Should You Buy a Steinway?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มิ.ย. 2024
- This is LivingPianos.com. I'm Robert Estrin. Today's question is: Should you buy a Steinway or other fine piano? It's tough when you're going to buy a piano. You will see digital pianos for a few hundred dollars. Then there are pianos for hundreds of thousands of dollars! So what should you get? Obviously not everybody has the resources to buy pianos that cost a hundred thousand dollars or more. But there is definitely a choice of how far to go.
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I am still very happy with my € 10.000 Yamaha U3 upright piano. After 17 years of intensive playing it is still as good as new and holds its tuning for 2 years in a row easily. No technical flaws at all. Still worth every € I paid for it. ❤️
Interesting hmmmmm.
I’ve played on several Steinways over the years. Some have been amazing instruments, some have been total lemons. When it came time for me to purchase a new piano, I thought I wanted a Steinway. When I mentioned this to my piano guy, his response was, “A Steinway?! No, you want a Mason & Hamlin!” I’m now the proud owner of a 1906 M&H AA, fully rebuilt. Wonderful instrument, beautiful, rich sound. I highly recommend them.
For sure. I gave my Senior Recital on a several year old, meticulously-maintained M & H BB (7') which is the finest grand piano I've ever played, hands down. The sustain went on seemingly forever- I had to re-pedal several pieces after practicing on a Yammy. And M & H supports piano technicians and rebuilders- no threats of lawsuits, withholding of parts or decals, etc.
yes Mason & Hamlins are nice
Great video Robert! I’m going to make a follow-up video on this topic on my channel, sharing some stories about how so many of my students have improved dramatically when they have upgraded their instruments, with no major changes to their practice routine! Keep up all of the great work on your channel 🙂 Have a great week.
It's good to hear from you! Perhaps there are some subjects we could explore together. I've done a number of interview videos which people really like.
Through my own experience, you can't assume that because it's a Steinway, that it's truly a great instrument. One of the problems is that there is a high degree of variability - one Steinway to another, even with the same model Steinway. Adding more complication is the variability in the quality of Steinway rebuilding. It takes expertise, experience, and skill to properly rebuild a Steinway. I've looked at many that were very poorly done. Best thing is to educate yourself so that you know what to look for - and when you think you've identified the right one, get a certified piano technician to assess the piano prior to making the decision to purchase.
Sound and sage advice
Very true! I've recently found the piano of my dreams. A used Steinway M, 1945, new action, original soundboard in perfect condition, new strings. It was next to a brand new Shigeru Kawai. The Shigeru was more than twice the price, with dozens of hours of work put into it, unbelievable sound. As I played the M, I've realized that the golden hue sound was already inseparable from it. I'm glad I couldn't afford the Shigeru, since now, after 9 hours of incredible work by a technician, the M sounds superior to the Shigeru. A great Steinway is something to behold, for life.
Biggest issue is how they make their soundboards. Essentially they use a humidity difference between the ribs and the soundboard to cause the board to warp. The issue with this is its competly inconsistant. I mean literally every other piano manufacturer has gone away from that due to it being a terrible and inconsistant way of crowning a soundboard. Even official steinway techs dont do this. Or at least the majority don't. Its literally an issue that destroys quality resulting in literally 4/5 new steinways having less than 5 seconds of sustain from a plucked note 72. Most new pianos are 8 to 9 and this test reflects how resonant a piano objectively without voicing concerns.
I am looking at getting a baby grand, how can I educate myself on what to look for, besides the sound of course?
@@pearlfisher8988 so you want to check the sound board obviously. A trick to doing this is to pluck note 72 with your finger nail and count how long it takes for the note to decay. A new piano should ring for 8 to 9 seconds 7 is acceptable for an old piano but when you are less that indicates issues.
Listen to the piano. do you like the sound. does the action feel good to you. subjective aspecys to a degree so I cannot advise for this part beyond that
Lastly ignore brand name. Just play the pianos and figure out which one speaks to you.
