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Joined: Aug 2012
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Hello, does somebody has an opinion about the 110 cm heigh Grotrian upright pianos produced in the 1950s, 110 cm height, model "Samba"? They are covered with tissue (cloth), instead of a solid wooden cabinet. How does this sound? Would it blow away my neighbors ears, or can I use it "as usual" at home. Do you think the action and soundboard of a 60 years old instrument could still be worth traveling a long distance for playing and hearing it? Can a 110 cm height only piano have a full, harmonic sound, or is this size only for my kids practicing on it. Thanks for your help!
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Joined: Sep 2009
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I've only seen photos of the Samba, but I was fascinated by it. Certainly Grotrian makes an incredible small upright today, the 111 cm model Friedrich Grotrian. As far as any 60 year old piano goes, you'd have to play it and inspect it, but I don't see any reason why, if the hammers are still capable, that the sound would blow away your neighbors.
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Joined: Aug 2012
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By "blow away my neighbors" I wanted to express my concern, that the piano might be very loud, because not boxed in a wooden cabinet. I could imagine that this design can maybe compensate for the small size of the piano, letting it sing in a dynamically richer sound. But I could instead also imagine, that resonances can not develope nicely and this design takes some soul out of the sound. In any case, I am afraid it will be much(!) louder. Maybe too loud?
I would have an alternative offer, a ca. 140 cm heigh Steingraeber from 1929. This for sure will sound fuller, but the action is really old. Too old? Again, I would have to travel a long distance to test play it - unfortunately in the oposite direction.
I hope to get some opinion guiding me if it will be worth to travel for inspecting the Grotrian, or if you would right away have serious doubts about it beeing worth to spend 400 EUR just for the journey to its location. I may better spend this money and right away travel in the other direction to have a closer look on the older instrument first?
If somebody has good reasons to better stay away from a "Samba" and its open design, then it would be interesting for me to learn about this concerns. On the other side, if you would know some good reasons to become highly interested in that piano, I am curious about this as well.
Last edited by Marco M; 11/30/16 10:07 AM. Reason: clearer expression of what I want to say
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Joined: Sep 2009
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The cabinet and typical front panel isn't there to "contain" the sound, it is largely there for practical reasons related to building and use. Often on higher end uprights, makes find multiple ways to vent the sound towards the pianist for a direct as well as indirect sound...not to be louder. Sometimes grand piano music desks are made with vents...either decorative or covered with fabric.
In my reference to the hammers, I mean are they in condition to still be voiced properly. I imagine in a the Samba, the pianist would also experience more action noise...something else to consider of a 60 year old piano.
For pianos as old as the Steingraeber, I consider them differently. If it goes from little or no use to regular use, the issues of age will make the upkeep substantial. If the use remains very light or occasional as a hobby, i.e. not for learning, then it may still give you plenty of enjoyment.
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Sam, thank you very much for the insights! I will travel to see the Grotrian from the 1950s, then. Its action and soundboard are not as old as the action of the 1929 instrument, and the shop offering it ca be assumed to not sell garbage, the shop actually has a very good reputation. The voicing of the piano should thus still be good enough to allow them to offer it to clients without embarrassment. The question more is, if this piano model in general, because of its small size, has ever had "the" good Grotrian sound. Sound samples of 1950s pianos from Grotrian on the internet to me do by far not represent the class which modern Grotrian uprights fit into, according to similar sound samples of the newer ones from the last 20 years. Well, for the case that the sound would not please me, if it wouldn't be like what Grotrian sound today stands for with its new pianos, then I of course will be disapointed. But, I will give it a chance. In the end, I am not in hurry and will care to at least enjoy the trip to a city which I by now do not know.
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Now I got my very personal idea why this model (at least the 60 year old instrument which I could listen to) indeed is a "Samba". It sounded a little bit like a very campanulate and well sustaining steel pan. You see, I was much disappointed about the instrument. I have had hope that the piano, being a Grotrian, would not have lost overtones and depth so strongly over time. But it did so, it sounded too much muffled already. And bass didn't develop, couldn't at all keep up with the mid range or high range tones. Hasn't the steel drums music had its climax in Europe in the 1950s? Well, as I am not so much interested to go into Calypso music, I better search on. Some 100 year old pianos, which I have had a look at in the last weeks, haven't been worse. Actually some of those still have well balanced the bass to mid to treble tones - and some of them then come with an awesome decorative wooden cabinet.
Having had the chance to listen to almost a dozen old instruments in the last weeks, it was impressive to experience how the age of a piano correlates with a muffled sound.
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Piano
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