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Joined: May 2001
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Before getting a new Sauter, why not check if a mute rail can be installed on your present piano and if it can turned on and off. Or even if a practice pedal can be added to your present piano.
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Before getting a new Sauter, why not check if a mute rail can be installed on your present piano and if it can turned on and off. Or even if a practice pedal can be added to your present piano. That sounds like perfect advice. You do love your Sauter that’s already in your home. Seems like the perfect place to start.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia P230 At least half the waiters in Nashville play better than I
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Thanks in full to Covid, yes! I just replaced my Yamaha CVP8 with a Kawai CA79 with nothing more than online reviews.
A risk? yes, but a calculated one and I am more than pleased with the outcome as my 32 year old Clavinova was really getting tired.
White Kawai CA79 Musical Scotsman
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Before getting a new Sauter, why not check if a mute rail can be installed on your present piano and if it can turned on and off. Or even if a practice pedal can be added to your present piano. That sounds like perfect advice. You do love your Sauter that’s already in your home. Seems like the perfect place to start. I think Lady Bird has stated here that her main concern with having the mute rail added to her current Sauter upright is how it may affect the warranty. I am not sure if she has enquired about that or not. Perhaps she will elaborate more regarding the warranty issue... Rick
Piano enthusiast and amateur musician: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". Yamaha C7. YouTube Channel
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One way to help decide if it's a reasonable risk for you to buy a piano without testing it is to be play several pianos of the same make and model in a showroom. If you hear no significant difference it may be safe to buy without testing although I don't think it's a good idea in general. Especially so for those who frequent a piano forum who are likely to be more fussy than the average buyer.
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LadyBird and Rick,
A Sauter dealer should be able to answer that question. Might be the place to start. Personally I never met LadyBird but from her posts and her love for her own Sauter upright, ordering a piano without trying it doesn’t sound like a great idea. If I remember correctly, she ordered a Yamaha U1 or U3 that she sent back to the dealer because it didn’t play as it should. Well trained ears can be a disadvantage at times.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia P230 At least half the waiters in Nashville play better than I
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LadyBird and Rick,
A Sauter dealer should be able to answer that question. Might be the place to start. Personally I never met LadyBird but from her posts and her love for her own Sauter upright, ordering a piano without trying it doesn’t sound like a great idea. If I remember correctly, she ordered a Yamaha U1 or U3 that she sent back to the dealer because it didn’t play as it should. Well trained ears can be a disadvantage at times. J&J The first was a used YU10 which would not stay in tune. I never had it checked. The second piano was a U1 .It was very new and certainly had nothing wrong with it. It was going through a bad dose of "new piano syndrome" I had never experienced this before.So it change from very bright to metalic and almost a "crunchy tone " It would then go back to being a nice piano. So it had moods. It had had a good bass and treble .We were tempted by the Sauter .We traded this piano up at full value . From my observation of the "new Sauter" in the store down the road the piano does not present these symptoms to this degree. It has been in that store for two years now at least. Even when it does need tuning it never has these changes. But yes new piano syndrome........how is your piano behaving ?
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It’s still settling in but I’m enjoying it. I celebrated its first birthday. I do think because it was crated for 6 months and only on the floor 2 months it might take somewhat longer to settle in.
If the dealer gives you a good trade in on your Sauter and if other Sauter’s you tried were as beautiful sounding as yours, maybe trading for one with a practice pedal isn’t really that risky. Is the big Schimmel w/ practice pedal out of contention?
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia P230 At least half the waiters in Nashville play better than I
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The Schimmel K132 is certainly a very nice piano .It was made in early 2016 and has been crated since 2018. It has only come out of its box a few weeks ago .It is a vertical so would would not have been crated on its side like a grand . Yes it lost its tuning after about 12 days of being tuned....well enough tuning to lose its sparkle in tone. It was no doubt its first tuning here in Canada .So really if its tuned in a month after settling in I would really know how it is ....well , I would know more.
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Keep us posted. I enjoy a good piano adventure.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia P230 At least half the waiters in Nashville play better than I
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Yes I shall.., Thank you all for your help.
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So yes the Schimmel K132 when in tune is rather magnificent. As I said it is the only piano that I have ever played apart from the Concert 8 Bechstein that truly sounds like a medium sized grand. My 130 Sauter certainly has a grand like sound ,but for someone who wants a true substitute for meduim sized grand, this K132 is the one. It can not only play loudly but one can play ppp softly , quickly and easily. (which I did not exspect) Thinking about it makes me want to buy it. Still the loss of tuning (and tone) has caused me to hesitate...
