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Genaa (a member of this forum) has posted a very detailed search for a quality upright in the US PianoWorld forum... This is certainly worth looking at although he did not try a Bluthner (well I don't think he did)... link below: http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/1/23314.ht...

I didn't take to the Irmler at all and found the Schimmel rather disappointing, given it's price. Perhaps I was unlucky with the setup. As a curiosity - exactly what do you mean by 'setup'... As far as I can tell - the the biggest difference between pianos is tonal - and this has a lot to do with h...

This is quite a big price range you are covering... personally I think your choice may change over the years - and by the time you get to grade 8 - you may choose a completely different sounding piano than today.. Given that I would suggest that you go with one at the cheaper end of the range that h...

Genaa You wrote a full report (informative and interesting) of your piano search for the forum at Piano World... why not, in the meantime while you wait, compile and write a report on all the pianos that you try out while you wait (ie about the pianos that you did not catch).... keep it to the uprig...

How about going to visit Sauter in Germany - have a look at your piano in some stage of assembly...

Personally I would expect my tuner to fix minor problems - which he does - as part of the tuning visit. I am certain that if the problem was more serious - he would charge for fixing it. Whether or not I would claim the cost against the guarantee would depend on how much it cost and also how much I ...

- the trick is to go to a retailer that stocks a few of the model you like I guess that we keep going round in a circle (well I do at least)... the bottom line is to find a piano that has a touch one enjoys and a tone that one finds inspiring - buy that piano and make sure that they deliver exactly...

Dear Mr Openwood This thread is not about how much the tone can be changed by voicing - we will leave that for another time ... but I am curious about what dealers actually do to their stock of pianos. I have read too often the comment that 'this piano must be badly prepped' in response to complaint...

OK.. I understand the part about removing the packing material but to get to point of my question: some months ago I was about to buy a Zimmermann Z1... I heard one that had a beautiful tone and touch at a dealer on the Swiss side of the border... but since I live in France - I went to a French deal...

A rather novice question.. but: On this forum and others - when one states that a so-and-so piano sounded bad - or had some problem with the 'touch' - one often sees the comment that the piano was badly 'prepped' by the dealer. Surely when a piano arrives at the dealer - it should have passed a qual...

It's the tightness of the route of the string through the agraffe. Each string vibrates at a slightly different speed in the A-B plane to the X-Y plane resulting in a beat. I must say that the technical info on this forum is excellent... I have this new Bechstein Academy upright but I am not expert...

One can only speak generally, but all Kawais are no harder to tune than all Yamahas( or any other pianos other than false Bechsteins), nor are they less stable. Overtight wrest pins? The note doesn't drop in and stay? Wolf notes? Strings slip immediately? Sorry to show my ignorance but what is: (a)...

OK - now we all understand the problem... a ~ 2 year old piano - a Zimmermann that even though it is not the highest quality piano that Bechstein makes - it is certainly in the class of expensive high-class German pianos. The buyer did not pay a rock bottom price so the dealer must have made a reaso...

I do not want to nitpick but "What do i do when a dealer fails to address some issues i have regarding a new piano i purchased from them. ? " Implies a fresh new piano - not one that is nearly two years old. If this new piano had been delivered with these faults - and you get no joy from t...

Less than 2 years old is new - but not spanking new that you can claim that they sold you a defective instrument and you want them to take it away - give your money back etc etc ... I am uncertain what the dealer offers in the UK... In France the standard minimum offer is to deliver the piano, and o...

I think more details are needed...
1. What piano did you buy?
2. Did you buy it at a regular price - or was it a bargain basement clearance?
3. What did you ask the dealer to do - how long ago - and what did he do (he did nothing I guess)

Many thanks PianoGuy - you were right on the money with your comment: Most likely this is another completely different string resonating in sympathy. Try taking the bottom door off and damping the bass strings, it could be a long section of a string below the damper that is just the wrong length to ...

(a) The supplier-dealer is 2 hours travel away ... (b) I suspect that the supplier-dealer is more interested in 'supplying' than after-sales service - so I am not sure if I can trust anything he tells me with 100% confidence (maybe I am being unfair to him) Given this I prefer to get the expert opin...

This concerns a new Bechstein Academy 124. Certain notes - especially the lowest treble before the crossover (if this makes sense) have very strong harmonics that do not stop when the dampers are reapplied. ie one plays the note (loud) and then releases the key so that the damper is reapplied and on...

Dear Mr Openwood... Given the number of excellent comments you make to this forum - I have a lot of respect for your observations and opinions ... however a Yamaha C7 is already a great piano. Undoubtedly working on the hammers can result in a warmer rounder tone - your post states just that... but ...

Dear Vernon It is refreshing to read your words... this magic of voicing is much overrated in my opinion. Luckily I am still in the happy position of really liking the tone of the my piano (a Beckstein)... if I hope that this does not change as I have little hope that 'voicing' will be a solution...

Dear Hamonymouse Do not forget to keep us posted as you go down this voicing route. Somehow I sense that some people feel that one can change to tone to whatever you want by expert voicing. Somehow I suspect the tone of the piano depends on more things than the hardness/softness of the hammers. Maki...

Bechstein and Zimmermann vary considerably, so dealer prep is very important. it's certainly possible to prepare a Zimmermann to sound and play better than a badly set-up Bechstein of similar size, so I think some of your decision has been influenced by this. Obviously I am totally influenced by th...

As requested - you can see photos of the piano at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28728922@N03/ After some study I conclude that this Bechstein Academy 124 is closer to the C.Bechstein Classic 124 than the Zimmermann Z1. I suspect that the frame and sounding board of this Academy model is identical to...

Personally I found the Rondo a very attractive item... whether this would be true in 5 years time - who can say - but in my case I would suspect the answer would be yes. Regarding the sound - I agree with A440 ... it was a much more interesting sound than other pianos and had a great dynamic range. ...

We visited - and were very disappointed with the Zimmermann Z1 - the tone was very uninteresting... the salesman said that it had only come in that week and needed to be worked on... and we should go back next week ... however we had driven 2 hours to get there so to come back was not a too interest...

Thanks for all your comments and interest ... certainly we will fully investigate the Sauter line.. I will post the result of this investigation

Just to give a bit more info... this piano is for my son - who has made excellent progress on a small Rosler - made before the Wall came down. However this piano has done its duty and now I believe starts to limit his progress. The 'touch' is very heavy, the dynamic range of sound is limited and the...

Zimmermann Z1/Seiller Konsole 122/Sauter 120 Any advice on which piano to choose... all are a similar price ~ 8500 euros in France.. which is ~ 6750 british pounds. All are new - we will see all three this weekend at the same dealer. My preference is for the Zimmermann Z1 - for no good reason... but...