials into the structure of a musical instrument. Luck can play a great role in the type of environment the piano is subject to during its life-but an expressive piano does not arise from taking a bag of piano parts and shaking them up with just the right motion to instill them to organize into a coherent and musically useful structure.

Fazioli spent 30 years going to be perfect...

The worst pianos - that ones in Polish music scool (basic and secondary). Many of them are well known names with good reputation, but they are old (or veeeeery old) and their technical condition is disaster, all action and tune also sometimes is wrong.
That's on what young polish pianist are learning playing Chopin...

This is reality from pracice rooms.
On the other side - in the concert halls there are often brand new Steinways, Kawais Yamahas etc (maybe not concert grands, but at least kind of a medium grand) and... children and learning teenagers cannot play on them, only once or twice a year, before the exams and on exam itself.

In the result, people are learning on crap, while piano in condition as it should be for fast and appropriate learning, is being non used by most of the time.

And, in fact most of the soviet union pianos were crappy, however there were Petrofs and August Forsters, which we can name as ok pianos.

Those are truly luxury pianos compared to still-steaming crap I've seen from Belarus. The soundboard looked like it was made from Home Depot paint stirrers.

Speaking of bad pianos, has anyone ever played a "Steinway S" that he liked? I'm not sure why they have this model in their lineup.

It figures Steinway would make it to the worst pianos ever thread.

Jeebus, give it a rest.

Yes. Several.

Never played on a Yamaha that had any soul.

the whitney spinet. dad thought he was getting a good deal when the dealer threw in a hammond organ on the deal. you know that organ - the one with all the nifty musical instrument sounds and drum beats. that whitney was so bad i actually preferred playing the hammond. my desire to practice hit the nose dive listening to the sour notes emanating from that fine piece of piano ingenuity. what a way to kill a musical desire....

These can be very nice in a good setting. Many small pianos struggle in the setting of a dealer's showroom - big, open and right next to larger, better instruments. I do think other makers are doing better at addressing value and performance in a small grand, but I agree with Plowboy that it's pretty rough to even mention a nice piano like that here.

You won't find me including this piano on my list. This was an instrument designed for students, yes. But it was made to function musically and actually gave a nice performance, especially when well maintained.

They sold retail in 1960 for well under $200.00.

Of course, they sold for far less than most other brands, but they stopped manufacturing in 1960, so the youngest Lester spinet is still 53 years old. Frankly, they weren't built to be used past 25 to 3 years.

My 2 cents,

Soul comes from the player, not the piano.

For years I had a Betsey Ross Spinet that my mom learned on when she was little, and my sister and I learned on also. It was a great little piano! Sounded surprisingly good for what it was. When I replaced the spinet with a U3 I could not bear to part with it due to it sentimental value. So my neighbor took it in and she plays it. Win win. And I can still visit it anytime. When my sons grow up and move out, one of them can have it and it will stay in the family. My mom died way too young but I keep her memory alive by playing pieces that remind me of her. Oh, now I need a tissue.

I have a Estonia 190 coming on Friday! But I'll always think of the Betsey Ross Spinet as one of the BEST.

Let me put it another way. On a good piano my fingers automatically take off on their own, investigating what's there - they find stuff. They don't with Yamaha.

Yeah, the Tier 1 pianos, sometimes it seems as though they play themselves, and we're just innocent bystanders, amazed as what's happening beneath our fingers.

You're mistaken, that's a Fazioli.