When you find one hire a technitian to go over it. Or I should say tune it as they are the only ones capable of determining the state of the pinblock
I love how passionate Robert is about all things piano.
I bite the bullet and bought a Steinway couple of years ago and never regret it. Best purchase of my life.
So true, well said! Fifty years of piano ownership, I have lived what you explained.
HAHAHA we are orientating to buy a used Steinway and what a motivating and inspiring video this is!!! Great fun how you explain the differtent options and your great enthousiasme is absolutely setting us up to go for it!! Your other video's are great too. Thank you so much and keep up the good work and good spirit!
Thanks for mentioning Mason and Hamlin. They are not as well known but just as good, if not better than a Steinway.
AND they fully support independent technicians and rebuilders, and do not withhold parts , decals etc and threaten lawsuits...
Based on my own experiences with pianos, my answer would be: YES!
I truly FEEL the music -- VISCERALLY -- with high-end pianos. Many cheaper ones feel like toys.
The best pianos really take you over and *take you in.* You don't play the music; the music plays you. That's what made it addictive enough for me to practice for 5 to 8 hours a day and learn enough to impress an audience in my first 6 months.
Does the feeling of enjoyment stay or do you get used to it and always want the next better thing?
@@ContraereaSerba The joy of the piano itself stays. All I want is more of the same: more practice and more time!
@@surrealistidealist Very relatable :). How long have you played in total, and how do you free up 5-8 hrs daily? by working super-fast ?! Hahahaha 😁
@@Li-yt7zh Sadly, I didn't play much longer than my first 6 months, and I miss it so painfully! 😭
I lived on a college campus with high quality pianos everywhere! I lived closest to a beautiful church building with a grand piano and amazing acoustics. There was another piano near the cafeteria. And near my class buildings was the music building, which had pianos in the auditoriums and many private piano practice rooms.
There was nothing else to do on campus but study and practice. I'd do a total of 5 hours of practice during the school week and 8 hours of practice on the weekends, and I still had plenty of time to study.
When I left campus and came back home, I lived near another church that let me practice on its grand piano and its pipe organ, all night every night, after work.
My dream is to someday have access to a piano again. 💔
@@surrealistidealistThat is real passion & I wish you good luck finding an instrument that inspires you. In which part of the world do you reside? I noticed an influx of pianos in the private seller market since covid/real estate boom, and bought myself a 100-dollar vertical in decent condition + $300 moving fee! Tuned it myself and it sounds great for the cost :) I also use it as a tall shelf / standing desk placing a heavy, deep board on top.
100k subscribers! Congratulations!
I bought a Steinway M in 1985 . The piano was made in 1919. I had it restrung and refinished in 2003. It is a beautiful piano and every piano tuner that has worked on it has been very complimentary of the sound and action. The action is not an accelerated action but it still plays beautifully with nice repitition. I was a piano major in college so I have always wanted a Steinway piano. I have been so pleased with my piano for the past 37 years and hope to enjoy it well into my retirement. It will be something that I can pass on to my family when I die.
Legendary parlor grand model
I was humming the orchestra part during the Tchaikovsky concerto, 😅, one of my favorites
6:45 plot twist: it’s a Baldwin in this video, not a Steinway. Great piano.
Aw, when you were playing CdL I so wanted you to keep going.
I have a 1892 upright Steinway K, a 1887 Steinway B, a 1903 C. Bechstein V, and am in the process of purchasing a 1979 Steinway D. They are all great sounding pianos with good actions, but all are very individual and inspire me in different ways.
I have a 24 y.o. Boston.. I love it. and I'm perfectly happy with it...
I went to Steinway last week to check out the price of a new model M. It was way more than what I could afford. Steinway, however, told me about the Boston’s and said they stood behind these pianos 100%. I played a 5’4’’ Boston (close in size to a M) and fell in love with it and purchased it. Don’t know why more people do not know about the Boston line from Steinway but they are quality pianos.
