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joseph

just when you thought you'd seen it all....

didn't a young man in New Zealand do this about 5 years ago? Based on a previous design I believe?

joseph

Hi Withindale, Yeah, I know, but I decided to keep it to new pianos to keep it simple. I have linked to a couple of dealers like Chris Venables and Bluthner, who also sell used pianos, and on my links page I have a link to here, so people will be able to find it. For instance, under Yamaha and Kawai...

joseph

Thanks New Age...

Perhaps they can be sold on easily, but for not that much....?

I'll update the bit about the NU1 and make the point one is upright the others are grands

joseph

Hello! I have decided to put on my teaching website a 'which piano should I buy', based largely on my own experience, what technicians have told me and of course, information from this site. I've kept all the information positive - so, if I present a balanced view I'm not going to say anything which...

joseph

I would try other examples of the same makes - other Yamaha C7s, simply because all pianos are different. Then you could look at Kawai, Boston, the chinese pianos (Brodmann, Hailun, Feurich - although if you have 35k I probably wouldn't bother), and you may also find some Steinway Bs around that pri...

joseph

7 scottish standard grades, 5 highers, BA (hons) from the RSAMD, PG Dip from the RCM, and M.Mus from the RSAMD. To be honest though..... not the most useful experience in my life (what can you do with a performance degree? not really worth the paper they're printed on).... don't tell anyone I said t...

joseph

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought you meant. I know you're not MD of the company anymore, and I wasn't meaning to sound conflagratory, I was just confused.

joseph

I thought string breakage was par for the course, but then, I went through conservatoires where the pianos were breaking all the time. Even new Steinways were suffering. Perhaps the capo isn't of great quality and has worn. I don't know why the treble tuning is all over the place, because I haven't ...

joseph

I wouldn't say the serial number is the most important thing in the world, especially for a company that no longer functions. What you need to know is what condition the piano is in, what work has gone into it etc. What does restored mean? How much are they actually wanting for the piano? As a rule,...

joseph

It was just the microphone on the camcorder, which has a bit too much mid-treble range. I haven't had any work done yet other than having the springs lubricated. The centering is OK now that the humidity has gone down. I still haven't had the regulation done either (have to wait til I get more pupil...

joseph

You can find some pretty good deals even in shops like Steinway and Bluthner, if they've accepted trade ins. The pianos that are not part of their new or rebuilt inventory and that are by other makers tend to be priced very low for clearance. There are some pretty decent pianos hiding in some places...

joseph

This is my rehearsal of the first movement of Mozart K.330, that i'm going to play in recital next week. I still have time to get it right...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KguJAzaz8ns

joseph

For those of you wondering what my piano sounds like, (let's face it you probably weren't),

this is me practising Mozart earlier today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KguJAzaz8ns

joseph

You should look out for Knight, Chappell, Welmar, Broadwood - preferably models that have been made in the last 30 years. Sometimes you can find a piano that's older and is playing well, but pay a lot less for them. Challens can be decent instruments too, if you get one with a full schwander action ...

joseph

In the past 10 years, piano making in the UK has stopped, and only recently been resurrected at Cavendish, and Broadwoods. Does anybody know what happened to all the workers that worked in the Kemble and BPMC factories? Are there any new, or rather, unsold Knights, Welmars, etc from the factory? Wha...

joseph

The uprights are priced a little above Yamaha, but the grands are priced well below.

joseph

Get one that's been prepped up to the hilt, and then let's see what they're capable of. I'm sure they'll be excellent pianos. I'm keen to try the uprights - the UK had a reputation for making some of the best mid-priced uprights on the market. It's good that we're back in business. Between them and ...

joseph

It's a decent sounding piano. From the sound clips I couldn't really tell, and will have to spend some time with one. My criticism is that it's perhaps a bit uneven sounding, and lacking in the ability to produce a real singing tone. That said, most brand new pianos don't sing well, and the sound wa...

joseph

In fact yes and I'm going to take a video on it. SO you'll see and hear it.

joseph

I guess the best thing to do is take a note of the name. You'll find that on the inside of the keyboard's cover. Take photos. Then, open up the top, take pictures of the inside and perhaps try posting the pictures of the piano in the piano history section. Good luck.

joseph

There's a good shop in Milan called Furcht. Of course, you are not really near Milan in Pescara. I hope you find yourself a nice piano soon. The Grotrian sounded almost too good to be true. But there may still be a chance!

joseph

what happened to your concert grands?

joseph

be careful though, because although it's in the 30s, it's often very very humid in parts of Italy. A dampp chaser system may not be a bad idea!

joseph

Today I came across a very interesting Bluthner Style 8 piano in Norwich. It was built around 1918, and has an exceptional art case. It's gate legged, inlaid Yew I would say (I'm not CERTAIN but it was a light golden colour), and it has a square tail. The fallboard is chamfered slightly at the part ...

joseph

The piano is now playable, and improving. The tuning has gone, obviously, because I've swung the humidity. Hopefully we can get an equilibrium. It has lightened the touch somewhat. Thankfully.

