Otto Bach

joseph · Post by **joseph** » 23 Nov 2012, 18:26

Whilst in a church, I came across a piano that said 'Otto Bach' on the lid. It was, I'd guess by looking at it, made between 1970 and 1980, and was finished in teak or something similar.

Anyway, to my eyes, it looked exactly like a Knight, it felt the same and sounded the same as one too. I was practising on it in a church. Nice enough piano actually, good solid upright. Apparently it was bequeathed to them.

So, my question, are Otto Bach pianos actually Knight pianos?

Withindale · Post by **Withindale** » 23 Nov 2012, 20:09

See http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthre ... 05013.html

Colin Nicholson · Post by **Colin Nicholson** » 24 Nov 2012, 10:51

There is no reference to Otto Bach belonging to or being associated to Knight. However, it says "See Dietmann" (that's it!) - who were piano makers in S. Africa, established in 1955, and closed in 1989. Later owned by Kahn, then around 1985 became affiliated with Steiner, Otto Bach and Starck. The serial number might help, possibly starting around #66310 and ending #74000.

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 24 Nov 2012, 12:00

Back in the early 80s we use to import Dietmann we sent stuff over there in the bottom of old pianos. They use to use Knight for some of their parts 50s to 70s and BPA actions then Langer. They were nice pianos but some models were a bit of con the 110 and the 118 Had the 110 back in. However, because the 118 had a bigger box the bass was more richer, very American style cases with lots of twiddly bits on, a tad OTT. Very stable pianos to tune had a few on my round The last one moved to Bristol manly owned by Doctors

The was one thing I hated about them it was the pulley wheel for the practise pedal the cable had to be re-fed back on the wheels and the bottom door was held in with 4 poz screws

Barrie

joseph · Post by **joseph** » 25 Nov 2012, 18:44

I'll take some pictures of the piano in question and you can see what you think.

It looks like Otto Bach was a name used on some pianos from several factories, rather like Irmler, and perhaps Knight imported some pianos to South Africa, and the Otto Bach name was stamped on there? It sure is a dead ringer for a Knight I used to own.

could be wrong though.

Admin010 · Post by **Admin010** » 28 Nov 2016, 08:42

thanks

Post by **Bill Kibby** » 03 Mar 2017, 01:25

“Otto Bach” ~~~~ seems originally to have been a name for pianos exported by Zimmermann, Leipzig for their export range. It appears that they took on the "Otto Bach, Leipzig" name by the twenties. It then seems that Dietmann, South Africa, purchased the "Otto Bach" brand in the 1950s and put it onto pianos they made, apparently not mentioning Leipzig. Alastair Laurence tells me that Knights supplied the parts to Dietmann for these, so they were virtually Knight pianos. There are still thousands of these Otto Bach pianos around; besides famous brands such as Steinway or Bösendorfer, it is probably the best-known piano brand in South African homes. By 1971, there were also “Otto Bach” pianos made entirely by Knight in Essex, and identical to their others except for the name on the front.

Because of the varying origins of the name, it is not possible to date the pianos by their numbers.