Taking The Confusion Out Of Buying A Grand Piano.
Jun 23 '01 (Updated Aug 04 '04)
The Bottom Line Get the longest piano you can afford.
With my last guide to buying an upright being a big hit, I thought I'd try to lend some help on buying a grand too!
Only 25% of pianos sold today are grand pianos simply because they're more expensive and take up more space than an upright, but they still offer superior tone (usually) and are wonderful pieces of furniture.
Buying a grand piano is much like buying a vertical. Instead of looking at height, however, one should focus on the length of the piano. The longer the length, the longer the strings and the more soundboard area and thus, a better tone. Grand pianos also have names according to their sizes, but they're not as well defined as verticals are. Petite grands can be as small as 4'5" to 5'1", babies from 5'2" to 5'8", parlors from 5'9" to 6'6", semi-concerts from 6'7" to 7'5", and finally concert grands from 7'6" and up (90% of all "concert" grands are in the 9' range). These numbers and the names associated with them are varied greatly. Sometimes a 6' grand is called a baby, for example.
I can almost say petite sized pianos are for furniture purposes only. They are not designed for the player as they lack in dynamics and fall short in the bass. Baby grands are for more serious players, but may still lack in tone quality. A serious player should consider something no less than about 5'8". If they lack the space, they should consider a larger vertical which can sound tonally and dynamically superior to a baby grand. As the sizes begin to increase the tone quality reaches a platue, but the dynamics still improve. For example, as far as sound quality, an 8'2" grand and a 9' grand sound the same, but the 9' is superior in dynamics (it can play louder when it is required or play just as soft). Expressing triple or quadruple forte on these pianos is much easier and doesn't require too much effort.
Prices for these pianos vary greatly from $5000 dollars for a used, good condition Japanese or Korean piano to over $150,000 for a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand (9'6"). Specialty grands can go for even more. A Yamaha Pro2000, which there are only three of in the world costs $333,000 while recently, a vintage 8'6" Steinway Model D with the most intricate wood carvings and artistry went on auction for about $2,000,000.
Prices vary greatly because of tone, craftsmanship, scarcity, and of course, the brand name label. If you're a smart shopper, $10,000 can buy you a great used grand with a good tone. If you feel more exclusive, you can get a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand with 9'6" in length and 97 keys instead of the typical 88 all found in the bass. I've read that the 97 keys are there so that you can play organ pieces, but I think it's a gimicky thing and a way to make the piano more exclusive. It takes 3 years to build an Imperial, all by hand... that's longer than the six months it takes to build a Rolls Royce! This is the world's most expensive production piano and also the biggest, but not the longest. That record belongs to Fazioli with a concert grand 10'2" in length! If you feel you don't need so much excess, the Steinway Model D, which is just under 9' will due. It's not cheap, but if there's a professional concert stage anywhere in the world and there's a piano on it, 90% of the time it's a Model D. Arthur Rubinstein had one of these and so did Vladimir Horowitz (2 of the most famous pianist of all time). The most affordable concert grand is Petrof's with a "sale" pricetag of about $68,000 and a length of 9'3". Of course, not everybody can afford a concert grand or have the space for one, but they are easy to talk about and say a lot about their respective companies.
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.
Possibly the best choice and value for your money is to restore a vintage instrument. In fact, it costs nothing at all (I'll explain why later). Steinway and Mason & Hamlin are the best pianos to restore, but Bosendorfers and Bechsteins as well as some other American companies are great candidates too. You can buy a 1901, 6' Model A Steinway for $65,000 MSRP at your piano dealer. That's fine, but did you know you can buy a 1901, 6' Model A in dire need of restoration for only $15,000, restore it for another $11,000 and you just got the same piano for $39,000 less than what the dealer was going to charge you? Yes, it's true, but Steinways as well as other brands I mentioned are like fine art: they appreciate in value when well taken care of so you are virtually buying the piano for free (and making money from it). You can do the same with verticals, however the investment value is not as profitable.
Well, I hope that helped. I'd like to end with the same conclusion as I did with vertical pianos and 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 repetoire 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 concerts 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. Do your research and find what's best for you.
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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