[009]

BTW...aliquot scaling means having the weak upper registers provided with sympathetic strings tuned an octave higher, thus increasing tone.

 

[LiLi]

I voted for steinway & sons. even though i dont have experience with alot of these names (or i just dont remember which ones i've played) I've always had wonderful expreiences on steinways. In my last recital, I got to play on a beautiful, 9 foot steinway concert grand... i just love the sound and the feel. I guess it just suites my style of playing

 

[Harvey]

I'm surprised nobody voted for Mason & Hamlin yet. Quite popular on the Pianoworld forums...and what was the other one...Estonia. Come to think of it, Estonia should be one there too, but there's not enough room!!!

 

[Krummhorn]

I have a Young-Chang U-121F I bought new in 1984, and have been extremely delighted with it over the years. It's action is quite responsive for my personal technique and taste. It also holds its tuning rather well, usually requiring an annual touch-up. The middle pedal (which can be latched down) lowers a felt damper between the hammers and strings creating a very subdued tone.

The woodwork on this model is absolutely stunning, imo, and all wood througout. So, guess I'm the first vote for Young-Chang - maybe the only one, but none-the-less a happy and contented musician/owner.

 

[IfNannerlHadBeenABoy]

Tell me about your pianos!

Is your piano a console, spinet, studio, upright, grand etc.??? Where did you get it? And what brand name? Do you have a name for your piano? Sorry, I'm new here, so if this has already been posted I don't mean to be posting it again, but I'm curious!
I have a Sherlock Manning studio (obvious, since it's in my avatar!) that used to be a piano teacher's piano that I bought from the local piano tuner. Her name is Matilda... I read somewhere that Yo-Yo Ma names his cellos (one is named Petunia, I think) and I thought naming her might add something extra to my playing.... I'm not crazy or anything. So go on! Harpsichords and claviers too, if you want!

[Admin note: Merged with existing thread]

 

[Meaghan]

I have a Hallet, Davis & Co. upright. I'm not sure exactly how old it is, but I think it is almost one hundred. My parents got it around the time I was born, and I started playing it (in a manner of speaking) very shortly after.

It has very light action, which has been a bit of a problem because for a long time (and sort of now) I didn't play as well on pianos with heavier action. But it's a beautiful instrument, and in very good shape for its age.

 

[kv466]

I've got a Starck upright from the 30's and a Baldwin from, I don't know...while the Baldwin is much, much newer and is in tip top condition...the Starck can't be tuned correctly and so I tune it a half step down...my tuner won't turn the strings past that and suffers even then...still, the Starck has a haunting tone and when I take off all the covers (which i usually do) it sounds pretty amazing...only thing that bites is that I compose primarily on the piano which is tuned down and so when I see a beautiful, luxury grand and I want to play my stuff, it never sounds quite right...still, that'll never stop me from playing a really great piano...as for composed pieces, I only use the Baldwin which is tuned correctly...the Starck I've had all my life and so because of this there are a lot of Mozart pieces I learned after we decided to keep the piano tuned down and I learned these by ear so now I basically know a bunch of W.A. stuff played two ways on the keyboard...only pitch reminds me which is the correct way sometimes...I'd love to have an extra octave Bosendorfer grand

 

[Rasa]

EPIC necro.

Anyways, Steinway. However, there is one instrument maker that makes possibly better, called Fazioli. They're very rare though. I think only a few are produced each year.

 

[Klavierspieler]

I have a little known brand of piano called Fandrich and Sons, in my opinion they are every bit as good as Steinway for about a third the price.

 

[beethovenian]

I would really love to vote for Bluthner but since my dad just brought me a new Kawai upright, my votes go to Kawai.

The Kawai has a very mellow sound; the keys are not too soft or hard (Perfect!) and sometimes i swear i could almost feel the vibration feedback of the strings through the pressed key (though i dun think it's technically possible).



and finally it is my birthday present!

 

[Nix]

I play on a grand steinway every now and again for school. I've played on a Bosendorfer twice in my life- once when I was 16, a baby grand that was in terrible shape, and once when I was 11, which was a grand and in perfect condition. This was for a recital at music camp (I played the 3rd movement of Mozart's F major Sonata K332). I remember laughing because the instrument felt so good on my fingers, and can recall the experience quite clearly.

Of course I'm a better judgment of pianos now then when I was 11, but Bosendorfer gets the vote just for that memory.

 

[Rasa]

Ofcourse, every instrument has it's own characteristics. Apart from the touch, which is more or less the same per brand (even though within each type there are still major differences, this can be tuned to taste to a large extent). Personally I like the Steinway touch, but probably because I'm used to playing on it.

What's more important is the colour of the tones. Steinways generally have what I find a pleasing pallete, and within Steinway the older piano sound better (I'm for example heavily preferential towards my own model O from 1917 over newer instruments). That being said, I've heard Yamahas and Kawais with equally pleasing sounds. It's probably dependent on construction and especially on the conditions in which the instrument has been kept (temperature, humidity...)

 

[Sofronitsky]

Yamaha, but torn between it and steinway. I have an Essex, and thinking it would be basically a Steinway on a lower budget I thought it would outweigh getting a more upscale Yamaha. It turns out an Essex is basically a Pearl River after being rolled around a river for a day.

 

[Rasa]

When I was out looking for a piano I also played on the Steinway brands: Steinway, Boston and Essex. I found that the Steinways themselves were clearly the superior instruments, both in touch and sound. Boston was an acceptable alternative, and cheaper priced. The Essex line was not at all to my liking though. The instruments I played sounded tinny and small, and were not at all related to the warm Boston sound, let alone the Steinway one.

 

[Sofronitsky]

When I was out looking for a piano I also played on the Steinway brands: Steinway, Boston and Essex. I found that the Steinways themselves were clearly the superior instruments, both in touch and sound. Boston was an acceptable alternative, and cheaper priced. The Essex line was not at all to my liking though. The instruments I played sounded tinny and small, and were not at all related to the warm Boston sound, let alone the Steinway one.

I made a similar deduction when I was piano shopping. I wish I had just bought a Boston and gone down a few inches! Always time to upgrade, I guess..

 

[Lukecash12]

Baldwin and Knabe, but they weren't on the list.