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I am in the research stage of purchasing a new piano. I listened to a Schiller grand 5'3",on the Jim Laabs Music website and thought it had a pleasing sound with warmth, clarity and eveness throughout the registers. I have not been able to find any information regarding the Schiller currently being manufactured. This is not the original Schiller that was based in Oregon and went out of business in the late 1950s. I wonder if it is a stencil brand name,on a Chinese piano. I would appreciate any comments,if any of you have any info regarding the Schiller currently being made.

Hi Charles - Welcome to Piano World

The contemporary Schiller is made by Irmler and distributed by Bluthner. It is made in the Irmler factory in China and finished in Germany. I have never played an Irmler or a new Schiller.

The pianos which are 5'-3" grands come in two editions, the Studio and the Professional. The difference is the parts used and the amount of work completed in Germany. Here are the most recent MSRP prices for the two editions.

Studio Edition 5'-3" Grand, Polished Ebony: $19,353
Professional Edition 5'-3" Grand, Polished Ebony: $36,152

This info is from "Piano Buyer" by Larry Fine. It is the bible for piano shoppers. On the left side of the screen you will find a link.

Hope this helps.

Marty,
My thanks for posting information regarding the Schiller grand. At least I know who makes it and where. I like the piano and Jim Laabs music said it has very good tuning stability and a responsive action. Will consider this piano when it comes time to make a purchase. Thanks again for your input.
Charles

Just a note on the Schiller. Yes according to the Piano Buyer book they are made by Irmler. But from what I can tell they are definitely Jim Laabs' brand. Go to the Jim Laabs website and then to the Schiller website. Notice anything? Yeah the shipping address is EXACTLY the same.

Good find!

There was a local store that had their own brand, although they probably wouldn't admit it freely. They bought cheap junky pianos from Russia, had nice decals made and viola, a new brand is born. They even had banners with their brand and "exclusive dealer" if I remember correctly. They were about on the same level as Grosendorfers, Bechschtimmels, or Bluthwin & Sons.


I'd say the same thing if I was trying to sell you a piano.

Also, Schiller sounds a lot like Schimmel, and they both have a crown in their logo. Very odd....

They actually seemed like ok pianos for the price range that they were in: ($5-6,000 for a 5' beginner model). At least sound wise. I don't know enough about each individual piece of the action, etc.. etc... to tell otherwise. I was pretty shocked how different they sounded though. I played 3 of the exact same Schiller pianos in the same store and one was brighter, one was dark and the middle register very muddy, and the other in between. I mean I know there's some variance from piano to piano but not that much. Having said that I seriously considered (and liked the sound of) the brighter sounding one....lol...My biggest concern is if I ever had to sell it or wanted to "trade-up" down the road.... would a piano store or even local person know anything about them and be willing to give me anything for it? Not sure.

That sounds...insane. I can think of a lot of piano options for that kind of cash that would almost certainly be better buys.

It's just an artificial number that they put on it msrp wise to make it seem like a better value. They could put a $50k or $5k or $100k msrp on it and they would still be Asian (Chinese?) made pianos that routinely sell in the $4,500-6,500 range.

I know this is a really old thread but OP did you purchase the Schiller piano from Jim Laabs? Also, this company is not part of Bluthner. I spoke to Bluthner/Irmler reps about it.

I still miss you, Marty.

AS DO I.

Karl Watson