Bostons are made by Kawai. Also an excellent brand. The bigger grands are better off course! Longer bass strings and better resonance and tone quality.
I started small, with a digital Yamaha for a few months to see whether I was serious or not in playing / spending time on the piano. After 8 months I sold it and got a Kawai 300. Used that for a year, and then as my skills progressed I fell in love with the Kawai 500 and changed pianos. Now I am perfectly happy with my Kawai 500 and tend to keep it for as long as we both shall live :)
My piano tech friend who specializes in rebuilding Steinways tells me Steinway’s biggest competition is rebuilt Steinways.
...which is why Steinway won't sell sound boards, wrest planks, even fallboard decals to non-S&S rebuilders
@@miltronix wow, sounds like the same disease APPLE has
Like everything in life: you get what you pay for! When I was younger I was quite an accomplished clarinettist and worked my way up through the models from entry level student model to top brand at almost £4k. So, my humble advice, no matter what the instrument, buy up to the maxim you can afford for all the reasons mentioned here. (then add 10%!!🤣!!)
There’s middle ground between a stencil brand and a Steinway. Better quality versions of Kawai and Yamaha for instance. No doubt that the more expensive instruments are better overall.
Actually the bosten piano is worse than kawai's competing model. I mean Kawai basicly does the bare minimum to satisfy the requirements since its their compeditors piano. Dollar for dollar kawai or yamaha are far better made instraments
I am saying this as a tech that works with these instraments
I bought a used Bechstein M. It may not be as clean as a brand new Chinese brand, but what I'm also purchasing is the history and heritage. It's amazing to know that the trees that were growing to make the soundboard that vibrates everytime I play, were alive in the 19th century, when some of my favourite composers were around and writing their masterpieces. I don't mind the fickle nature of an old and restored Bechstein. There is so much more that goes into the experience of playing a piece of history.
I bough a BEchstein Model M too , i found it in a garage ! they had two of them !!! it sounds like a dream. it was made in 1931. Here in Argentina people sell them for nothing ( payed 2800 dollars )
COngratulation on yours, hope you are enjoying it !
the century old pianos were made with a lot older wood. very good quality.
I love the tone of a good Baldwin played fortissimo. They have such a bright, powerful, and balanced tone, and you can easily make out all of the individual notes of a chord. So nice.
I like Baldwin but they don't make it anymore.
Where are Baldwin pianos made these days?
A great sermon on pianos.
In my humble opinion Yamaha upright pianos are good too, my parents bought one for me back then when I was a kid and it was one of the best presents I ever got in my childhood. I did not pursue a pianist's career, but still, it was very rewarding for me to play on it. For those who are unsure about playing the piano, those who just want to give it a try, or those who rarely play, or those who are short on money I advice electric pianos with weighted keys, they aren't that expensive, yet not half bad.
The Yamaha pianos made in Japan are better
Per the Piano PricePoint website, a new Steinway K upright goes for $42,000. But you could get for less than half that a 6foot 2inch grand by Pearl River. Given, Robert what you yourself have said here on TH-cam of how much better a Grand piano is to an Upright, why would anybody who has the space ever buy that Steinway upright? If you were to put the two pianos side by side, both tuned, regulated & voiced, would the Steinway"s action be better than the Pearl Rivers? Would it sound better? Would it be more fun to play?
Expensive pianos like Bechstein, Shigeru Kawai, Yamaha CF, Steinway, Fazioli, etc... are totally worth it if you love piano and play professionally or play a lot for your own enjoyment. It is not really an investment in the sense that the price will diminish (although could hold a bit better than actual $$ in a bank account), but it is an investment in your quality of life because music is a great force in the universe.