joseph

OK, since being in Norwich the piano has become progressively worse - much worse. Now the keys don't return properly, even the keys that do return are feeling like they are down. It gets progressively heavier as I play it - in about 10 minutes it becomes completely unplayable. I've bought a dehumidi...

joseph

I would say that's worth the investigation. Go for the drive, play the piano and report back!

joseph

I don't believe it's a cure, but it's a bloody good distraction at times. At other times it may contribute to your frustrations.

joseph

I'll discuss it, in time, with the tech. I've had to, unfortunately, prioritize my money, having just moved house. I've spent £5000 between moving and having work done to my flat in Dundee so I can rent it out, so unfortunately until the piano starts earning me enough money from teaching down here, ...

joseph

Hi Joe,

I haven't agreed to have any work done yet. Watch this space.

My next piano will be someone else's.... save me the hassle...

joseph

about £1500.

I'd like to trade it in for something else, but the piano that I want to buy is currently way out of budget, and there isn't much in the way of spare cash to buy any piano at the moment. So it's better to have the work done, I guess.

joseph

I played a couple of Shigeru EX grands in concerts in Italy this year. They were very nice pianos. And a couple of RX7s too, in rehearsal. Nice instruments. Yeah, expensive, but actually not for the instrument you are getting.

joseph

can I swear on the forum? LOL!

OK price me an RX7, I'll see if I can convince the other half to give up holidays abroad etc for the next 5 to 10 years....

joseph

and I do appreciate the difference it will make, because I play on many pianos, and mine is always sluggish. Always. Even after a big regulation.

joseph

Hi Johnkie, I bought the piano in 2007, brand new. Yes, it is basically a re-centering job. The quote was: Clean out case, re-center action, replace flange pins, rebush keyboard, re-shape hammers, voice hammers, repair pedal lyre (yes, the box is coming away at the left side... the LEFT side??), reg...

joseph

vernon i sent you a message.

joseph

OK. Thanks for that. Well, the retailer is quite good with things like that so we'll see. It's probably humidity that's caused it, as Scotland is very humid. So is Norfolk. Would putting a dehumidifier in the room with the piano help or is it usually the damage is done by this point? I should get a ...

joseph

It's a grand piano, not an upright, but yes, I play a key and the hammer doesn't move upward to the strings. This has happened on several of the notes on the piano - about 10, and usually ones that I need (it's never the top C...) The piano was in Dundee until June, and now it's in Norwich. I haven'...

joseph

My Brodmann piano has some issues developing. Several of the keys are blocking, which, according to the tuner is being caused by over tight action centre or something, and also the action apparently needs re-pinned, at the hammer flange bushing, because the pins are too tight. Is this normal for thi...

joseph

It's not that much was taken out - it's that the Council of Nicea selected what books and letters to put in to it. They accepted the Apocrypha, which is why the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion amongst others have it included in the bible between the testaments. Luther disagreed that...

joseph

- and I agree with you about mediums - how do they know who they are talking to?

Many are just charlatans playing on people's grief, some, I believe, believe they are genuine.

joseph

markymark, what about Saul and the Witch of Endor? The Bible does not make it clear whether it was actually the ghost of Samuel, a charlatan or a demon. Also, in the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah stood next to Jesus. Now, whether they were allowed special dispensation to come out of heaven, whet...

joseph

So, has anybody played the pianos yet? I'm intrigued to hear them. They certainly look good.

joseph

There was a school I taught in that spent £20k on sports equipment, and the musit dept couldn't even have £1500 to buy a chinese upright piano. In the end we got a Yamaha Clavinova for £1000, which was OK I suppose, but really not in the league of what was required. The kids actually hated it. It wa...

joseph

well, I have a tuner from Suffolk at my piano just now, first tuning since it was moved south. Poor thing is screaming (the piano, not the tuner). and yeah, the keys want re bushing. time to get my old socks out Vernon....

joseph

In general, it's true you won't find a piano that will be truly suitable for you for less than a few grand, but that said, there are surprises out there. When I was doing grade 7, I had a 40 year old Challen upright, nothing special, certainly not in the £3000 league of pianos (or £1500 at the price...

joseph

I remember tuning for a private school whose music dept was relegated to sheds such as you describe. "But we're top of the building list," the music teacher saif. I expressed delight at the news along the lines of 'not a moment too soon'. " Ah, well, we've been at the top of the buil...

joseph

I think, when I have the keyboard on my piano (sorry, IF I have the keyboard on my piano - I know, terrible admission, but I'm a bit broke just now having just moved) re-bushed, I won't be doing it myself..... I mean, I'd probably manage, if I did a five year apprenticeship somewhere and learned the...

joseph

joe wrote:
joseph wrote:I think the keyboard on my 5 year old piano needs rebushed, never mind a 90 year old piano!
Your instrument most likely had 90 years of playing in 5 years ?

yup.

I'm gonna switch to the pennywhistle

joseph

I think the keyboard on my 5 year old piano needs rebushed, never mind a 90 year old piano!

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