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chrisw

Darlynrh, have you seen this post ?
https://www.piano-tuners.org/piano-foru ... hp?t=10681

chrisw

I have also enjoyed J R R Tolkien's 'The Hobbitt' and the ring trilogy. Hopefully others can tell you about J B Tolkien pianos but your post did encourage me to use Google street view to see if the buildings at 23-25 Constitution Hill Birmingham which housed the piano dealership are still standing a...

chrisw

I recently had the pleasure of playing a friend's twenty year old Steinway B. He obtained it secondhand from a well known dealer in the last year but I would imagine it would have cost more than £50,000 although I do not know what price he paid. It is a gorgeous piano in every respect. On the other ...

chrisw

The best advice I can offer is to go and play all three to determine which one sounds the best and which one feels good under the fingers. If the Offenbach wins ask an independent tuner/piano technician to check it for wear. Provided the Offenbach is in good condition all three options should easily...

chrisw

Sorry I cannot help. Does it have a serial number, usually found on the cast iron frame? Please repost into the Piano History part of this forum.

chrisw

In my opinion they are both very good makes but it is an impossible task to choose a used piano on name alone, especially when one could be 120 years old. You have to find a means of judging their condition. Determine when they were both last tuned and make contact with the tuners, or get the owners...

chrisw

1992 isn't desperately old for a piano and if it has had normal light domestic use I would hope the action is still crisp. If the Feurich is too bright I agree with Barrie to ask the dealer to tone it down (I am sure that the Feurich dealer in Oxford would do this as a matter of course). Then buy th...

chrisw

Harrods normally keep details of the pianos that they sold in the past and if you write to them with their stock number they can tell you more. Given the suggested date and the yellowish appearance I would imagine that the piano was finished with a teak veneer.

chrisw

Serial numbers usually appear painted in the top right hand corner of the frame rather than stamped in wood. Apart from this number there is little in the three photographs to help me to judge what the piano is like apart from the veneer of the case and condition of the pedals. The latter suggests t...

chrisw

Thank you for the link to the floor planner. I am likely to use it although have already checked that a 166cm grand does go into our bay window using a paper template made by tracing around the perimeter of a Kawai grand that I sometimes play in a nearby hall. We also have a laminate flooring in the...

chrisw

Your sitting room is just slightly bigger than our dining room, which also contains a large bay window and door in the same place as your own. I too have been considering exchanging my upright piano which currently resides in one alcove of the dining room next to the fireplace for a baby grand say u...

chrisw

Sorry I am not a teacher and have very little experience of dyslexia. If there are no replies to your post on this forum then please try ABRSM forums pages or Piano Network UK on Facebook. There are many piano teachers that like to use the latter two sites.

chrisw

Congratulations. Hope you have many years enjoying it.

chrisw

Hello Leipzig,
Welcome to this forum. If you would like to let us know whereabouts you reside perhaps someone may be able to suggest a piano technician local to you. Also it would be useful to know the age of the Bluthner to determine if it could be fitted with a patent action.

chrisw

I agree with Barrie that I would favour Kawai. Both are good pianos but I like the sound of Kawai better.

chrisw

The best person to judge the condition of the piano and therefore its value is the person who tuned it or failing that person another tuner or piano technician. If the serial number is as low as 35013 I would imagine the piano is approaching 120 years old and it would be my belief it would have a qu...

chrisw

Hello Sergio, I don't know very much about digital pianos but I have played a friend's CLP 645. I didn't find the keyboard too hard, if anything they are usually too soft when you normally use a modern acoustic piano. I believe these Yamahas have a software switch to make the touch harder or softer.

chrisw

Thanks Barrie. It went well yesterday. We had one new member join the online group and a full programme of music. We record the music onto YouTube and play it using Zoom shared screen and sound as this gives the best sound quality. I seem to have a corruption on my computer, which is used as the Zoo...

chrisw

Thanks Barrie. Just had a look at the Bluthner site and now realise I ought to find out more about their Irmler brand.

chrisw

I like the look of the new pages Barrie. Not so keen on adverts when opening a thread but perhaps it is helpful for other reasons.

chrisw

Hello Barrie and George, thank you for your recent posts. If I do start piano shopping I will try as many brands as I can and I am now going to include the Yamaha C1x in the list. At the moment I am quite enjoying the sound that my Kemble makes although periodically I start to wonder if the quicker ...

chrisw

Thanks for the advice Barrie. Perhaps I will put Kawai at the top of the list. Should I be worried if the piano I select doesn't have duplex scaling ? Manufacturers seem to make much of duplex but I can't see that it makes that much difference.

chrisw

Hello George, I think I now recall your name from a post last year when you were asking for advice about changing your Feurich upright. Also sorry for taking a few days to reply, I have only just seen your post. Thanks for the info and advice. I have managed to discuss Feurich pianos with the owner ...

chrisw

I don't understand what you are suggesting waiting for. If you are asking if you should wait 12 months to allow a used piano to acclimatise before getting it tuned I would advise that is much longer than is needed. Once humidity has risen above 40% towards the end of winter wait three or four weeks ...

