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Hello Tonebase friends,
Does anyone have strong feelings about tuning? I nudged my Imperial Bosendorfer up to A443, trying to get a little more treble brightness, but my wife detects a slightly less desirable sound.
Is this all in my head?
Thanks,
Rodney
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Michael Thanks for the tip. I will speak with my technician who does all the pianos, including several Steinway D's and Bosendorfers, at Stanford University. I am also curious about your Stanwood regulation. I need all the help I can get in my 80's.
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Rodney Here is the temperament I’m using now, Koval Mild Victorian. I’m pretty sure you can find it online.
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Michael Thanks for the temperament sheet. With regard to the Imperial Bose, our home on the Stanford campus is remarkably stable at a humidity of about 40-50% both summer and winter. I have had the piano since 1983 and absolutely no problems.
Cheers
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Rodney Sounds like pianos as well as people are happy to be in Palo Alto.
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My small living room in my small apartment holds a 1928 Hallet, Davis & Co. 5'5" grand piano. She's lovely and has a big rich sound for her size, with a deep solid bass. She had her hammers shaped and voiced a few days ago and sounds much better. And I think her action is pretty good, but I am only an intermediate player at this point. And I have a new Kawai CA-49 digital. I like to play in the middle of the night sometimes, so my neighbors definitely appreciate that! My living room is basically a conservatory, but I am following my life long dream of playing, finally. I had an upright, but there is nothing like a grand piano! And I am retired; no tv, no family. This is what I do, so there was no reason not to fill my space with what I love!
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I have a Yamaha C3 Conservatory piano. I absolutely love the instrument. I used to teach piano years ago at a Yamaha Music School where I discovered the Yamaha Conservatory series of pianos. I knew this was the instrument for me. For my ear and what I demand from a piano, it honestly has it all form me. I also have a collection of electronic instruments as well to include a Yamaha CP-70B electric grand piano in my studio.
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Eric Kelley The Yamaha grand piano that I dream to reach one day cost $45,000 Canadian dollars. lol!
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Steinway Style III (1881-2)
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I will be honest with you, I don't really like my piano. I currently have an electric piano for almost four years, a Yamaha Clavinova. A friend of mine who sold it to me for 50 Canadian dollars. A godsend! I had a Heinzmann upright piano, 1896 if my memorys good, in perfect condition with ivory keys. The sounds and the touch was wonderful. And playing on this piano enchanted me so much! Wow! I unfortunately sold it! What madness have I done. I miss playing on a acoustic piano so much. For me it's two worlds. I dream of having a grand piano. I've been looking for one for two years now. On the other hand, I intend by the spring of 2023 to by myself an upright piano, from the Yamaha brand. I already watched the lifestream you did on the pianos. It helps me make a good choice for my needs.
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I have a very old upright piano Tchaika, made in USSR. I hope that is not violates sanctions
As it is not in great health, soon it will be good only for playing ragtime style music otherwise it will literally execute the superb music of the classical composers.
In greek language the use of the word execute has two meanings.
Punish by death and perform a piece of music.
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Sofia thanks for sharing, Sofia. Love the double meaning of execute in Greek :D
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I have a Hamburg Steinway B, originally manufactured around 1913 but completely rebuilt with authentic components. I’ve had the action further refined for a somewhat lighter touch by a technician trained in the Stanwood method (which was not strictly applied). I love the results.
However, I’m toying with the idea of switching to a larger instrument, because I want to experience the feel and control of something like a Steinway D, Yamaha CFX or big Boesendorfer. Seems challenging to find a good, used instrument like that. Any leads are welcome!
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I have a Boston upright, designed by Steinway and built to their specs by Kauai. It has the same pedals as a Steinway. I bought it new in the late 1990’s.
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Laurie Thompson I have one of these from the same period- a great piano! Really responsive with a wide range of sounds.
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I play on a Yamaha GB1K, which is its smallest baby grand. I was too shy to even test the pianos in the showrooms in public at that time, so I figured if I ordered something from Yamaha, I would be more likely to be happy with it, and thankfully I am :) After hours, I practice on a digital piano P515, also a Yamaha, as it is quieter.
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Does anyone know if manufacturers (Steinway, Boesendorfer, Yamaha, Fazioli, Bechstein) tend to favor lighter vs. heavier actions? Does grand piano size (like Steinway B vs. Steinway A…) necessarily correlate with lighter vs. heavier actions? I’m looking into swapping my B for an A or other gigantic piano so I can learn from the greater sensitivity of touch and dynamic range, but I can’t handle a heavy action physically (getting too old).
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I had the great fortune to buy a Steinway C a good 20 years ago. This instrument stood in a small concert hall in a Luxembourg bank: 5 to 6 concerts a year were played here. The most important pianists were invited, among others Grigory Sokolov, Alexander Rabinovitch, Stephen Hough, François-rené Duchable, Hélène Grimaud, Nelson Goerner, Christian Thielemann, Nicholas Angelich, Olga Kern, Arcadi Volodos, Frank Braley, Claire-Marie Le Guay, Marie-Josèphe Jude, Nelson Freire, Alexander Serdar
and many others. Martin Helmchen was very lucky: he changed his travel plans to Luxembourg at short notice and came a day early to practice. Without this decision, he would have been on the plane that crashed just outside Luxembourg 20 years ago, coming from Berlin. Sokolov, however, felt that the piano was a size too small for him, but that it was the best piano he knew of for a private home, but needed to be somewhat larger for a concert. The "Banque de Luxembourg" then bought a Steinway D and Sokolov came back. And I was able to buy the Steinway C. Since then I have been organizing private piano concerts - with champagne! - in my living room.Reply-
Georges Hengesch Wow! What a story! What a piano!
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I’am new here, I live in the Netherlands. I play a beautiful Steinway & Sons S from 1969
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New, also in the Netherlands, we have a Yamaha c6 at home! 1991 from Japan
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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 I bought a Bechstein 6ft 8in the other year. It’s from the 1980s. Every time I play it I cannot get over how wonderful it is! Such sound and colours and a nice action. Simply heavenly! I was in a show room last night (Coach House Pianos in Kings Road) which is such a beautiful place. I tried several Steinways, Bosendofers and other makes and whilst I’d probably happily own any of them, none are the perfect wonder that is my Bechstein!
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Angela Fogg My thoughts and story are remarkably similar to yours. I was on a seemingly never ending quest to find a piano. I tried tons of Steinway, Bosendorfer, Yamaha, Shigeru, Bluthner, etc. from across the USA, and Bechstein pianos were the ones that consistently had an impeccable action with such a variety of color, without being clinical and without being powerless.
To my surprise, of all the Steinway pianos I tried, from NY to Hamburg, from new to used, from B to D, not a single one was what I would personally feel to be "top tier". It's surprising because there's an almost universal obsession with their pianos, but I just, for the life of me, couldn't find one good one. (And trust me, I looked! Norther California, Southern California, Seattle, Arizona, Indiana, ...)
The Bechstein I was able to finally acquire is just such a wonderful instrument. Sometimes I think the piano is too good for me, and it deserves to be played by someone else!
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Robert Smith Your observation about the piano being too good for you - I get it. I'm feeling similarly about the Steinway that I just acquired.
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David Alpern What a nice "problem" to have. :)
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