Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum What does Piano World think of the Schimmel Konzert series?

I played on one a few weeks ago--and I loved it.

I'm going to buy a new piano in the next 5 - 10 years, and they are definitely on my shortlist.

I liked the touch a lot. It felt perfect to me.

The one I played one wasn't very big, so I wasn't crazy about the bass, but I imagine it would be better on a bigger version.

So, are these good pianos? I told my friend that I liked Schimmels and he thought they were just mass-produced mediocre pianos . . .

Schimmel makes fine pianos. Check out this link:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/current-issue/05a-the-new-piano-market-ratings-recommendations.html

You can find Schimmel in the highest tier (performance grade) of pianos. Personally I like them very much as well.

I would respectfully disagree with your friend, Schimmel pianos are excellent.

schimmel makes their konzert line in both vertical and grand formats. which did you play ? if you tried the k175 grand, there are some pianos that size with solid bass ; if a big bottom end is important, six feet or more is usually better (sometimes even the 5'10-5'11 grands have a discernibly bigger bass over those just two inches or so shorter). with verticals, go for the absolutely tallest you can afford. the biggest verticals are also designed and made for the top end of the market ; the best command higher prices than middle of the road grands.

The 7' Schimmel I played, non-Konzert, was absolutely awesome, way better than the 9' Young Chang on the same floor. Also noticeably cleaner and more refined than 6' Kawais, but ya know, $$$$....

I have a standard 208 and it's a wonderful piano IMO but the 225 feels like twice the piano!

"Piano Buyer" reviewed three of the redesigned Schimmel Konzert grand pianos in their Fall 2013 issue. The reviewer had a few qualifying remarks, but overall he liked them a lot. Describing them as "Mass-produced mediocre pianos" couldn't be further from the truth.

Here is the URL for that review:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/PDFarchive/2013_SchimmelGrands.pdf

They're a pretty high tech company for a piano manufacturer and they build a beautiful piano.

I consider them the Audi of the piano industry. You may like something else more, but you really can't buy "better". With cars, you can find a different blend of luxury and performance and reliability and safety, but you can't really beat Audi on all of those. So if Schimmel has the clarity you like, the action you like, sustain you like, the harmonics you like ... it's about as well made a piano as you can buy, so it's your perfect piano.

But there are several other companies that build equal quality pianos that simply offer a different "blend" of characteristic. So my advice (worth exactly what you're paying for it) is that if you want a super high quality piano, keep Schimmel on your list, but play a few other brands of equal quality and see what you love MOST

I leased an Audi A6 for my girl-friend, and it's very disappointing car, compared to my 2 cheaper Honda Accord (V4, V6).

Good: Only good thing: design, elegant, distinguished.
Bad: Sound system, so bad in comparison to my cheaper Honda Ex V4, and V6, Audi speakers were only on doors, not in front and doors and behind like Honda, and it gave a weird truncated sound.

Parasite noises: It tortured me with parasite noise like a un-oiled door from where (ceiling? door?....? )

I'm so surprised with the quality of this German car, I have 2 Honda for 18 years and never experience similar things.

Come back to Schimmel: I dont't know about Konzert series, in lower end Schimmel grand pianos, I find their sound dry (to my taste). Note: this Schimmel experience was 17 years old, it would be different now.

I absolutely love Schimmel grands. Wonderful instruments. Not so keen on the uprights I've tried, however. Not that they are bad, just not to my taste.

I found a discernible difference in touch and tone between the Schimmel Konzert 125 and the regular, Classic 120-126 Schimmel upright models that I test drove.

Same goes for the C. Bechstein 124 and the Bechstein 124.

I enjoyed playing all of them, but the Schimmel K125 and C. Bechstein 124 hit all the notes for me.

I'm unclear as to how much dealer prep played a role (or the special, more experienced hands at the factory)...

I agree. I hate the A6. It's direct competitors are far superior, espec. the Mercedes E350

Exactly the same observations - the difference is astounding.

Jazz pianist Joey Calderazzo started a thread about his Schimmel K a few years ago.

Your friend may have a point, if he was talking about last century.

When I studied music there were plenty of practise pianos at the university. Most were Schimmels, and action-wise they were way worse then the two Sauters that were also there. Even an old Ibach piano outperformed the Schimmels.
What's more: In the middle of my studies the University purchased a bunch of new Schimmel pianos. At first the action was ok; but after a few weeks they started to feel spongy to me. The Sauters however felt crisp, clear and precise during all my student years. No loss of quality.

But at least the Schimmels sounded nice.

However, keep in mind that this was the 90s of last century. Schimmel has since then changed ownership several times; and they don't seem to produce school pianos anymore. So maybe the new Schimmel Konzert pianos are better than what was produced for schools.

Friends:

About the Schimmel Konzert range: although their tone is rarely to my liking, I very much like the idea of being able to purchase a smallish grand with a concert grand action. In fact, I regard it as a brilliant idea, so much so that I think it would be an ideal instrument to have in conservatory practise rooms, or even at home.

Ed McMorrow has mentioned an American upright whose keyboard was the same height as for a grand. What a marvelous idea ! Why didn't it catch-on ?

My point is that if one is forced to have an upright or a smaller grand, these features make the transition to performance so much easier, at least in principle.

What do you all think ?

Karl Watson,
Staten Island, NY

Please explain why this is significant to someone who does not understand any mechanics.

I think comparing Schimmel to Young Chang is an serious insult to the great German manufacturer...
And which Kawai? The basic and small ones sound nice, but from my experience they have very limited dynamics and sounds a bit flat. Never liked them. No color inside.

The fact that many makers offer variable lines of quality is the first thing to watch when when "comparing" to others. This is where IMHO a lot of mistakes are happening.

Many makers today offer different types of quality often "quietly" and without being particularly specific about them. It seems one has to stumble upon the differences
[ honest salesmen sometimes still exist.. ] or find the different specs somewhere buried in a makers website.

To purposely [?] obfuscate things may - or may not - be the makers intention but it certainly may lead to misunderstanding and even misrepresentation of things by some.

The first thing to know is that the different models are hardly ever in same tier of quality in Piano Buyer, they also are not priced same.
And they most certainly don't play or sound same.

Fact is that every model by the different makers today need to be compared 'equitably' to same quality/price level offered by others.

"Brand names" alone are no longer telling the whole story.

Suspecting a lot of salespeople out there wish they "would".

Norbert

Which is exactly what you are doing!