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Can we expand our pricing guesses to uprights?

I'm waiting to hear back from some of the 'brass'.[NOT Pearl River!!]

Meantime the calculators are humming.

After that,the highly [un]expeected results
will be released upon this Forum.

Last minute votes accepted.

That's a shame. I was especially interested in Pearl River. :p

I have been thinking a lot about Jodi's question about why there is such a price difference between different size instruments. I can understand why there is some price difference - more materials and labor to finish and higher shipping and storage costs. But I can't think of a reason why the difference should be more than $5000. In light of this (I know this is lame), I want to change my votes to the following:

1st tier:
6' - $30-35k
7' - $35-40k
9' - $40-45k

2nd tier:
6' - $20-25k
7' - $25-30k
9' - $30-35k

3rd tier
6' - $10k
7' - $15k
9' - $20k

I am actually willing to pay more for the first tier instruments, the ones with the less bang for the buck. Not for snobbery or prestige, but for the reason is that these companies have spent more than 100 years refining and perfecting their product and their processes. This is apparent to me every time I touch one of these instruments. There is a richness of tone and presence, refinement of touch, range of color and dynamics, and level of control that is unmatched by lesser instruments. Anybody that does not need or want this level of performance would likely be happy with a cheaper 2nd or 3rd tier instrument (unless they are themselves snobs). But those that appreciate and desire the performance of the 1st tier instruments should pay something for the investment over the years that has been made by these companies, again to refine and perfect their products.

Anyone that believes that the old piano manufacturers never experiment or try new things doesn't really know what is going on. I have been surprised a few times by some things that supposedly "stagnant" piano manufacturers have tried.

Ryan

No doubt, hehe

Actually, I intended to list them along with Bluthner. :p

Norbert:

You said:



I can hardly stand the suspense!. When are you going to let us in on the result???

Derick

I just got back from 3 days at the Frankfurt show, and guess what? Nobody showed up, no dealers or manufacturers! I heard that they all stayed home to monitor this thread.

Baldwin was there though, but they think that they are building big guitars, not pianos.

lb

lb:
Was there any news at all from Baldwin????
Any updates from Petrof? (I'm not familiar with the show you attended -- so sorry if these questions are off-base)
-Brad

Derrick:

Hold your horses. Results coming!

We have all names and numbers from the guilty parties.

Sentencing will be hard and heavy.

There will be a lot of moaning and groaning.

[Not to forget the 'gnashing'...of teeth!]

For your comfort:CEO life has never been closer to "heck on earth"!!

Expect.... 'Paradise'.... yourself, Sir!!

Brad

The Frankfurt show is just like the NAMM show, just a little bigger. It is probably the biggest display of musical instruments in the world. Anything that would make a noise was displayed.

I was joking about no one being there, all the worlds piano manufacturers were there, with a few exceptions. Steinway U.S. never shows with anyone else, and Steinway Hamburg was missing this year also. They may have taken lead from their American cousins and displayed in a hotel suite somewhere near by. Schulze Pollmann and obviously Charles Walter weren't there, but everyone else was. Estonia was showing there for the first time to my knowledge.

Most of the piano manufacturers were grouped in one large hall. Yamaha had their own floor, but they were showing their complete range(except gas powered) of products. The Yamaha accoustical display was disappointing, but their electronics and other instruments were impressive. Sammick, Kwai, Young Chang, and Baldwin were off to themselves in another building.

I don't know what you mean by updates from Petrof, but I can say that at their reception desk, they had the best candy at the show. Not much talk about Baldwin around the show either. They had a lot better display than at NAMM, but most of the pianos seemed to have missed a couple steps in the QC process. I did see the new Ellington for the first time, and it makes the Red Octobers look a little better.

Today and tomorrow the show is open to the public and it gets a little insane, so I bug out.

lb

Why wouldn't Schulze Pollmann be there? It's not like it's THAT far away. They make it to Anaheim.

penny

Norbert,

If what you say is not in jest:



I don't know how I'll be able to stand the suspense until you publish the results!

Derick