Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Would you buy a black piano?

Since black absords all waves of light black pianos get very hot in the summertime - especially with their windows rolled up.

I tried to get a serious answer to this question about a year ago. Apparently no one really knows - or at least no one who read the question. I think late 19th/early 20th comes close though. There seems to have been a late Victorian vogue for ebonized furniture - beginning, I think, around the 1870's.

Pianos have windows???

Of course, they are the windows into your soul.

Serious pianos should be black, its a serious color.

Black delineates the sensuous curves of a piano like no other color. It is classic and lovely in form and function

That said, my dream piano is a Schimmel 189 in bubinga -- now that is jaw-dropping gorgeous!

The great black beasts make quite a statement on stage but personally I'd rather leave Darth Piano in the concert hall. Woodtones are just a little "friendlier" in a home. (That said if you got a big black 7 footer just lying around I wouldn't turn it down.)

Our first grand was a gorgeous red mahogany. We sure miss how it looked in our home. We bought our current piano in black because that is what was available and because even if there was one in wood in the showroom there is no way we could have afforded the wood finish.

If we ever buy another piano we will definitely be looking for wood. Probably something in red like Bubinga, Rosewood, Mahogany or one of those pretty Walters in Cherry.

Dan

+1. I like the woodgrain finishes on uprights, but more and more, I think I like ebony for a grand. I also greatly prefer the basic, classic cases over the more ornamental ones. It's a musical instrument, not a piece of furniture.

I wonder why they don't make true ebony finish. Then it is true black not stained black.

Originally posted by carey:
Well - seriously folks - does anyone know exactly when "black" became the standard (i.e. basic) finish for pianos - and was there a particular reason for it?? I wonder if this was simply a development of the late 19th/early 20th century? I can't recall when I've ever seen a keyboard instrument built prior to 1880 that was black.
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RESPONSE FROM FRYCEK -
I tried to get a serious answer to this question about a year ago. Apparently no one really knows - or at least no one who read the question. I think late 19th/early 20th comes close though. There seems to have been a late Victorian vogue for ebonized furniture - beginning, I think, around the 1870's.

DEAR FRYCEK - THANKS FOR ACKNOWLEDGING AND RESPONDING TO MY QUESTION. I APPRECIATE IT.

CERTAINLY THERE MUST BE SOMEONE WHO PARTICIPATES IN THESE FORUMS WHO KNOWS ENOUGH ABOUT THE HISTORY OF PIANO BUILDING TO BE ABLE TO TELL US WHEN AND WHY BLACK BECAME THE STANDARD FINISH FOR GRANDS AND UPRIGHTS. JUDGING FROM THE PRICES OF PIANOS, THE SATIN AND POLISHED EBONY FINISHES SEEM TO BE THE LEAST EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE.

Double Post -- see below:

Pianos are big. Satin black is a neutral color that's easy to repair in case damage occurs (which can happen in venues with some frequency). Therefore, most pianos on stages are black. People go to concerts and see black pianos and they want black ones too. To most people black = piano in much the same way that MOST people equate tuxedos with black or limousines with black. Understated elegance is always in style. Bright colors and tailfins however come and go, so those pianos tend to get dated quickly and can be hard to sell down the road.

How many people do YOU know that are dying for distressed oak or antique white?

Simple in my view - I want my piano at home to approximate as closely as possible the instrument I perform on when on stage, which will be, in all likelihood, black.

Black grand against a nice hardwood stage (or home) floor... mmmmmm!

No question that the wood finishes are stunning (SHPiano's Bösendorfer 225 comes to mind!!), though...

Cheers

Ebonized finishes on keyboard instruments go back quite a while. There many examples of 17th century harpsichords and clavichords in this finish. Most likely closely linked to trade and travel to Japan where the japaning of metal caught their eye.
True ebony cannot be used. It is too hard and brittle to slice into the veneers needed to finish a piano. Other ebonies like Macasssar are used.

It's interesting that this discussion is taking place during Black History Month. Why, just yesterday was Abraham Lincoln's birthday!

I'm so happy we can freely discuss black and not worry about some politically correct person insisting we refer to them as a "pianos of color."

I would never buy a fine quality grand piano UNLESS it were black. Most serious musicians prefer satin or polished ebony grands. If you're not a serious musician, then the color or wood finish won't really matter.

Since neither Black nor White are colours would this mean that a serious piano, if its black, does not exist?

What a phenomena .

I haven't been here for ages and I can't believe this topic is up AGAIN! Black is the color of cast iron skillets. I love my satin mahogany. It is a serious piano, but it is also seriously beatiful. I'm very glad hubbie insisted on the wood finish, because I would have *settled* for black just to get my piano. But seriously, I have read that they began doing pianos in black because fine woods required for more woodworking/carpentry skill and were more expensive.

Hasn't everybody heard????? green is the new black :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: