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PianoGuy

What's making the shortlisting difficult is because I'm after something quite specific, I've yet to try even two contenders (the actual ones I might buy as opposed to the same model, or the same model without silent...etc) next to one another. Comparing two different pianos a hundred or so miles an...

PianoGuy

The East German hammers used were not that good quality quite frankly. Get a good tech to fit a new set of west German 'ABEL' hammers and you'll have a great piano! :D As long as the action's OK! To be fair, most of the ones officially imported to the UK were fitted with Renners from the mid '80s o...

PianoGuy

Tuned a Klein & Sons grand today which they say they got for 3K brand new!! Never heard of the make before - where are they from? Klein is a French manufacturer. They used to have some kind of link to Bentley/Woodchester Pianos and shared frame designs on some models. I would have thought that ...

PianoGuy

Samick and Reid-Sohn are identical AFAIK. They are generally well-built, but some do indeed have a strident sound. My main bugbear with them is the ridiculously tight wrestpins rendering them untuneable in one visit if they've been allowed to slip, so unless they're regularly tuned, they can sound h...

PianoGuy

A 79 Model A is likely to sell for 7-8k if brought up to scratch at a reputable dealer. Exactly that, but it can take a lot of work, hence the price. In effect you appear to be buying raw material to which work is likely to be needed, or perhaps the dealer just wants a quick sale on a basically dec...

PianoGuy

Having researched the web the Bluthner really looks like a bargain. I was hoping for the decision to be easy, perhaps it is! Any thoughts welcomed. I don't know what research you've done, but by now you should know that the piano in question is a Communist era Blüthner built in East Germany. Think ...

PianoGuy

I've never heard of that on a grand piano - I bought an upright earlier in the year mostly on the basis that I often need a celeste rail so as not to disturb people, but i figured that ruled out grands entirely... The celeste in a G-series appears to utilise the mountings that would be used for the...

PianoGuy

vernon wrote:I think Barrie must have a half-blow in mind

Ba dum tish!

"My name's Vern, aah'll be here aal week...."

PianoGuy

If different materials are used for different pitches, then information on a single pitch range would be fantastic. It may be worth mentioning that in an ideal design, for any given section of strings on a piano (Covered single strings in the bass, covered bichords in upper bass/tenor and trichord ...

PianoGuy

I'm seriously worried now. From the sounds of it, the piano itself may be a dud. :( :( Is this likely?? Relax! It really shouldn't be that serious a problem to sort out! Ignore the couple of joke comments on here! If all fails, I'm sure many of us here know Neil the Kawai rep, so we'll send in the ...

PianoGuy

vernon wrote: Kawais come in with excellent regulation.

Very true.

Could be excessive damp in the current location. That's a good one for creating bouncing hammers.

PianoGuy

It's a good question. I don't think I expected anything extra from Steinway. I went to them for convenience, and perhaps because I assumed it would guarantee a certain level of service (presumptious of me, I know)? Generally a good ploy, although you could probably find better cheaper. I can think ...

PianoGuy

Taking what away? This gets better. Its like one of those murder mysteries but with pianos. Which bit I would wonder.this work requires the piano and all of its componants. When the tech does come, please ask him to ping the tail on the donkey as he sounds like he likes games. It certainly sounds a...

PianoGuy

Good people, Please can you tell me more about my Marshall & Rose upright? Its serial number is 206237. I thought it was 1985, the tuner thought 1989... to be honest, if I didn't know they weren't made any more, I'd have said it was made last week it's so clean inside! The serial number should ...

PianoGuy

[quote="mdw"]Are these rogue dealers trained techs gone bad or just crooks who have decided the piano trade is the one for them. [quote]

Some of each sadly.
And the semi-skilled who believe their own hype!

PianoGuy

You are talking about a Danemann, right? Played lots of uprights at my school but never played a grand. Any good? Their uprights are generally better than their grands, but a few of their larger models were superb. They were made to the same rather pedestrian standards as their uprights in terms of...

PianoGuy

I certainly am, matey.

It staggers me what rogue dealers get away with and how much some of them charge for it.

PianoGuy

if it 1917, then it is a dead elephants teeth there is no way of tracing the history of the ivory unless you do a DNA test As the ivory is more than likely over 100 year old I under stand that should not be a problem There should be no problem anyway. US import law as I understand it prohibits the ...

PianoGuy

Judging by his feedback, many people have, and furthermore they appear satisfied!! Just goes to show how the huge number of crooks there are in the piano trade somehow appear to prosper.

PianoGuy

I recieved my K-5 today.... :D. I do love the piano sounds as it did in the shop. But ....... Just want to know if hearing the notes repeating when they are played very very slowly is normal. No. This fault should be easily rectifiable though. Contact the dealer asap and get him to send a technicia...

PianoGuy

We know nothing about buying pianos, Millers is a reputable company but does £3,000 for a '74 model seem expensive? Many thanks.... Yes. About £500 too much, unless it's 'factory' rebuilt. These are almost indistinguishable from new externally, and internally should have clean bright stri...

PianoGuy

athomik wrote:THe GB1 is also supposed to address a few issues such as tuning stability which seem to have plagued a few GA1s.

Plagued a FEW!!!???

They're pretty much all dreadful!

PianoGuy

It's based on the old Yamaha A1 which was a slow seller and very expensive for a 4'11" piano. They ditched the adornments and made them in Indonesia. I was under the impression "GB" stood for "Grand Basic", although predecessors were variously designated GH1-B, GA1 and GP1, ...

PianoGuy

If you buget is less than £1800 go for good 2nd hand 15-20 years old rather than new cheepie. Good point well made. In fact I think you really need to go above the 2k mark to get a good entry level Chinese piano. There are a few budget shockers around with untuneable ratchetty wrestpins a...

PianoGuy

That's interesting PG; how come they got one so right and the other so wrong? Don't really know. Different designers I guess. Similarly, the Steinway C does not enjoy the same reputation as the smaller B or larger D. I've only met one model C that I've really adored, and a few that are really a bit...

PianoGuy

For my two pence, if I had £25K-£30K to spend on a piano for institutional use, I'd buy a Yamaha S6 new. The reason I wouldn't go for a 1920s Steinway, even restored, or a 30 year old Steinway is that you really want something which is going to take a pounding. With a new piano you know what its be...

PianoGuy

I doubt they're bargains even for free, but you never know. Grands take up space so they are occasionally discarded especially if someone's moving house or needs to vacate in a hurry. I can't stress the importance of getting a technician to look at them, or better still find out who has been tuning ...

PianoGuy

Brumtuner wrote:If they're a 'midrange piano', I don't fancy full-mooning a lower end range piano.

Forget the rhyming slang. Full-mooning is about all they're worth.

PianoGuy

Know how you feel! And to think that chuffing awful Grauniad/Observer pull-out thingy by "Piano Expert, Tim Stein" (who he? ) recommended them to buy as a good midrange piano. Thank Christmas it was so London-centric and biased towards Marksons that not too many good citizens will take muc...

PianoGuy

For example a 1970s model might be 33k whereas a 1920s model might be 28k. Once someone like Jeff Shackell had rebuild a B, does the age not matter, even though we might be talking half a century difference? To a point, although the later example is always going to be more desirable owing to the fa...

PianoGuy

You need to get a local tuner to check em out for you, so I suggest a prod in your Yellow Pages but in general: Spencers tend to be 1920s/30s English fare with nothing complicated or special about them. their uprights rate far better than their small grands and most are nondescript mahogany. Actions...

PianoGuy

Elton favours a Yamaha- Elton wouldn't know a decent piano if he was slapped around his podgy jowls with one. Witness the awfully tuned Yamaha C111S he played that hastily rewritten and mawkish drivel on at Diana's funeral. Great piano, don't bother shooting the tuner because there obviously wasn't...

PianoGuy

Model V wrote:Just awaiting the "sharp wit" now.

Oooh!

Razor!

PianoGuy

crispin wrote: Equally enjoyable is the sharp wit and a dose of rudeness displayed by many contributors... I hope this does not change..

