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wanna know what everyones favourite piano is.
personally, i havent played on many but theres this steinway i played on ages ago with some nice action (dont know which model though) and also wanna give a bluthner a go.

whats your favourites? the pianos you think beat in touch, sound, looks, that sort

I've got two favorites. First is my own Steinway O. Although, I wish it was larger, it has a lovely sound and even, light, butter-like action. The second is the older of the Steinway D's at the University of Victoria, the one with the dull satin finish.

Many of us who have played that Steinway experience a particular pleasure each time we have the opportunity to play it.

Regards,

My own Grotrian-Steinweg 189 is by far my favourite Both sound looks and touch. Steinways also sounds nice but for me Grotrian-Steinweg is slightly better.

Oh, I just remembered. I got to try out a retired, concert prepped Steinway D that was for sale. It made most beautiful rainbow of colors. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it.

My first teacher's Steinway L: fabulous tone and light touch.

An old, restored Bechstein, around 7', and the Baldwin concert grand in my college recital hall.

A 5' 8" Mason and Hamlin from the Aeolian years in a music store. Not M + H's best years, but that piano was divine. Sweet top, rich bass.

Numerous almost good Steinways (that remind you of the great ones without quite having all the qualities).

Without doubt, the Bösendorfer Imperial in its Vienna showroom, which I played on when I was an impoverished student 'Inter-railing' around Europe for the first time. It had a buttery-smooth action and a tonal allure with a woody olde-worlde sound in its mid-range and bell-like clarity in the upper registers, plus the kind of responsiveness that I never experienced before, and rarely since....and despite the fact that I was dressed like a tramp (and looked like one), I was allowed to continue playing it till well past closing time, completely oblivious to the people outside looking in through the glass panes - I was completely lost in my own world for some three hours that afternoon.

I've played other Bösendorfers extensively since, including one of the first new 280VC to arrive in the UK, but that Imperial 290 remains my greatest love. Truly the Rolls-Royce among pianos (not that I've ever driven one).

I wonder where it is now.........

Before I bought my Yamaha C2, I tried out various grands at various locations, mostly at the Musikmesse.
Instruments I liked, but which were out of my financial or size range, were: Fazioli F183, Bösendorfer 225, Grotrian-Steinweg Cabinet, August Förster 170, Steingraeber A-170.

4 years after having bought my Yamaha C2, I visited the Musikmesse again, and was a bit disappointed by the August Förster instruments and the Fazioli F183. They weren't bad, but to me they weren't significantly better than my Yamaha. Maybe playing on a grand is a special experience when you don't have one; and when you have a good grand at home, you find it more difficult to be swept away by another grand.

Instruments I'd still consider great are in the semi-concert range, especially the Yamaha C7X, Bösendorfer 225, and Fazioli F228. I could afford none of those.

My piano teacher back in high school (many moons ago) had a wonderful Steinway D that was a pleasure to play. I did not get to play many high-end grands back then. I remember loving the action and tone compared to my home piano. More recently, I played a Bosendorfer 280VC in the showroom that was very special. Of course, I went home with a Yamaha S7X which is my all time most favorite piano to play. I'm sure I would also love that 280VC just as much

I try not to get too smitten with big Bosendorfers, considering the price, power, and moving difficulty. But, that's another debate. 😁



"It's really hard not to overplay this thing!" 😆

Steingraeber & Söhne E-272, several locations. Amazingly responsive, just felt right, gorgeous sound; alas, too large even if I could knock down all the load-bearing walls; and alas, way beyond budget.

Several Steinway Bs and Ds (both NY & Hamburg) of a certain age at various music schools whose relatively light actions and excellent sound projection helped reduce the dreaded performance anxiety.

Yamaha CFX!

I guess I'll have to say the Steinway B was recently graced with. The action is fabulous and the sound wonderful too. I've played most of my life, on quite a few different pianos ranging from dreadful to divine. I was smitten by this one the minute I tried it. A life long dream come true.

Two pianos come to mind -- the first was my introduction to a Fazioli in one of the Amateur competitions. I remember thinking that here was a piano upon which you could do just anything and have it respond with clarity and subtlety in tone production, across the entire range of the keyboard. The second was my introduction to a Bosendorfer, courtesy of a piano builder and tuner in the local area -- as others have mentioned, it had such a buttery mellowness and richness in tone, and again, the control one could attain at all gradations of volume (particularly "softs") was for me just extraordinary.

This Steinway is just superb

Today, I visited two local dealers and played on, Steinway M, A, B Sterling, and D
Shigeru SK2, SK3, and SK7
Bosendorfer 214, and 225
Fazioli F212, and F228

Love the feel of both the Faziolis.
Appreciate the unique sound of the Bosendorfer 225.
The Steinway D was in a recital hall.
It sounded and felt very nice as well.

Still wanting to try the Yamaha SX series, as well as a Steingraeber.

But the Fazioli F228 is my favorite so far.

My current piano, a “Hamstorian” Steinway D completely rebuilt by PianoCraft in 2017.

My rebuilt 1918 Steinway A3 blows away anything I've ever touched before. Of course, I have limited experience, and never played Bosendorfers, Faziolis, etc.

I'm a fan of the Bösendorfer Imperial. I haven't played the newer Bechstein concert grand, but I love the sound of it. Blüthner, Steingraeber, Sauter, Steinway, Shigeru Kawai, Fazioli, Yamaha CFX, or and other top of the line concert grand could be the perfect piano. It's just a question of finding the finest example of the particular model. I've heard some dreadful Bösendorfer Imperials and Steinway Ds, but they don't really matter.

My teacher recently acquired a 1922 A3, well restored. It is a joy to play!

That's an easy one. Quite easily the majority of the top 10 pianos I've ever played have been Fazioli concert grands, but I certainly have a preference for the larger F308 than the more "ordinary" F278, though the latter is more common.

Perhaps a couple of Hamburg Ds, and maybe one NY D is among the top 10.