Hi, Robert. I am also graduated from Manhattan School of Music. I would like to have your opinion. Recently I saw a Louis XVI Model O 1912 Stainway piano. All parts are original, 6 legs. I haven't been able to play it yet. I played some old pianos at Manhattan School before and really impressed with the sound. However, my question is that is it worth to get the 100 years old piano without the restoration. Not sure if it would be hard to take care in the future. Thank you!
It can be expensive to restore a piano. And you won't know what the piano will sound like or feel like when the work is done. Here's more information for you:
livingpianos.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-restore-a-piano/
A good musical instrument will hold its value. When it comes to pianos, guitars, etc - I say buy the finest one you can reasonably afford. You will be able to sell it off - if necessary - sometimes for more than you bought it. On top of that it will open musical doors in your playing. I've never regretted it.
Another practical reason for buying a high quality piano is that if you can’t keep it for one reason or another (moving to a smaller places, too busy to play…) it is much easier to resale it. For a lesser piano, it would be a stress to resale or get rid of it.
Awesome true. The time it spend on making the instrument does worth as in craffmanship.
Waaa .. what a coincidence. It is EXTREMELY rare for me to play acoustic pianos. I literally go years without playing them. And just today, I decided to visit an old piano store I used to go to when I was a little kid. They had a Steinway and I sat down to enjoy it. I try to absorb as much of the joy as I can considering how rare it is for me to play them.
But i do notice that I struggle to transfer my «digital piano» technique to acoustic pianos. I play a mid tier digital piano (Kawai CA58) but still can’t get it down 100% the way I’d like on an acoustic.
Oh well .. maybe someday. Sadly this store is closing later this year. I’m lucky I decided today to visit as it may be the last time 😢
And you're used to well-tuned (digital) pianos, and when you go to an acoustic piano they rarely are more than "close to in tune." I play a digital church organ, and when I sub on a pipe organ I am shocked at how far from accurately tuned it is. One degree temperature change makes a small difference in a pipe organ's tuning.
go buy that steinway before they close, they might give you a discount
@@katiegrundle9900 I’m so broke lol Not even a discount would help lol
Steinway's are solid if certified by a true professional. Also, I think what you said about keeping them regulated / tuned and serviced might be less than for less inexpensive brand, and one reason is Steinway's typically have a tight dynamic range. Other Brands like Bösendorfer and Bechstein have a broader range in tone and expression imo and the the maintaining them might not be less. In any event, no one should shop brand, they should shop budget, then market (Steinway vs Kawai vs Pearl River) and then it becomes a balance act between action, tone, expression. If when you first try a Steinway, love the sound, the tone, but the action feels a bit funny, that's just going to make you not like it after not even a long time. Don't settle for a name, unless it's a Bechstein. j/k 😁
I've never heard of a piano "clipping". That is a term I associate with amplified sound. I'd like you to demonstrate a piano "clipping" as you say.
I would love to buy a Steinway or a Bosendorfer. I have a problem though, I can not AFFORD a Steinway or a Bosendofer, and I would never buy a second hand piano, one is just buying an “old” piano with a good polish.
Good video Robert, mostly agree with your conclusions. However, you don’t mention pianos of equal quality that don’t carry the top tier price tag, such as Kawai and Yamaha. Even some of the Chinese makes like Hailun and Feurich are starting to approach the level of the Japanese pianos, and there are good quality Korean manufacturers. Oh, and don't forget Cunningham pianos in Philadelphia, I hear their pianos are top notch but at Chinese piano prices. These pianos cost far less than their premium counterparts. While it’s true that these don’t usually have the cachet to rebuild and sell for a profit, for the pianist who just wants a good (or even great) piano to practice and perform on, they can be just the ticket, and will hold up as long as a top-tier European or American brand. Yamahas are staples in many professional recording studios, for example. Keep up the good work, glad you have good mics for your piano videos!
i think they still make cunningham pianos in america. Lester was another good one
2:45 Minor correction: "Because of their extrinsic value..."
