Taking The Confusion Out of Buying An Upright.
Jun 22 '01 (Updated Aug 04 '04)
The Bottom Line Get the tallest upright you can afford.
As a music major, teacher, and all-knowing piano guy, I thought it would be a good idea share some tips on how to buy a vertical (upright) piano.
First off, the two major things that affect the tone of a piano are the soundboard area and the length of the strings; the larger and longer, the better. Then, there are two kinds of piano players: there are the real players and then the people who prefer the looks of a piano over it's tone. That's not to say good looking pianos don't sound good either. I'll cover that later.
There are four kinds of vertical pianos: spinets which range from 36" to 39" inches and have fancy furniture looks, consoles from 40" to 43" (also fancy looking), studios from 44" to 48" and finally professionals (often referred to as upright grands) from 49" and up. Simply put, if you want good tone, you should consider no less than 44" to get full bass response and good dynamic range, but some, such as myself, would go no less than 49" because I feel it necessary for the pieces I play. Believe me, once you're spoiled on a 9' concert grand, nothing else will due. The rule of thumb is to get the largest piano you can afford. Spinet and console pianos are more for furniture and lack in the bass. This is not at first apparent to the casual ear, but as experienced is gained from piano to piano, the difference in tone becomes obvious. Furthermore, spinets, because of extra parts in the action mechanism make playing higher on the key more difficult. This isn't a problem if everything you play is in C major or A minor, but that's not likely. This can make playing pieces on other pianos more difficult and hurts your dynamics. Of course, there are larger pianos that make lovely and sometimes very modern pieces of furniture as well.
The largest that verticals come today are 52" in height. Steinway has their model K, Baldwin has the 6000, Yamaha has the U3 and U5, Bosendorfer has the 130CL and many other companies produce 52 inchers. The pianos range greatly in price from $3000 for a refurbished Yamaha all the way to $46,000 for a brand new Bosendorfer. Yamahas are known to have a bright tone and light touch. They are in great abundance and can be found at good prices new or used.
Prices vary greatly because of tone, craftsmanship, scarcity, and of course, the brand name label. If you own a Bosendorfer, you are the envy of all pianists. It is the Rolls Royce of pianos while Steinway is the Mercedes.
Many buyers hesitate to buy a piano that was built in, oh say, 1973 because that would make it 28 years old, but quality pianos are built to outlast people if they're well taken care of. If it's a German, Austrian, or American piano, they get better with age so don't worry if the vertical you're buying is a 1903 Steinway. The "Golden Ages" of pianos were said to be between about 1890 to 1930 or 40 because at this time, competition was scarce and piano companies built pianos for reputation. Now, with hundreds of companies and the huge used market, piano manufacturers have been known to cut corners in production just to stay in business. This rule doesn't really apply to Japanese or Korean pianos because they're not as old, but it certainly does to American and many European pianos. That's not to say that when you buy a brand new Bosendorfer, you're not getting a great piano. My point is, consider all pianos up to about 110 years ago if they're American or European. "Vintage" vertical pianos (actually they were all uprights) were larger than today's biggest with some companies making pianos 60" in height or even more. If you can find one of these instruments in great condition, you can be sure that you're buying a fabulous instrument with a tone way better than most grands on the market today.
Well, I hope that helped. In conclusion I'd like to say this: stay away from all Chinese, Russian, and Czech pianos (with an exception to Petrof) no matter how good the deals are. Secondly, go into your piano dealer with a repertoire of at least 2 BASS HEAVY pieces. Believe me, Disney pieces sound the same on every piano. If you don't know any music that would really test a piano, take someone who does with you. Finally, don't be attracted to Yamaha's gimicky "light touch" scheme. Light touch means weak fingers and weak fingers means bad concert on those Steinway Model D's so look for a medium to heavy touch so that you'll have a "univeral" technique. Finally, don't let the sales people control you and don't let them put words in your mouth. I had a guy telling me a 52" Pearl River (Chinese) was better than a Yamaha U3. I laughed in his face.
Good Luck!
Mike
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Epinions.com ID:
mkesfahani
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Member: Mike E
Location: Irvine, CA, USA
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Pianist, author.
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