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I'm the proud owner of a Bechstein D and Baldwin SF-10. The Bechstein is a gentle giant and the Baldwin is a firecracker! Here's a shot of them (with a somewhat messy room...) while the Baldwin was being regulated. :)
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Robert Smith David Alpern Absolutely not the case! You both obviously connect to the instrument and the sound and that is all you need!
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I play Kawai Novus 10 (hybrid). I'm really fond of it's action. It's a very good option for people who live in a flat, although since the action contains almost all the elements that regular grand piano has, it is quite noisy. To be honest I like it better than the grand piano I used to have, I hear myself better, since it does not depend on the acoustics of the room. And no more problems with neighbours, they think I switched to percussion! (and they seem to prefer percussion over piano...).
I share similar worries as any hybrid piano owner: how the piano will age and if I will be able to find a piano technican who fixes the issues with action. This piano is as prone to issues with action as any grand piano, so I expect the time will come soon. For now I was able to fix the issues by myself, but it was just tightening the screws.
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Just a couple weeks ago I came into possession of a 1922 Steinway A-3 - 6'4". Reputedly rebuilt sometime in the past 10-15 years with Renner hammers, Steinway action, etc. The piano is wonderful - I finally have an instrument that 'speaks'. Beautiful warm sound (as several people that are not musicians, have independently told me). It's in a medium size room, so not being a bright powerhouse is ideal. The Steinway A-3 was first produced in 1913. The lore is that Steinway designed such a good instrument that the sound rivaled that of the much larger (and much more expensive) Steinway B. So much so, that Steinway discontinued production of the A-3 in 1945 as it was undercutting sales of the more expensive, and more profitable model B. I had a Steinway B for a number of years and, despite several rebuilds and hammer replacements, it just didn't have that sound. Steinway's are very individual - they are not cookie cutter and some are definitely better than others. Over a period of many years I've had a 5' 3" Yamaha baby grand, the Steinway B, an 1880s era A-1, and a 1914 Steinway A-2. The A-3 is the best of the lot and I'm quite excited to have been fortunate to have this wonderful instrument. Now all I have to do is practice so that it feels fortunate to have landed in my living room.
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David Alpern I bet it sounds wonderful!
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I play a Falcone Model 74 which I bought in 1987.
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David Place Beautiful place to study!
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Here it is!
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I am a beginner and I have a Kawai CN39 digital piano.
I wish I had an acoustic piano, but this piano suits my needs better as I often play in the evening or early morning when kids are asleep, and I need something with volume control or which I could use headphones with. Also for budget reasons. It's either this mid range digital or rather low end acoustic pianos.
I have only played on a 'real' piano once, on one of those vintage public pianos at the mall. It was embarrassing but I really wanted to play it. I hogged it for an hour.
I wonder if the pedals on my digital piano are very different from acoustic ones since the digital piano doesn't really have dampers nor sympathetic resonance, and had to synthesise these. I am struggling to get the pedal effects that I want from my piano and wonder if it is just my poor skills with it or the hardware.
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Victoria Chan Digital pianos are pretty good these days and do simulate things like sympathetic resonance. You'd be surprised how terribly the damper timing/regulation can be on an otherwise professional grand piano! Sometimes the dampers don't even fall on the strings evenly, and it's something that needs regular, special maintenance from a technician.
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Robert Smith Ah, that's good to know. I suppose they both have their pros and cons. One of the reasons I got a digital piano was also the ease of maintenance.
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Victoria Chan maybe your problems with the pedal sounds are because your expectations have exceeded what the instrument can do and that must be an indicator of your progress! I completely understand how this suits your needs at the moment when you don鈥檛 want to wake up the children or keep them awake - maybe one day Victoria!
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I play a Broadwood grand from 1901. I love the sound of it but I honestly really miss the sensitivity of the Steinways at conservatoire. Seems like such a huge thing to spend money on but I want a beautiful piano more than I want a house right now! Has anyone bought their piano on loan?
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Eleanor I bought my first piano, a Hellas, Greek name, Swiss cabinet and Chinese action, when I was a student of about 18years. I had a job in a cocktail bar in Piccadilly Circus to make the repayments. It was an ex hire model and it wasn鈥檛 a bad piano, l have certainly played worse. That year was tough with college and working at the weekends but I never regretted it. Years later I sold it to a student of mine when I bought a Boston upright and as far as I know they still have it.
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Eleanor LivingPianos.com has beautifully restored pianos for sale, shipped anywhere in the continental US, and is highly regarded. They offer zero percent financing. The pianos are fully guaranteed and come with lifetime trade in. Robert Estrin, the owner, is also a piano teacher,concert pianist. His father was a Baldwin Artist. Worth checking out if you want a really first class piano for much less than the cost of a new one. I play a digital, but if I were looking for an acoustic I'd definitely include him in my search, because of recommendations from people I trust, and because I enjoy and admire his online demos.
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Hey Dominic. Yes lets talk piano. Perhaps you can give me some suggestions. I am thinking about what to do with my Steingraeber which I bought from Stuttgart 26 years ago. The sound has become very sharp to my ears and I am struggling to play on it. I thought older pianos are supposed to be more mellow. Most times I have to press on the soft pedal for the whole piece. My piano tuner says the felt has hardened and he needs to take the whole system away. I dont know if this will be useful. What's your take ?
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Carol Chua I replaced all the felts and had MANY other things done to my family's 1945 Steinway. Despite the large investment, I was never truly happy with the results. I eventually sold that piano.
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Carol Chua
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Jenny Harrison Carol, I would get another opinion about the felts. Hard felts can usually be softened with needling. There are also chemical treatments. My tuner needles a few felts every time he tunes, which is twice a year.
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Jenny Harrison Good point, Jenny! My old felts had been needled so many times, we couldn't improve them any longer. So, I replaced everything!
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Jenny Harrison Hi Jenny so nice to hear from you. And thanks for the tips! I had the hammers needled before. Yes I found another tuner who said he could steam it. So I'm still waiting for him to find time. I was not willing to replace the whole set of original hammers as it would change the whole piano tone quality. Notwithstanding the costs of Sgd6000 to Sgd7000. to replace. . As the sound has become hard i had stopped playing on it. But I will not give it up. I bought it 26 years ago for the sound quality.
While waiting to have it resolved, i bought a digital Italian piano Dexibell. It has a true to life sound quality. (T2L). As close to acoustic as possible.
This digital piano has 8 speakers and produce solid good quality sound. It is a beautiful state of the art for digital pianos where i could make changes to the tones to the way i like it zand many other functions I couldn't describe. This is another joy to have.
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Carol Chua How interesting that steaming can improve hardened hammers. I would be tempted to try this out on one or two hammers, but only because I have a nice steamer that could hit the right spots. Friends call me intrepid for a reason, lol. There is probably a youtube video on this method.
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Gail Starr Sorry to hear that. It's a shame to have to give up a beloved piano.
I grew very attached to My steingraeber.
What piano did you replace with?
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Jenny Harrison Haha. Indeed it will be brave of you.
Finally he picked up the hammers yesterday. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two when he brings back the needled hammers. Then he will work with me at my house till we achieve the tonality i like using steam and or more needling. My Steingraeber still has good tones. I just need to mellow it.
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Carol Chua I have a Steingraeber upright and had it voiced and regulated recently. It is almost at the level of my Steinway B! Which model do you have?
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