[sdiy] OT: upright pianos

[Sam Ecoff]

AHA!

Something I can actually help with and speak about intelligently! (I  
am a piano instructor at a conservatory as my 'day job'.) Anyhow...  
There are a couple of brands which I feel are much better than some of  
the others. The very best bang for the buck at the moment is a  
Heintzman. (http://www.hzmpiano.com/profile.aspx?page=greets) You get  
an awesome sounding instrument with a full Renner Action and Renner  
Blue hammers. You can often find them for $4000-$4500 US. The touch is  
really great (very snappy action), not too heavy, and the tone is  
really beautiful. They sell for *way* less than other uprights of  
equal quality because they are made in China. They are made of very  
very high quality parts, however, by people who seem to have actually  
had some training in building pianos, unlike the people on the Pearl  
River assembly lines. **STAY AWAY FROM PEARL RIVER PIANOS!!!*** They  
are absolute sh*t.

Slightly better (but double the price) is a Petrof. I own their 52"  
upright. Handmade Czech piano with full Renner action. Sounds amazing  
and powerful sound. They currently run $8000-$9000 US.

You might also like the Mason and Hamlin upright. Very nice big sound,  
but not the overly bright Eastern sound. These are rather pricey, tho  
at $10,000 US.

Regarding the lightness or heaviness of the action, this is something  
that your piano tech can help you with. I am very particular about  
this, and although it's taken a while, I have finally communicated to  
my tech exactly how I like the action. If you wish, you can have the  
action reweighted once you purchase the piano. This is no small  
undertaking, however, and will probably run you close to $400.

I'd encourage you not to purchase a used piano as the soundboards on  
pianos tend to lose their crown over time and therefore the tone  
becomes more and more like cardboard. I'm always amused by friends who  
proudly show off their 1908 steinways "completely rebuilt". The crown  
is gone and they sound like crap.

Make sure that whatever you get, you get a Dampp Chaser for it. (http://www.pianolifesaver.com/ 
) it will pay for itself in the first year. It ill cut the number of  
tunings you'll have to make in half and it will prevent your  
soundboard from cracking. Ask to buy it from your tech, but install it  
yourself (they charge a lot to install them... like $250). I installed  
mine in 30 minutes with only a hammer and a screwdriver and no  
previous experience.

If you haven't already read it, check out Larry Fine's Piano Book
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=larry+fine+the+piano+book&x=0&y=0&sprefix=Larry+Fine
You will know more than most salespeople after you finish it. It's  
truly great.

Good luck and don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail if I can be of  
service.

:-)

Sam E.

On Dec 1, 2008, at 3:09 PM, John Luciani wrote:

> On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 3:50 PM, JH. <jhaible at debitel.net> wrote:
>> Slightly off-topic:
>> Is there anybody on the list who is experienced in acoustic upright  
>> pianos?
>> Which brands should I be looking for (new ones, and possibly older  
>> ones,
>> too), if I want a fast and *light* action?
>> Are there upright pianos that have a light touch like a Wurlitzer E- 
>> Piano?
>
> I had a Baldwin Acrosonic. It sounded great but I would not call the  
> action
> *light*.  It also held it's value. I paid $2600 for the piano, used  
> it for
> five years and sold it for $2200. Less than $100 a year for a piano!
>
> (* jcl *)
>
> -- 
> http://www.luciani.org
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