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I am looking to purchase a 5 foot, Weber grand piano for our church. The church is fairly small (seats 500). However, our temperatures in the church do fluctuate so we need a good quality piano. Can anyone give me some information about the make of Weber pianos and if they would be a good quality to use in a church?

Thank you!

I see two potential problems with the Weber in your situation:

1. A 5' grand is designed for a small to mid-size living room. It simply doesn't have enough volume to be heard in even smaller santuaries, unless the player really "pounds" out the notes. This brings me to the 2nd problem:

2. The Chinese-made Weber pianos (I assume that is what you are looking at), is built to sell at a low price and its quality is not such that it would hold up to heavy use or considerable changes in environment.

You simply need a better quality instrument in this application.

I would look for a good used Japanese- or Korean-made grand of at least 5'7" in length. You may have to increase your budget, but at least you will have an instrument that is equal to its tasks.

I know this seems odd comming from a piano tech and on the piano forum, but take a look at the Yamaha CLP265 and CLP295 digital grands. They will fit you space and budget. It will be impervious to temp and humidity fluctuations. It will patch into your PA system seemlessly.
Unless you can step up to at least a 5'8" Yamaha or Kawai you will beat a 5' lesser quality piano to death.

If you consider a digital keep in mind that their life-expectency when used in a church is about 7 years. A decent acoustic would likely last 40+ years.

Hey Steve,

Could you elaborate on why a good quality digital, like the Yamaha CLP series, would have a life expectancy of only 7 years? That really puzzles me. I mean, I have a very old Yamaha digital (almost 20 years old) that is still working like it was new. In fact, I'd love to throw it away, but can't justify it because it works perfectly. So I let my kids bang on it.

Is it something about the church use?

Mark

The typical Digital lasts about 12-15 years. The fact that a few last longer doesn't change to odds. Most church instruments last for considerable less time than those bought for home use.

That said, I based the comment on my experience. We have carried and sold Roland, Yamaha, Technics and Kawai digitals to dozens of churches. Few last more than 6-8 years.

BTW, I would guess that, were your 20 year old Yamaha digital at a church, the music director would have demanded something that performed better. The performance quality of digitals has evolved dramaticlly, and continues to evolve albeit a tad slower. Music is an integral part of many church services. Churches generally want the better performance newer instrument provide.

Oh, definitely, Steve -- the old Yamaha digital is really a piece of junk by current standards. I couldn't agree more. Almost anyone would demand and rightly expect far more from a digital keyboard today.

I was just thinking that, well, if that old clunker lasted all this time, with no apparent decline in functionality, why wouldn't a newer one do the same? FWIW, my poor old Yammy has been lugged all over the place, loaned out to friends, left in a wet basement, stored in a hot attic, etc. I just can't seem to destroy the stupid thing.

It's funny, in whatever year it was, long, long ago, I paid something like $1200 for that thing. I paid $600 a few months ago for a bottom-of-the-line Yammy digital -- a P70 -- and it is *worlds* better than the old one (I think it's called a YP55, I'm too lazy to go look). I've just been sitting here playing the P70, and I continue to be amazed with it. It's a nice keyboard.

Anyway, I would guess, at the prices these things go for, 7-10 years life expectancy is still pretty nice, for something that never needs tuning, is immune to climate change, and sounds adequate for most purposes....

churchpianist –

I was in your shoes a few weeks ago. (See the thread titled “New Grand for Church). I recommend that you do a LOT of shopping before you buy. Our sanctuary holds about 350, is 2 stories and carpeted. We had only a few dealers to shop at and were pretty much limited to Yamaha and Kawai. On a whim we stopped at a Steinway dealer and played a new Boston and the choir director (who had the final decision) really liked it.

To make a long story short, we raised a few more $$, got a church discount and bought a Boston GP163, 5 ft. 4in. baby grand. So far we love it! It sounds good in the space, is clear even when played pp, and doesn’t have to be pounded to be heard for hymn singing. We have had no problems with the temp and humidity fluctuations other than tuning. It’s now starting to go out but will be tuned in a couple of weeks.

I also recommend looking at used pianos. Though this was not an option in our case, I’ve seen a lot of good deals and you could get a bigger piano for your money. I know nothing about the Weber but from what I have read, even a “good quality” piano will have problems with temp and humidity fluctuations. I suggest you shop until you find a piano you really like.

EllyKay