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How can you know what? His first or second statement or both?

I was wondering the same!

Anyway, both are true and well-documented.

What Happened in 1980?

Hi all,

Here is the bad news. Acoustic piano sales for the past decade (excluding the pandemic) have slid a bit. In 2019, there was a total of a little over 31,000 new acoustic pianos sold in the USA. That is compared to a little over 41,000 in 2011 (the beginning of the decade).

Here is the good news. The number of console or grand style digital pianos has continued to increase. In 2011 there were just over 120,000 digital pianos sold. In 2019, there were 174,000 digital pianos sold. That means that between 2011 and 2019 the industry went from 161,000 total units to 205,000 total units in 2019. Does this mean the acoustic piano is going away? No way.

The fact is that a digital piano, IMHO, is often an easier decision for families getting a first piano than an acoustic. It is a cleaner purchase in that it has little to no maintenance, fits places an acoustic will not, can be played with head phones, is easier to move etc. It is true that the performance of even the finest digital pianos, like the Clavinovas, do not equal the performance of a fine studio piano. But they are world's better than most of the mediocre to terrible spinets and compressed action consoles that so many families bought when I was a child.

In our industry a few of us give trade ups to digital piano buyers for a specific amount of time to encourage them to consider an acoustic piano. I just traded up a family from a 3k digital piano to a 10k professional studio this morning.

So, IMHO, the piano is not dead, but it does continue to evolve. Technology is not going anywhere.

Speaking to that, the percentage of acoustic pianos being sold with technology is increasing as a percentage yearly (Disklaviers, Silent pianos, Transacoustic, etc.) . Yamaha was once the only manufacturer in that space, but now there are more choices and within a few years I predict if a manufacturer does NOT offer those options, they will lose a significant number of their potential clients.

Also, great to see you here I. Bruton!

My 2 cents,

... One becomes accustomed to the sound and touch of your own piano and that becomes the preferred norm. And I would also suggest, controversially perhaps, that constantly playing just a digital rather dulls the senses, Every acoustic is different, in touch and sound whereas basically all digitals of the same make and model sound and feel the same - or should do!...

The tactile response from playing an acoustic, to me, is vitally important to my playing. No digital has completely replicated that response yet. (My opinion has not settled regarding the digital hybrid I recently purchased). However, if a player was never used to the feel of an acoustic, then they are not missing that response to begin with. Perception is reality.

i was testing high end digitals kawai nv-5s kawai nv-10s and not even them can match a medium upright piano and will never match a grand. but thats just my opinion.

A digital piano does not sound like a real piano. It sounds like a recording of a nice piano played back through speakers. I understand this to be true even of the elaborate 20k to 30k digital "grands" that have an actual soundboard with speakers embedded in it. And I'm not aware of any emerging technology that will allow digital pianos to sound like real pianos. So acoustic pianos are not becoming obsolete except insofar as people don't care about that distinction or prioritize the low cost and convenience of digital pianos.

Just think, if you'd been alive in 1870 you'd have been writing to The Times to say 'These so-called grands are all very well but they'll never be a patch on a proper square piano'.

I dont think so. Unlike most digital instrument which will get outdated fast when the newer version is released. Even an old piano can still preserve its value well (depending on the piano condition surely).

Square pianos were defunct in England well before 1870.

But even before then, grand pianos did not replace squares - they coexisted, even as far back as the 18th century. Back then square pianos were the domestic instrument for the middle class - grands were for the aristocracy and the concert room.

...

Perhaps I should recast my original response so: 'Is the piano an outdated instrument?'....'Not quite yet'.

So pick another date, it doesn't really matter. Here we go:

1905....."can't see these horseless carriages taking over from a proper pony and trap"

1948....."these dreadful 33s have no soul, won't ever replace proper 78s"

etc, etc.

If you feel like being picky over exact dates, go ahead.

Perhaps I should recast my original response so: 'Is the piano an outdated instrument?'....'Not quite yet'.