chrisw

I can't answer about Piano Life Savers as I have not had one fitted. I live in the north west of the UK and have also been watching humidity levels during the winter. I am not sure how accurate my little hygrometer is but when the cold spell started at the beginning of January 2021 the house humidit...

chrisw

Thank you Barrie, and the same to you.

chrisw

If your tuner commented on the brightness of the piano I wonder if he/she spent some time voicing the hammers and made it too dull/mellow for your taste. If this is the case the brightness will return as you play it. If no voicing was done then the issue is likely to be with the tuning. It has been ...

chrisw

Paint has not necessarily ruined it unless it is impeding the movement of the keys. It is the internal condition of the piano that matters, whether it sounds nice, keeps itself in tune and the keys move pleasantly under the fingers. I can't tell the age from your photograph but please be aware that ...

chrisw

Once again I am having thoughts of changing my upright for a grand but this time being fairly certain that there would be enough room in the dining room bay window to accommodate it. The window faces east but I would still take steps to protect the piano from sunlight. The reason for changing is to ...

chrisw

If you are asking how much is it worth or what you can sell it for I would say very little, perhaps nothing at all.

chrisw

The number of new Covid infections in the Lancaster area has dropped appreciably in the last couple of weeks and it is now much less than south Lakeland which has been put into tier 2. In fact when I wrote to my MP last week the whole of Lancashire, including Blackburn had only marginally more infec...

chrisw

It is quite strange that the serial number does not appear in the top right hand corner of the frame. The edges of the casting is also very rough, not up to Kemble's usual standard. Lastly wonder why the Kemble name or a letter K was not cast into the frame itself . Perhaps it was a mid 1970's model...

chrisw

This guy is very good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFTZi96YtKw

chrisw

CGAF in the left hand, but which C are you starting on ? If it is middle C then thumb on middle C , 3 on G, 2 on A and 4 on F. If lower C, 5 on C, 2 on G, thumb on A and 3 on F. When there is a sequence of notes and when it is possible it is a good idea to put the fingers down on the notes and keep ...

chrisw

I hope you are staying well Barrie and that your activities are not being perturbed too much by the current covid restrictions.

chrisw

It sounds to me that this U3S ticks all the boxes. Congratulations.

chrisw

Judging from articles on the internet, the Kawai BL-12 seems to be a respected piano and I would imagine an equal to the U1. I cannot comment on the condition of the hammers. If I was to purchase a second hand piano from a home near to the sea at least I would be reassured that it hadn't been kept i...

chrisw

I guess my friend must be dealing with Park Pianos. She told me that she traded her grand with the people she originally purchased it from (MusicBox Pianos) and is expecting her new upright soon. They have already collected the grand piano.

chrisw

Are you aware of the Yamaha dealership in north Manchester, Musicbox pianos in Bury Old Road ? They seem to be able to get new Yamaha stock at present according to a friend who is expecting delivery of a new upright in the next couple of weeks.

chrisw

You must have visited the Schimmel dealership in Deansgate but it sounds as though you preferred the Yamaha. From what you say I am not at all impressed with the sales pitch on either piano showing that you have to trust your own judgement. However if the Yamaha really has been on the shop floor for...

chrisw

The best advice I can offer is to set your budget and play as many pianos as you can buying the one that you fall in love with. Try not to analyse the specification, the size or the brand but select the piano that gives you the most joy to play (and take its serial number as Barrie suggests). Salesp...

chrisw

I believe Cavendish pianos use Renner hammers but wouldn't like to say if they use Renner actions. I would be surprised if they did. The other makes that Yorkshire pianos stock are Yamaha (I have seen the B series on the shop floor and the owner was describing to me how much work he puts in to make ...

chrisw

I would imagine that although individual Yamaha and Kawai upright pianos will have different "personalities" they will be consistent on having a pretty good build quality. Although I haven't any experience on Kawai uprights I have played a couple of Kawai grands and I like both of them. I ...

chrisw

Hello George, Ideally pianos should be chosen because of the way they play, how they sound and the feel of the keys under the fingers. The specification can be used as an aid to judgement. Not always possible, it wasn't in my case, nor in the case of a friend who has just exchanged her piano. I do c...

chrisw

I am sorry to learn that your experiences with the Feurich 125 didn't work out. I don't have playing experience on the Yamaha U1/U3 or on any Kawai upright model but I would be concerned that they could produce too much sound. Even my little Kemble upright can produce too many decibels. Could you co...

chrisw

Thank you, Fiona

chrisw

Thank you Barrie.
C

chrisw

Herrburger Brookes were the people that made the action inside your piano. There is an article about them here.
https://www.piano-tuners.org/herrburger ... index.html

chrisw

A friend has just upgraded his piano and is enquiring how best to keep a grand piano soundboard free of dust. Are there any tools designed to manoeuvre a duster below the strings and where might they be available from ? I have had a look in this website's piano accessory shop but if something was th...

chrisw

Lovely city. Once made the mistake of being taken to a Heurigen before having a proper meal.

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