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I agree ! I have never played a Steingraeber.For some reason the added height scares me.Mind you I could never afford something llike your piano so perhaps its a good thing.

Hi Lucurate,

In San Francisco / Berkeley, Ric Overton at R.KASSMAN piano is the Steingraeber dealer. He bought my company when I retired last year. I know he has a beautiful Steingraeber 138 in stock, and I am loving my 130 that I selected just before I retired.

Thanks Russell!


~Lucubrate

If You don’t mind Me asking - Why did You select a 130 over the 138

Again - Thanks again for the information. I sent an inquiry to Ric & noted Our exchange


~Lucubrate

That is pretty much exactly what I meant, although I might have phrased it in different terms. Just like microphones, there are some pianos that flatter the pianist (perhaps relative to certain repertoire) and others that simply show exactly what they are, for good or ill.

Not at all ......

When I sold the shop, I also decided to move back to Chicago to be closer to family (health reasons). I decided to custom order a Steingraeber B-192 made to my personal specs (cabinetry) which I knew would take about a year. SO, I had to pick something to have during the first Chicago winter in a condo..... and although all the uprights in my shop have wonderful qualities, the Steingraeber uprights just simply surpass everything else. At the time (last August) we had two 130's in stock and only one 138. So, I chose a 130 because I wanted to be sure Ric (the new owner) had a 138 in stock because they take a long time to replace. Due to the current COVID situation, my grand is delayed even more (maybe November if I'm lucky), so I am happy I made the decision to take this piano with me. It will be difficult to let it go when the time comes.

Excellent - Thanks Russell!

Sorry to hear about the delay of Your Grand, though

I’ve spoke to Ric - He does have the 138. It has the SFM action, as well as the the ‘Twist & Change’ option

My first reaction to the ‘Twist & Change’ option was - Bummer

I don’t really know much about it, other than what I’ve seen online. I don’t want to put You in an awkward position, by asking Your opinion of it. However, I would appreciate to hear opinions from those that have seen a Twist & Change model, or have any other info, regarding it


~Lucubrate

As long as you got the commission!

That was my impression also when I heard them live (all three), as well as in these good recordings. Like an excellent grand piano that you could hang your head over while playing. They allow you to do pretty much anything, which can be a real challenge if you aren’t feeling confident.

By contrast, Grotrians have more of their own (lovely) voice(s).

Bechsteins are somewhere in the middle— with a magical patina if in good shape but offering a real challenge to bring to their best. A difficult problem to solve, perhaps. I just saw a video of Michelangeli playing Ravel with Celibidache in London, and the best Bechsteins seem to cry out for an alchemist like him. Obviously , he was a Steinway man, but it would have been a treat to hear him play an instrument a hair less neutral. Lipatti is another, who did like Bechsteins.

Enough of other makes, though. This one sounds quite lovely, and has met a good partner.

Forgive me, but I don’t understand your trepidation about Twist and Change. It’s simply the ability to go from one cabinet style to another, and my clients have found it to be very appealing.

As to the 138 that Ric has, if its the one that was there when I sold the shop, its a fabulous piano IMHO. I picked it out from four at the factory, and it arrived just before Ric took over. It has an absolutely stunning Paduk (a type of rare wood) inlay, but can easily be simply Black because of the Twist and Change feature. The action will rival ANY 7 or 9 ft grand for sensitivity and response, and IMHO it puts most 7 foot grands to shame. The natural keys are Laranim, (an exclusive German keytop made from minerals ) which looks and feels like Ivory, and the sharps are natural ebony. Also, if its the same piano, it has a full sostenuto.

You don’t have to change the Cabinet, but its very nice to know the possibility is there. Personally, I love the elegant Paduk inlays on the top and bottom panels. I think you will too.

If you need any other input from me, I would suggest you PM me rather than bore others in this thread with my biased opinions.

Thanks Russell - Much appreciated!!!

I’ve found Your bias Opinions to be Excellent, here & in other Threads


~Lucubrate

I thank everyone who's read or commented on this thread. I deeply appreciate your kind words and interesting opinions. I'll continue to record and share on this thread as time permits.