Robert! I am the lucky owner of a 1927 Steinway B which was rebuilt a few years ago by one of the top Steinway technicians in the United States. It has a magnificent organ-like growl in the bass. My major problem is that the action is too heavy for my weak fingers. I can sound much more proficient on a piano with lighter action, e.g. a Pleyel or a Gaveau. I suspect that most Steinways have this problem, but I don't think anyone has addressed it here.
Your piano, like my piano (Steinway M) were built before the accelerated action that Steinway used after 1940. The accelerated action has a lighter feel. However, i found if i do not force the action (on my piano) and let it work for you, your technique will improve and the action will feel lighter and more responsive.
@@eddiehuss5707 ecsuse me being igrorant, what does accerated action mean
in my area CA, there is free Steinway Square Piano, I m not confidence to get it, they look odd and maybe how to find tuner?
The Piano Technician's Guild has a search box that has been out of commission for a while. But they have a phone number: www.ptg.org/piano/find-technician
As I get it, the main difference in sound of various pianos is determined by their soundboards. Are the ways piano manufacturers produce soundboards for their pianos differ much?
Not only are soundboard designs somewhat unique from company to company, even pianos of the same make and model can have dramatically different qualities to the soundboards since they're hand crafted.
for a beginner a 2000-3000 digital with wooden keys is fine to learn and not bother with tuning or anything else.If you are an average player you get an acoustic,a used Yamaha U1 is about 5000 dollars and youll be happy with it.If you are a seriously good player there is obviously no limit to what you should get.Get the best your budget can get you.
Remember, though, a rebuilt Steinway is a “SteinWAS.” That needs to be factored as well.
It was a late model all original Steinway in great condition.
@@LivingPianosVideos 👍
*I certainly understand the argument for quality instrument. But on the other hand - a $10,000 Asian grand piano might be a fine instrument for some players. It may not last more than 30 or 40 years and isn't worth re-building, right? But you can buy ANOTHER new piano maybe for $20,000 at that point and you've still spent less than a re-built Steinway - just to have that Steinway name on the fall board! And you can invest the extra cash you save to buy your dream boat or fancy car! There's plenty of life worth living away from the piano keys!*
Yes, Steinway Are Worth it. But the Price is costly. I just wished to get one, Maybe now stick to upright Yamaha.
Here in Australia, you but a AU$25,000 piano last year and you “try” to sell it this year, you will likely get zip for it. Before you buy a real piano think and think again. Will it still be getting used next year and the years after or will it just become a device to stop the dust collecting where the piano is?
Start with a $500 - $600 digital piano. If you love playing then go get a “good, affordable” piano. If you don’t like to play, selling a digital very easily. You could likely get most of the money back you paid for it.
Nothing will ever sound like a Steinway. And yet, I'm not as dogmatic as others about the topic. So having said that my initial answer to the question is let's see what happens once I get a mortgage. And my follow up to that is this; even after that comes to pass with so many great-sounding digital and virtual emulations, will I want the responsibility that comes with owning one? That's as simple and as complex as it gets where I'm concerned 😎🎼🎵🎹
Biggest issue with steinway had always been consistancy. I started my career out rebuilding steinways, and the biggest part of that job is doing the job the factory should have.
A good example is an inconsistant soundboard forming process. they use h
a difference in humidity to create crown in the soundboard which results in crown that is relying on luck to form correctly. This results in about 4 in 5 pianos new having trebble sustain issues. easily checked by plucking note 72 and counting how long it sustains. A good piano is about 8 to 9 seconds. Most steinways are 4 to 5. This is entirely due to the board having improper crown or improper down bearing. Another symptom of this board design is with the ribs being flat, all forces on the soundboard are working to flatten it removing the crown resulting in longevity issues.
