Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Piano Lamp

I am looking for lighting for my new grand, and found a Balance Arm Grand Piano Lamp, made by House of Troy, with a 32" arm and 13-watt fluorescent bulb. It is brass with a black marble stand that is adjustable in height.

http://www.astorclub.com/detail.aspx?id=2777&mcat=220&cat=234

Does anyone have one of these, or something similar that might work well? And does it illuminate the piano keys as well as the music?

I do not have room near the piano for a floor lamp.

Thanks!

-merlin

We have a lamp that is very similar to your lamp only ours is the all brass model (from House of Troy). My wife is the piano player in the family and really loves the lamp. However I'm not sure if it lights up the keys but I think it does.

Nelson

A miner's lighted helmet works great too.

I tried using my kayaking and camping led headlamp, but everytime my head bobs up and down in time to the music, I can't see the notes.

:p

-merlin

Merlin

We use a similar lamp, only with the crystal base. You can see a picture of it in 'action' in this topic.

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/1/14133.html
Since it sits right on the music desk the illumination of the keys will change if the positioning of the desk changes. But that isn't really much of a problem as it is very easy to adjust. You should also note that unless you want to remove the lamp, you are also forced to leave the front part of the lid open all the time. We really enjoy the lamp and it works great, much better than the floor lamp we used previously.

Thanks, Doug! The lamp looks perfect for my needs.

I notice from the photo that you seem to have some sort of cloth beneath the base. Is it not padded with felt or something else so it will not scratch the piano?

My only other concern is that the lamp not vibrate and perhaps give off sounds whilst playing.

BTW, seeing the Knabe logo on the fallboard brought back many memories! I learned to play as a child on a Knabe baby grand, a long, long time ago.

-merlin

It makes no sounds - and if balanced properly and tightly, it won't fall over. It will not make sounds. As for vibrating, it is sitting on the piano...if the piano vibrates a lot, it will move. I have a large grand piano and when people get really energetic, the piano moves - and the lamp picks up those vibrations. Any lamp would unless you go to a floor model. That is exceptional playing to achieve that level of movement...and even with that, it is not distracting.

Merlin

We are paranoid about scratching the surface of the music desk - so you are right, we have a couple of 'doilies' on each side even though the bottom is felt padded. We usually have a metronome on the other side and wanted a balanced look.

You would of course have played an American Knabe, but one factor that influenced our purchase was the reputation that Knabe's were a 'singers' piano. We are foremost a family of singers so this meant a lot to us.

I have the exact lamp you are looking at, and have had and used it for the past 11 years! I haven't even changed the bulb in all that time, and it has gone through many hours of endless teaching and practicing. House of Troy makes the best piano lamps on the market. Have you seen their new nickel lamps of the same type? Stunning!

What I saw recently that looks promising is this: LED table lamp. I have not tried one, but you could buy over 25 of them for what it costs for one of those others.

Thanks. From the photo, however, it does not seem that the neck would be long enough to illuminate the entire music desk.

As for the cost of the brass lamp, it is but a very small percentage of what I paid for my piano!

-merlin

memrys,
I checked out our piano lamp (all brass by House of Troy) and it illuminates the keyboard very well. Ours came with a 'built-on' felt pad so it sits directly on the piano. My wife often plays some very lively Rachmaninov but the lamp never moves. I look at your thread with the pics of your new Knabe. A really beautiful finish. A 'House of Troy' lamp will really set it off! BTW that was an interesting comment about Knabes being for singing people. I don't know much about Knabe and had never heard that. Can you point me to more information on that? - Thanks

Nelson

Here's a pic of the model we have:

Merlin,

I have Helen of Troy's model GPXL 617 on my piano and absolutely love it. (Also listed at your referenced website.)

Lamps like that work for standard published music, but when you get to composers' manuscripts and large-format or orchestral scores, they might be too tall or wide and hit the lamp.

Since I play a lot of contemporary music in strange formats, I have a floor lamp with an adjustable arm that swings and angles in many directions, as does the lamp head. It sits to the left of the bench. I have to adjust it often to accommodate different music, and I'm very glad it is so flexible.

Sorry...wish I had a pic. It is an inexpensive, brushed-silver finish lamp from IKEA.

Hi Merlin,

I originally purchased the House of Troy - Grand Pianos Slimline Lamps (felt-lined clamp) pictured here:



But found that it was a real pain removing it to completely close my piano. The lamp was also knocked around when turning pages of larger sheet music.

So, after a few weeks I traded it for the House of Troy Balance Arm Grand Piano Lamp pictured here:




Personally, I found that the "clamp-on" lamp provided much brighter illumination, especially for some of my really old small-print music.

Sigh... THIS is the illumination that would truly make me happy:



... but it won't fit in my room!




Daria

(off topic)

Nelson, the Knabe was the 'official' piano of the Metropolitan Opera for more than 40 years. People seemed to think that the tone was especially appropriate for vocal accompaniment.

Daria, why fuss with lamps - just keep a couple Christmas trees by the piano!

I have been wrestling with lighting as well recently. Since I try to close the lid up after each use, utilizing one of the clamp on styles seemed to much trouble, as did the cantilvered type that sits on the desk (I was concerned about scratches or even worse dropping it into the piano with so much handling).

I thought I would give a try to this floor lamp which I purchased at IKEA over the weekend. If is tall enough and reaches far enough to light things up nicely. I figured at $40 it wouldn't set me back too much it it didn't work out and so far it has promise.

Here is the catalog link:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15579&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=18567&langId=-1&parentCats=15579*15751*15755

Thanks, WB. I sing, so that comment caught my attention. When my wife and I were piano shopping we saw a small used Knabe that took MY attention but not my wifes. Sigh.. However, if we could afford another piano sometime it might be worth a look and listen.. (I'm talking about the orginials built in the US).

Nelson