May I suggest you enjoy my recordings with earphones or headphones, unless you have nice speakers? My laptop's and phone's speakers distort so much of the acoustics that I don't hear any of the beautiful tonal details. Live is certainly the best, but at least with earphones or headphones, the recording sounds closer to what I hear when I play.



Hi, Lucubrate. I agree with Russell about Twist and Change. The front panels are finished on both sides. One side is standard piano black polish. The other side is with the artistic design. You can easily flip the panels to reveal the side of your choice—top panel only, bottom only, or both.

Based on Russell's description, I think I played that specific Steingraeber 138 last August when I visited Ric. Its tone and touch was wonderful, as expected, but I distinctly remember loving the keys' texture. I also noticed that the gap between the ebonies and their adjacent, played ivory—F# and F, for example—is narrower and doesn't snag my index finger's nail. On my piano, the ebonies' recede at a sharper angle below the surface, so the gap between a played F and an unplayed F# is bigger. So, even though I keep my nails closely trimmed, sometimes when I play an F quickly, my fingernail may get caught. This only happens with D and Db, C and C#, and F and F#. It's minor, but something I never knew to check for before my Steingraeber 138.

By the way, Ric was a wonderful, patient, and accommodating host. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone visit him and check out his wide range of top-quality pianos.

Correction: This only happens with E and Eb, C and C#, and F and F#.

Thanks for the feedback! I’ve since spoken with Russell & Ric, as well as seen some pictures, all of which has assuaged My initial concerns


You don’t know Me, but having read & re-read Your comments on Steingraebers, You’ve really influenced My thinking. Your concise observations & detailed commentary have been much appreciated, as well as Your recordings. Thank You!!



I’ve been working with Ric & couldn’t agree more!

Thanks again SilverHandprint, for sharing Your observations, opinions & music!


~Lucubrate

Silver Handprint - it's been a pleasure reading what you've written, looking at the pictures and listening to the recordings you've made with your new Steingraeber. All are admirable.

I am someone who has been involved in making recordings dating back to the days when we did it with reel to reel tape recorders and spliced sections with razor cuts and adhesive tape. Given the very nice recordings you've been able to make with the built-in mics on a flash recorder , I'm particularly interested in your recording technique and how it has evolved. (It is my experience that recording is as much art, as science.). You've written about where you placed your machine, but searching through the posts, I saw lots of piano pictures, but none showing the specifics of your recording setup. If it's not too much trouble, when you have. time, could you make some pictures to share with us? I usually record my grand piano, and I've found "the sweet spot" for microphone positioning, levels, and all that. I also have a very nice upright, and although I think I've gotten some good results, I'd like to try positioning my mics as you did.

All best wishes with your new piano.

Sorry its not right. Was played with Hamburg D, as you can see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGxbA0WJ0k
Historical concert!!

:eyeroll:

Recording #13 "Dear Frankie" Opening Title by Alex Heffes

This song is featured in British film Dear Frankie, starring Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, and Jack McElhone. The screenplay by Andrea Gibb focuses on a young single mother whose love for her son prompts her to perpetuate a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father. The film was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards, including two BAFTA Scotland Awards. (Official trailer on YouTube.)


Set up details
Microphone: My Zoom H4n Pro's built-in XY microphones are squared and centered about 30 cm away from the strings that are exposed after removal of my piano's lower front board. The microphones were set to a wider angle of 120º instead of the usual 90º.

Format: I recorded in wave format 48 kHz and 24 bit. No post-processing. Instead of my previous CD-quality settings, I bumped up the frequency and bit depth to something more appropriate for 2020. This will be my new standard.

Sharing: I directly uploaded the wave file instead of an MP3 to avoid duplicate lossy compression from sharing services.

Oh this is lovely. I played about 10 different Steingräbers (but only 2 138s...) at the factory and it never sounded as sweet as this. Just wonderful!

♫ Recording #14 "Spring Waltz" by Yiruma

This song is featured in Korean television series Spring Waltz.


Set up details
Microphone: My Zoom H4n Pro's built-in XY microphones were squared and positioned 60 cm from the floor and about 100 cm away from the strings, which were exposed after removal of my piano's lower front board. The microphones were set to 90º instead of 120º.

Format: I recorded in wave format at 48 kHz and 24 bit. No post-processing.

Sharing: I directly uploaded the wave file to avoid duplicate lossy compression from sharing services.