The other big one is how steinway hangs their hammers always at 5 1/8 inches. Now the problem with that is the plate. When casting a plate you have 2 halfs of a mold. now there is wiggle room where the screws go to hold them together. This wiggle room means that every plate is different meaning where the hammers need to be in tha piano needs to be different. So many steinways have issued where the hammer cannot strike the right part of the string which means they move where the to action with the hammers are on the keys. This often results in super heavy keys which is compensated for with lead. When you add too much lead to the key, you ruin the actions abilitu to perform due to the added mass. Which is why every set of hammers needs to be hung at a custom distance based off of how the plate is formed since the weight difference of that is far less that the actions position on the keyboard.
So essentiallt from a manufacruring standpoint its a horrifically inconsistant piano. So judge each piano as an individual. Steinway is just a name and some new ones are fantastic with most being lemons. Rebuilt ones are often better than brand new ones given the rebuilder knows their stuff and sadly many don't.
@@zackeryhardy9504 I appreciate your rather detailed explanation. As I have earlier said, I am not really dogmatic about owning a Steinway
@@zackeryhardy9504 My Steinway from 1945, new action and strings, original soundboard, inspected by an incredibly good technician in my State, has a magnificent sound, resonance, and feel. A GOOD Steinway is also, hands down, the favorite sound of 90% of classical pianists I know personally and, probably 70% of jazz pianists ( I'm one), Yamaha being their second favorite. And they all have access to other brands. Playing the piano for 40 years I can say that even the Shigeru, which is to me the closest to the magic of a Steinway, is not there yet. I do realize that the Shigeru has a more "round" tone in the upper register. Having said that, overall, the two new Shigeru I've played next to my 1945 Steinway could be an option, IF they were priced the same. The difference was 27k though. In terms of differences in tone and feel between exactly the same models, this happens with other brands, not only Steinways. I've played Bosendorfer, Fazioli, Bechstein and Yamahas, where the same model and size were completely different beasts. Some of them were amazing, others ok.
@@Beyondabsence Sounds like you won the soundboard lottery and have a good technitian. the issue I have with steinway is consistancy. I know the design scale and rim design that leads to steinways sound. A lot of it is voicing, hammer type, scale rim thickness, and the rim offest to the board. Most of this is is sepparate from my steinway complaints. Steinway could create an instrament equil to your steinway with changes to their manufacturing process. For example the hammer hitting the string in the right place makes a large objective difference along with proper placement of the action. using other methods of crowning the soundboard will ensure they all have magnificent resonance and not just 1 in 10 with 1 in 5 being acceptable. Again this part will not change the steinway sound outside of the current variance. I mean even most steinway certified rebuilders dont use steinways method of crowning the board due to it being a terrible process in achieving the goal of good sound consistantly.
The reason kawai sounds so similar to steinway is how they design the lip on the rim paired with hammers and string scale. Actually putting on a different style of hammers ex able naturals and voicing those hammers right its about exactly the same. But remember Kawai isn't trying to be steinway. They want their own sound just as the other brands making high end pianos.
My advice is to buy a piano based off the sound of the instrament. If you happen to come accross the 1 in 10 fantastic new steinways then get it. But Dont let brand fool you. I always find rebuilt stienways are far better and cheaper. Depending on the technitian obviously.
Still content with a Yamaha CLP S-306 after 9 years, definitely a bargain for the $3500 on-sale price. It has stored samples of Yamaha and Boesendorfer pianos with optional extended resonance, excellent acoustic verisimilitude being the deciding factor. The organ selection is completely realistic for Sunday services and weddings. For around $500 most of the sensors in the action have been replaced twice making it as good as new except the recording and transposing functionality is gone. Being the size of a console piano is convenient and the tone is always spot on. Only lament is that for another $7K I could have gotten the Yamaha Avant with better action and sturdier functionality.
Yes!! I just purchased a Roland RD1000 around 30 years old which has a real piano action. It has 18 inch graded action wooden keys. I've played on both Steinway and Baldwin grands. The action on mine feel like them. Now I'm getting the full sampling of a German Steinway D concert grand through my iPad. (What a world we now live in) When I connect the midi output from the Roland into it. I have a great signal source. And then, having worked in professional sound, I have a true Audiophile sound system. Put those together, and it sounds amazing. I can't afford nor have the room for a Steinway or Baldwin. But I can get close enough to the sound and equal the amplitude of those Gems that Robert Estrin is referring to.