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I believe that I'd grow to love any of the above pianos. I believe every new piano is an adventure in love. By definition it will be a little different from the one you were used to. The little devils in the old one are gone, but so are the little angels. New devils and angels appear. But yes, definitely, a new piano must "grow" on you, you must learn to love it. I have always ordered new pianos unseen, because my wife and I insist on fine wood finishes as part of her home architecture concerns. I have always been pleasantly surprised, but yes, "surprised". I like serendipity and accept a little risk and chance. Vikendios Your post was just so interesting I felt I had to answer. I understand your dislike of Polished Ebony pianos .I also have my likes and dislikes .For example you will never find me with a white or a red piano.If I was given such a piano I would have to sell it even if it was a Steinway or Bosendorfer. Well , perhaps for a Bosendorfer I could tolerate a red one ..? 🤔 I also love wood finish on a piano....only certain types of wood finish .If its marked Satin Walnut and the wood just has "horizontal growth line "or even worse vertical stripes" and no rounded or circular natural lines I would say sorry you can keep it. It gives me the impression that the piano is just made of plank. If it is not too light a wood finish with a natural or really beautiful wood finish I probably would take that. My old Kawai had a Mahogany gloss finish. It was really quite nice but I always thought I would have preferred Polished Ebony. Today Polished Ebony is done very well and in some European brands is more expensive than some types of wood finish. Ultimately its a "finish" in other words a slither of a certain type of wood or in some type of "Polished Ebony" .If I do actually decide to order a different Sauter upright, I shall not ,I do not think order the Satin Walnut finish even though it is about $2,000 CAD cheaper. Strangely enough my husband finds certain Satin wood finish less attractive than I do. This could be a subject of a fascinating thread ,or not ?
Last edited by Lady Bird; 11/25/20 07:56 PM. Reason: spelling
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Maybe piano manufacturers should offer their pianos in grey primer so they can be finished in the owners preferred colours.
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Maybe piano manufacturers should offer their pianos in grey primer so they can be finished in the owners preferred colours. Oh, now wouldn't that be fun! I can see it all now! We will have interminable threads asking such unanswerables as: "What colour should I paint my piano? Should I paint it to match the other furniture, or should I paint it to stand out from the rest? Should it match the wall colour or the colour of the flooring? Should the colour reflect my personality? What do you think my personality is? Why do you think that? ... " etc., etc., etc. [Sigh!] Cheers!
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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Well we could start that right now .Does my piano match my clothes or would my art deco furniture go with my very traditional black grand . Will my black polyester upright cause to me anxiety about about the mafia or the people I think are part of the mob down the road ? What do you think ? Should I move or should I buy a white piano instead ?
Last edited by Lady Bird; 11/26/20 03:43 PM. Reason: spelling
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Well we could start that right now .Does my piano match my clothes or would my art deco furniture go with my very traditional black grand . Will my black polyester upright cause to me anxiety about about the mafia or the people I think are part of the mob down the road ? What do you think ? Should I move or should I buy a white piano instead ? Speaking of the mafia, the mob, gangs, etc..., in my neck of the woods, I could drive roughly 50 miles north, and my chances of being a victim of a violent crime, or even murder, would go up 10/20 fold. No kidding, and no joke. Speaking of the exterior finish of our piano(s) matching our personality, or home decor, I guess I have a split personality. I have a satin ebony finish grand, a satin cherry finish grand, and a satin walnut finish upright in my home. So, I suppose I don't have a personality that is high-gloss, but I do have multiple personalities, and I'd like to think they are all high-class. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Rick
Piano enthusiast and amateur musician: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". Yamaha C7. YouTube Channel
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I find it amusing, all the consternation of playing pianis over and over, trying to detect the minutest of differences to finally declare a final winner.
In real life one gets to choose from a small handful of candidates that happen to be available in that small slice of time, in one’s restricted area, and within one’s budget.
If you think about it, throughout the history of buying pianos, most all were bought unseen. And a huge portion of those were bought mail order from Sears and Roebuck catalogs. Shipped by train and even horse cart to the final owner. You got what you got. No exchanges, no returns.
Or maybe you lived in a city and went to the dealer who placed your order “direct to the factory” and your piano arrived after some time.
There was definitely no internet or YouTube for reviews or sample recordings.
I admit that the mass majority of pianos purchased over the decades were chosen by cabinet style and looks foremost, so playability and tone were of minor concern anyway.
I would love to be back in 1905 and could order a brand new Steinway upright for $395. Sight unseen.
-Bill L. - former tuner-technician
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Wb The average yearly wage in 1900 was $438, so a new Steinway upright cost almost a year’s pay. I’m afraid if you could go back in time you would need to accept the salary along with the purchase price.
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
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