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Hello, I am not very active here, but now the opportunity has come for me to afford a new piano.
I have tried a used Yamaha SU-118 but was not totally happy with it so I passed.
I am now thinking of getting a new Bluthner model C upright piano, do you think I will be pleased?
Should I choose maybe a model D instead since it is cheaper and almost the same size?
What do you think of Bluthner upright pianos? Thanks!

Starre
Bluthner is a well respected brand. That being said, each brand and each model/piano are uniquely different in touch and tone. No one here can judge what you might or might not like. It is an individual preference. Go play as many uprights as you you can find, until you find one that makes you smile.

Bluthner is a well respected builder, and I agree with Dogperson's recommendation above. I'm curious however.....is there a reason (beyond budget considerations) why you are considering uprights that are only 45-46 inches tall (including the used Yamaha)? Taller uprights (48-52 inches) usually have a much better sound. What other brands are available in Sweden?

You need to choose your own piano, we all like different things.

But, FWIW, I quite liked the slightly larger Bluthner A whereas my wife absolutely hated it from the first note. Needless to say it wasn't the Bluthner we purchased :-)

Hi and welcome! The first thing I'll say is that a piano needs a level of preparation to play its best, and as long as the piano is well designed and built, it will have musical potential in the hands of a great technician. A Yamaha SU118 does have great potential but it is a small piano.

The Blüthner models C and D are, as far as I know, identical except for the case design, but perhaps someone from Blüthner can correct me on that. Anyway, they are great instruments with the highest level of craftsmanship but they are small instruments, and as such they have some limitations. I wouldn't want to put you off buying a new Blüthner but I would encourage you to try the model B upright, or if you want to stay with the Blüthner factory but your budget doesn't permit a taller piano, why not try a Haessler which are less expensive than the Blüthner pianos but still hand built in the same factory.

My advice is to try as many pianos as possible from all different makers and get an idea of which instruments you like, and if you're not too sure about condition, befriend a good piano technician to help you!

Ok thanks for the input. My problem is that here in Sweden Bluthner is not possible to buy new, many piano brands are not available anymore so I can not try the instrument. The seller is based in Germany and has a 30 days return policy if I am not pleased. I have a smaller piano in mind since I live in an apartment/flat and I think it will be enough size for this, and the model A is more expensive. Since Corona it is also hard to travel to Germany and try it out before buying. "gwing": what was it about the model A your wife hated?

Actually I tried a Bluthner upright about 2years ago .It was about 46" high. The tone action was exquisite. Ioved the very mellow sound .
There used to be a member here on this forum from the UK who was looking for a piano .I remember he loved the warm
sound of the Mason and Hamlin grand .When I asked him about the Bluthner he said something like "oh no, its tone was
"ghostly " ?
Needless to say I have never quite understood what he meant .

The most glorious upright I have ever played in my life was a new floor model 52" Bluthner at Cordogan Pianos in Chicago, a few years ago. I believe the price was US$35,000. Was it worth US$35,000? That's an unanswerable question. Few people in the world would spend that much for an upright piano. But by God, it was wonderful.

Owner John Cordogan and I spent quite a bit of time discussing it, since we both knew it represented piano perfection. (He also knew it wouldn't sell easily, between its price and Bluthner's lack of name recognition in N. America.)

They are superb.

I think it is not so much a question of size as mainly the height is different. I found that the model A is better balanced with more presence in the mid bass and bass (as you would expect from a taller upright). I think it gives it a more rounded sound. The model c or d maybe a bit too shy in that area. The model b will be more powerfull.

After that it is also a question of acoustic, and personal preferences. I own a model 6, so i love the Bluthner piano, but there are plenty of superb other brands. The sauter Meisterklasse 130 is also a wonderful piano.

I bought my Model A new in 2016 after reading a couple of reports that it has a more even tone across the 88 than the slightly taller Model B.
https://www.pianistmagazine.com/buyers-guide/bluthner-a/
You really need to try out all the upright Blüthner models to determine if you would be satisfied with the C or D lower height models.
I am extremely happy with my piano which I regulate and tune myself. Any questions just ask.
Ian

I'm in the UK and having difficulty finding anywhere which has Blüthner uprights. I really like the sound of Chenyin Li's Blüthner grand but haven't been able to find any Blüthner upright videos online to hear and compare.

Ok some happy some not so happy. And it seems not many like a smaller model and that I should go for model A. My biggest obstacle is probably I have trouble playing the instruments myself.

