Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum My (own) upright - questions, questions...

Hi, the Bechstein is not the Academy one. From Kawai I've only played their smallest grand which honestly sounds pretty amazing and I can't believe how (relatively) cheap it is.

... by the way, I just found a 1999 Bösendorfer 130 for sale for 25k CHF. This would be a stretch financially, although doable, but so far every single recording I found of this piano sounds absolutely lovely...
I guess I needn't be worried about the age and I can always retrofit a good digital system some time down the road. I certainly will check this out - this might be it.

And Reemer, thanks for the recording - this definitely makes the Blüthner an option.

Another one that appeared on my map is the Feurich 123 which seems to be very innovative.

Tomorrow or the day after I'll have the opportunity to play some Steingräbers since I am currently on a business trip in Bayreuth where their factory is. Very friendly people, super relaxed and if there's not too much going on in the showroom you can ask to play for a bit in their concert grand selection room with 4 ever so slightly differently voiced e272 grands. I've played their 130 concert piano model and, man, that thing is loud. Nice tone too but definitely too loud for a living room.

Here is a Kawai K 500 demo:

https://youtu.be/us7924Tne1E

So now you are interested in grands ?
Well of course if you caaaan afford a Steingraeber......

I have already corrected your error of my forum name but you have repeated it in your further reply. I suggest that you Google specifically for the name reemer as it is shown in the Urban Dictionary.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=reemer
I am not suggesting that you used the name with the above knowledge, but now I hope you see why it is offensive to me.
Ian

Ian
No wonder you corrected the OP !
I am sorry I made a joke of thier mistake.Probably like myself he did not
know the meaning of "Reemer"
We use these names, and in this "world" of PW we expect correct usage.
I personally could not deal with "LadyBug".

Lady Bird the reason I chose the forum name Beemer was because my motorcycle was a BMW and Beemer is a popular name for this brand. Here I am before I sold it.
Ian

So there you are !
That Motorcycle really looks great.Not much experience with motorcyles here .,I'm afraid.
A few times as a teen (on the back ) with my cousin who was the real motorcycle rider although
considering his age at the time ,I doubt it was a BMW. A few hair-raising rides in the middle of
the night too !
So now we know where "Beemer" as a name comes from .Thanks for the picture!

Keybender,
Did you go to the Steingraeber factory ? We would really love to hear what instruments you tried ?

You have a performance level motorcycle as well !

OMG, Beemer, I'm so sorry!

I honestly read Reemer but thought nothing of it. Seems I actually do need new glasses... Beemer is something I even get. As it happens I just sold such a Beemer to free up some money to buy a piano
Again, I am so sorry...

Why grands? Steingräber has wonderful uprights, I played 7 or 8 of them yesterday and today (122s and 130s). Not fully convinced of the sound though. I lacks some of the grandeur of the Bösendorfer piano and in some aspects I think I might prefer the Bechstein. I also got a factory tour and it was awesome.
What's also awesome is their mineral based key covers (never felt anything better) and their "twist and change" veneer look. The SFM, magnet assisted action is also nice to play.
I'm going to play some more tomorrow but looking at the price difference to Bechstein pianos I'm not sure if it's sure a good deal.
Steingräber goes for at least 28k (no options) while you get a very nice Bechstein for 22k with their silent system...

They also had some used Kawais and I did like the K-300. Although clearly not as refined as Steingräber, the sound is nice and mellow. Would take it over a similarly priced Yamaha any day. At least for classical stuff Yamaha, doesn't even come close for my taste.

Just saw this. I can post some pictures later and some sound samples (with my messed up playing recorded by my phone) if you're interested...

The people there are just so friendly and eager to help. They don't seem to have dedicated sales people (company has just over 40 employees) so the administrative people show you around and tell you a little bit and if you have more questions, they'll just call one of their technicians who are more knowledgeable than any salesperson could ever be.

They probably play the long game because eventually you'll just like the whole company so much you just have to buy one of their instruments

I saw several of their pianos last week, including three uprights, but for the life of me I can't remember thinking anything about the key covers.

Did you also get a look at the mammoth-ivory keys they offer?

And interesting comment about the grandeur factor. I only saw one Bosendorfer upright, but a few grands of various sizes. There is a certain aristocratic plushness there. Bechstein, as well, offers a certain calmness and internal discipline that isn't quite where Steingraeber wants to go with their uprights. Nevertheless, I suspect in the right space and with the right pianist, Steingraeber can be as grand and dignified as you like. Amazing resources at one's command!

Bechstein has a special bus for factory tours! I guess the smell of wood and felt wafting through the factory and watching pianos being made absolutely pays off in new piano orders. If I ever did a piano factory tour I’d have to have a big sign on my sweatshirt “I’m not allowed to buy a new piano!!!!!”

I only know that they also offer that but didn't see it. I can't imagine it's better than the mineral based stuff which is IMO better than "regular" ivory I know from old pianos.

There's something about seeing where and how stuff is made... it's a very personal thing since it takes so many steps and so much time to make a piano. I somehow feel that this really is a craft that's worth preserving...

Keybender,
All is okay now. Just concentrate on getting that special piano that talks to you! You will know when you find it. Its the one you will visit again and again and finally you just have to buy it!
Ian

Yes please !
Pictures and sound clips are always appreciated here !

I recommend trying a Kawai K-800. I love these.