Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Are there upright pianos with sostenuto?

I'd like to get a new piano, but it must have a functional sostenuto pedal. (Selective sustain) Are there any current or recent model upright pianos which do have a working sostenuto pedal? Is it an option for any uprights?

Barbara,

The one that comes to mind first is the Yamaha U5. It is the top-of-the-line 52" Yamaha upright and has full sostenuto.

This is the only upright piano that our company sells with sostenuto. Strangely, even the Schimmel 130 T with an Ancott price of over $18,000 does not have this feature. At least the Yamaha's Ancott blue book is only around $13,000. But discounted, it's available for under $10,000 in different parts of the country.

Good luck

Paul

My Steinway 1098 has a sostenuto pedal.

-merlin

Also look at Steinway 1098, Mason & Hamlin 50 and Baldwin 6000.

Also Kawai K-80, I believe.

The C. Bechstein Concert 8 has one; perhaps other models from this manufacturer as well.

Wm. Knabe WKV-131

I don't think the Baldwin 6000 has a true sostenuto, but maybe someone who has one right in front of them could check? Or could it appear on some 6000's and not others? I've also seen Steinway 1098's without a true sostenuto. (By a true sostenuto, I mean a pedal action which, when pressed after a key is down, keeps that note from damping as long as the sos pedal is pushed, regardless of whether the key is still down or not. The sos action works on any note which has a damper, not just on bass notes.)

I've seen the Yamaha U3 with the full sostonuto

In the past a sostenuto pedal was optional on the Steinway studio. Without a sostenuto the piano got two pedals, which probably horrified the ignorant who thought that a piano must have two pedals.

You might check the latest supplement to The Piano Book. For example, a sostenuto pedal is a $2,160 option on Bluethner verticals.

Petrof 135

My 1982 U3 has the full sostenuto pedal. I don't know which year it was discontinued in the U3, but the U5 (as Paul Y mentioned) is still available.

Some of these pianos have a sostenuto that only works on some of the notes. It may not extend to the top octave or so.

Sostenuto only works for the keys which have dampers. Since no dampers are used from about the 2nd highest G or so upward, neither sostenuto nor sustain will work there on any piano.

I don't know how consistent pianos are with the location of the highest damper. There may be some variation.

Pleyel 131 has a full sostenuto. (At least mine does!)

Some uprights have a sostenuto that does not extend to the top of the range of notes with dampers. (And no, I am not talking about a bass sustain pedal.)

Both the 121 and 131 cm Knabe's have full sustenuto.

FWIW, my Baldwin 6000 only has bass sostenuto. This is on a 1999 model. Not sure if it's the same for brand new one.

My 1907 Henry F. Miller 56 upright has a true sostenuto pedal. It's pedals are shaped differently, with a round shape at the end of each pedal. The pedals look odd compared to what is seen these days; but are comfortable enough to play ( I even play the pedals barefoot sometime).

The Jr. College in my town has new Yamaha U5 uprights with sostenuto.

Why do some manufacturers not put these pedals on all their models? Just wondering.