I’m also from Sweden (Stockholm) and the piano market here seems very bad. You can find new Yamahas grands and uprights and a Kawai K-300 aures and soon a K-500 aures to try. There also a seller that has two models of new Steingraeber.

I’m looking to test W.Hoffman pianos but I would have to travel to Denmark or Norway to do that. For Bluthner I don’t know... think we would have to travel to England or Germany to try them. It’s not easy ☺️

Ah, you are putting me on the spot there - are you expecting rationality and dispassionate analysis here????? Quite simply we played a lot of pianos and the Bluthner was the only we she had a real aversion to. She only played a handful of notes on it and refused to play any more so I think it was the tone she objected to.

The Bluthner did have a sort of laser like clarity and real distinction between the notes when played. You may like it and it probably might do really well in a concert setting but it lacked the warmth and colour of the Kawai we picked and which we preferred for a home environment. The Bluthner was also very expensive compared to other uprights of the same size and I personally seem to generally prefer the richness of sound you tend to get from the larger pianos rather than whatever a higher quality but smaller piano brings to the table.

But really, listen to everyone here. You cannot predict which piano you will love from reading about them and imagining from their marketing descriptions or what we say here about how they will sound like or even how they feel. I'm sure the best approach is to just go out and play every piano you can until you recognise what you yourself like and what you don't. Then its time to go and find a good example of the pianos you do like.

Ok that is surprising since Bluthner is knowned for its rather mellow and slightly warm sound (or?), maybe the room was affecting the sound, who knows? When it comes to price that can certainly influence the impression you get, if it is high you get expectations and if it do not sound like expected it can put you off. I am not defending Bluthner I am just suggesting reasons why it did not perform, maybe the piano was crap. My impressions of Bluthner listening online is not the most powerful sound but a warm mellow tone with a little sparkle on top. I heard a grand that sounded rather thin and weak which I did not like but this was not what I heard on every Bluthner, far from it. Guess I have to slow down and try to visit nearest dealer before I buy, sigh!

Two years ago I wrote about a piano shopping experience in Montreal. This was an initial trip to find our son a seriously good upright piano to replace his then 18year old Clavinova.
Long story short, we tried several stores, and it was at Piano Vertu that I was able to try a new Bluthner for the first time. My son, a reasonable pianist and ex conservatory pupil was like a kid in a candy store, and enjoyed a number of the uprights on display, but was particularly drawn towards a Bluthner. This was the piano he returned to several times during the period of our stay and he agreed that the Bluthner upright (believe it was a 124cm) was by far the best upright in the store, which I hasten to add was superbly prepared. A few months previously he'd been playing my Sauter, and agreed that although there was a slight difference in tonality (thought the Sauter had more 'sparkle'), he preferred the lighter touch of the Bluthner.
My opinion is that nobody would truly be disappointed with a Bluthner upright of that size, especially if well prepared.

I very nearly bought one. I visited Blüthner’s London shop. Afterwards I emailed the salesman who gave me his card asking for the best price on a C and A. He took ages to get back to me and in that time I went with a Bechstein instead.

They were lovely. And they 100% live up to their reputation of being mellow. So bear that in mind, if you play a lot of upbeat or rag time, I’d probably say they’re not for you. However for things like Debussy and Beethoven sonatas (especially when the melody is in the tenor) they sound sublime.

Best of luck.

Its so.nice to hear you enjoy your piano ! I tried the A124 and yes its very good .It did not seem as mellow as a Bluthner, but
that is fine ! A good tone is not always the most mellow tone ,
but related to the response .Bluthners are very mellow and of course are excellent instruments , the tone is creative .
However the tone of Bechstein uprights are not too unlike the
tone of Sauter uprights. "Bell like" is what I would honestly call it and a singing tone that is rich rather than thin. They may also be very creative but perhaps have more sparkle than Bluthners.
We all have different taste and even European pianos certainly do not all sound the same.

Yes I think that’s fair. Bechstein is definitely brighter.

To be honest though when looking for my piano I tried: Bechstein, Sauter, Petrof, Grotrian, Bosendorfer and Steingraeber (and others I’m sure I forgot). Absolutely none of them came close to the Blüthner for mellowness. So it’s just a warning to the OP. I’m not saying bright pianos are better than mellow or the opposite case. Just to be aware of it. I’d encourage the OP to try the piano himself but it is difficult at the moment like they said.

I fell in love with the crystal clear treble on my piano. The bass will never be as good as bigger pianos but it’s still mighty impressive for its size.