Not from me it won't!!

PianoGuy

This is obviously far too late to be useful, but I thought I should write something in defence of Weinbach! I purchased a brand new Weinbach baby grand in 2003, it was sold to me by Peter Salisbury, who is one of the foremost piano technicians in the country (he used to regularly tune pianos at the...

PianoGuy

The Shigeru Kawai will certainly give the S6 a run for its money I would have thought at a similar price point, the others are likely to be more expensive. Indeed they will be. The only official authorised Shigeru dealer in the UK is Jaques Samuel's. Second hand ones are thin on the ground, but wit...

PianoGuy

Good one! Cheers! Oh! And I've seen too many people opt for indifferently restored old shiny German heaps sold to them by convincing sheisters for treble their real worth rather than get something sensible, less esoteric but practical, it makes me weep. My bombastic attitude is borne out of this. As...

PianoGuy

I'm sure you think you're being helpful. However, I found that post arrogant and rude. I can be like that! (Check the whole forum if you don't believe me!) I do like to use shock tactics, but take it with a bucket of salt! Apologies if you thought it a bit strong, but you're doing this once, and fo...

PianoGuy

MarkBaird wrote: I'm thinking that all those we have tried will serve us well, so it boils down to personal taste and value for money?

Aye that!

PianoGuy

Although I'm sure Piano Guy is right that the S6 is a great instrument, I suspect the school will want something German. Then go ahead, buy a Schimmel, have visiting pianists not know what the f*** it is and suffer the massive depreciation when you want to change for the Yamaha after all when you f...

PianoGuy

Model V wrote:
PianoGuy wrote:The *only* Steinway B substitute is a Yamaha S6.
Have you tried the recent Schimmels? I only ask because I rated them up there with the Steinway.

Yes.

No comparison

Get an S6.

Speak to Jeff Shackell.

PianoGuy

The *only* Steinway B substitute is a Yamaha S6. It will blow away any reservations you have about Yamaha and there is no German instrument to compare at the price.

There.

Your search is over.

PianoGuy

bart wrote:I thought that for your budget you would just about get a Kawai K2 and these sound great.

But can feel rather 'wooden' to play. Ironic, since they're largely plastic where the action is concerned!

PianoGuy

The Sandner is a bit of an ugly piano. That and the virtually unknown name (Sandner is best known as a maker of stringed orchestral instuments) will have it plunging in value on the second-hand market, although the materials quality in places is very good. Dreadful graphics and labellling give it a ...

PianoGuy

my tuner has told me its a 3/4 overstrung. I think it has a good tone, but what do I know?! Some of the notes on the left side are hard to play, and the tuner has said that the piano is worth spending a bit on. He suggests injecting carbon (?) into the hammers so that they release better, and also ...

PianoGuy

And don't get me satrted on 'Special Edition'. If my kid buys a 'Special Edition' Teddy Bear for 40 quid, she gets a certificate. Actually, in the case of the Mozart you should have a brass plate on the bass keyblock with the number out of 250, but the Special Edition thing raises a point: Every Mo...

PianoGuy

mgmcgill wrote:
I've penned a letter of dis-satisfaction to Mr Kemble

He's no longer much to do with it, having flogged the vast majority of his shares!

PianoGuy

You generally get nothing by way of documentation with a piano. Yamaha used to give a booklet, cleaning mitt, key-cover and a couple of bottles of cabinet polish. They now sometimes give a pamphlet and a keyboard cover made of red felt, but not Kemble. They used to give a guarantee leaflet/registrat...

PianoGuy

Ok so I havnt played a lot of pianos but I have listened to a few. The uprights I remember and the one I had were pretty basic, nothing special about the tone. The three baby grands I have tried were all pretty good but the best tone by far is my fathers Ronson. Well, that just goes to show how peo...

PianoGuy

can it be saved and would it be a good piano if it were? Most things can be saved, but the cost would outweigh its value. It would be a cracking piano in my opinion, it's a 9-footer of a Danemann, and it may not even be that old. I'd guess it's post-war. Get it restrung with decent wire rather than...

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