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Joined: Apr 2015
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So I went to Melbourne to choose from two S7Xs.
The first one was the same floor model I tried last time. You might remember I was extremely impressed with the bass on this piano. It was like a concert grand. But I wasn't so impressed with the treble. This time, the piano had been pulled away from the wall and placed in the center of the room. Without the reflecting sound I heard immediately that the treble had no resonance or substance. The only thing you could do with it was either play softly, or play very percussively to get a stronger sound out of it. I wrote it off right away.
The second piano was a brand new one out of the box. I instantly noticed that the treble was much nicer (i.e. in the killer octave) - it had substance and resonance and produced a more intense sound with less effort. But the bass did not compare to the other one. Like some C7Xs I've played, you have to hit the lowest bass octaves with quite a lot of force to get a very strong sound, whereas the other piano was naturally resonant in the bass.
The treble is too important settle for a crappy treble in exchange for a beautiful bass, so naturally I had to choose the new piano. You'll recall I had no choice but to choose one of them as they wouldn't unbox the second piano without a commitment to purchase. I'm hoping that once the hammers harden a bit from playing the bass will improve a bit. And, hopefully the bass will sound powerful and resonant anyway given that I'll be using it at home in a smaller space.
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Congratulations! Yes, with a purchase like that, you should get a good bass, mid and treble The whole piano will get louder and brighter as it is played in. The bass may be more than enough once in your home as well. If necessary, there are definitely technical approaches to bring the bass up that your piano technician can discuss with you in the future if necessary. Congrats again. That is a serious piano.
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You can always ask if the dealer can do something about the new piano to get a better bass. My tech added "hot sauce" (probably some kind of lacquer) to get the bass back on the Bosie after the previous tech voiced it down too much. Now with the new hammers the bass sounds more muted again.
Of course you could play in the hammers as planned. If you're playing a lot of heavy pieces it could just happen on its own, and if it doesn't to your satisfaction you can ask your tech to do something about it farther down the line. Congrats on picking out your piano.
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I'm not 100% happy, as a significant motivation for my purchase was the fantastic bass I heard on the other piano. James Paval Shawcross was also extremely impressed by the bass on the S7X he reviewed on his youtube video. If I did it again, I wouldn't commit to a purchase without playing the particular piano I would be buying beforehand. But, the treble on this piano was very nice. I had no complaints apart from the bass.
Last edited by Sonepica; 05/15/21 03:24 PM.
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It's hard to imagine that the either the weak bass on one piano or the weak treble on the other are nearly as bad as you describe them. These are pianos with an SMP of 100K. Nor can I imagine the the bass on a high quality 7'6" piano would not be excellent in a home setting. You should ask the dealer to try to improve the bass on the piano you chose.
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It's hard to imagine that the either the weak bass on one piano or the weak treble on the other are nearly as bad as you describe them. These are pianos with an SMP of 100K. Nor can I imagine the the bass on a high quality 7'6" piano would not be excellent in a home setting. You should ask the dealer to try to improve the bass on the piano you chose. The treble on the floor model was completely unsatisfactory to me. I ruled it out right away. The bass on the other piano was fine, probably at least as good as most C7Xs. It just didn't have the resonant quality you hope for in a more expensive piano.
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Joined: Jan 2020
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Sounds as if there is room to grow, assuming the basic character is right. Remember-- right out of the box.
Congrats.
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I'm not sure how much it will improve, because the difference is probably due to the woods used in the pianos. For the bass on the second piano it just seemed like certain frequencies died out more quickly leaving a less "full" sound. The woods didn't resonate all that well with the bass. You could compensate by hitting the bass really hard (eg using both hands and fingers one and three on each note of the octave), but that's not really what you hope for in the bass.
Last edited by Sonepica; 05/15/21 03:38 PM.
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Joined: May 2001
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Sorry to hear this.
Your all reasoning going for a larger grand has fallen apart now. You are just paying more for nothing.
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Play it in. And then, if you're still not happy in a few years, trade it for another Yamaha that you like on the floor. Or a Bosendorfer.
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[...] If I did it again, I wouldn't commit to a purchase without playing the particular piano I would be buying beforehand. But, the treble on this piano was very nice. I had no complaints apart from the bass. That's undoubtedly a rather expensive lesson learned, particularly so since you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase. Presumably, it's too late to change any of the details of the arrangement you had with the dealer. I suppose there is little chance of your offering the dealer the cost of setting up the "out-of-the-box" piano and just walking away from the deal altogether. It seems such a shame that, after such a commitment, you are going to be owning a piano that you are not satisfied with, regardless of what hopes you have for its future. This should be the moment of ultimate excitement and thrill, not one of accepting compromise. Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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Maybe I'm exaggerating the problem. I'm a very picky person who notices details. I suspect the bass will be very powerful and resonant when placed in a home setting. It is, overall, a very nice piano.
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Maybe I'm exaggerating the problem. I'm a very picky person who notices details. I suspect the bass will be very powerful and resonant when placed in a home setting. It is, overall, a very nice piano. Why would you assume that? Sounds like wishful thinking. You said bass strings were hand wounded. Also the ARE wood is not resonating. Some pianos have deaf bass. I wouldn’t make such an assumption.
Last edited by Hakki; 05/15/21 04:29 PM.
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I think the bass on the piano compares fine with those I've heard on C7Xs. That other S7X may just have been something special in the bass.
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Joined: May 2001
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Then why wouldn’t you go for C7X and pay much less?
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The rest of the piano was much nicer than a C7X.
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It's only when you get out home that you'll really get to know the piano. Might be the bad will be fine. I do know that when I got my piano home and really became acquainted with the sound that there were a couple of things I found that I didn't hear at the dealers.
I how it works out for you though. You should be ecstatic about a new piano especially for what you're paying.
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Joined: May 2001
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Well as Bruce said this seems like a rather expensive lesson learned.
It is a shame that the dealer forced you to make commitment.
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Get it home, give yourself some time (like 6 months) to play it in. If that doesn't work, have a tech lacquer the bass. As someone who is dealing with brand new hammers right now I know the potential is there (from the old hammers, which had a huge, full bass) but the bass just isn't as satisfying now. I'm planning to give it time, and if I still find it lacking to ask my tech to juice up the hammers.
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Joined: May 2001
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I would at least visit the Steinway gallery just to see how many B models they have on the floor to select from. If none or one then it might be the current dealer practice in Australia.
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
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