The piano has a soul and it can speak and sing.
My small upright C. Bechstein Millenium 116k (smallest from the Concert Series) sounds better than most cheap grand pianos up to 50k. The action is also another level.
Get a digital one. It will never go out of tune at all.
@Ultra Legendary Master And the space to put it. Lol.
What do you think about Yamaha brand?
very good instruments, but they killed north american markets and piano companies
I prefer a Bosendorfer!
By the time I get to grade eight I will have spent so much on lessons that I could have probably bought two Steinways 😊
Lessons do get expensive, don't they!! ha
I have a 100 yr Ibach grand that is really fantastic and sounds better in comparison to the Steinway of the neighbor.
Problem is, a lot of "dodgy" piano dealers (some even well known) send 2nd piano from auction to cheap east European workshop to do the restoration work (use a cheap action for example, or subpar string), it looks fabulous but sound really off, without a proper technician an average buyer may easily fall for it. So it is very tricky to get a proper 2nd hand high end piano that's worth the right amount of money. I've been to the Piano auction in London last December, and most restored Steinway sounds really average or bad (like 80%). A much cheaper 1983 Grotian Steinweg easily blow all the Steinways on site out of the water, even surpass some really great Bösendorfers. In addition, lot's of Bösendorfers or Steinways made in the 2000s has some surprising quality issue, extremely inconsistent, defintely need a professional technician for advice.
Unwise to use Steinway and Bechstein in the same breath. Okay, speaking of pre-1994 Bechstein's. The two are radically different in design philosophy and sound.
yamaha is also good enough...
Someday I will buy a grand piano. But only when I deserve it.
If I were to put a grand - even a baby version into my 56 m2 (in fact 45 m2) apartment from 1934, it would go right through the old floors 🤣, so I am just a member of a practise community.
Wat were those piano pieces
Debussy: Clair de Lune, and the opening chords to Tchaikovsky B-flat minor Piano Concerto
Personally most of the Steinways I have played have been mediocre at best. Unfortunately because of the name, they are often purchased by people with money but not the knowledge to maintain the instrument. So they are usually badly out of tune and in many cases damaged.
I'm only the 2nd owner of a 1934 Model M. I wanted ivory keys. I've just had it rebuilt...It is very important to spec Steinway parts and strings to maintain the sound, feel...and investment! I'm a snob: There are Steinways and other, piano-like objects!
Sure if I can afford an 18'00 s Steinway
All pianos depreciate in value unlike a fine string instrument like a fine violin. Therefore, you should buy the finest you can afford, the finest in playability, the one you have space for and the finest that meets or exceeds your skill and needs. Brand name is of no regard, generally.
I guess I need to water my "money tree." ha
Where is all the money everyone saves buying cheap things? Your kids will fight over a Steinway when you're gone, lol. But you don't have to go that far. Unless you don't plan to play very long, you should spend more than you want to; it will actually save you $ in the long run. A good insturment IS more inspiring to play; it's physics, but you have to be in the room to hear it/understand.
For home, naah! Better buy 88 keys electric pianos you can choose steinway sounds, kawai, even yamaha. You can even record them on audio interface clean.
Answer: yes, if you win the lottery
EZ, just pay 80k for the cheap babygrand so it is worth paying for the restoration
Deserves some more likes ;) Some 5'3 5'4s are spectacular though and start around 50k
The Baby Grand piano I had growing up was the best of a lifetime, no way we could afford or have the space for a full Grand. Handed down for a few generations.
Most restored pianos are sentimental-value instruments, ie passed down through the family or otherwise. I actually see a ton of unrestored neglected Steinways. Guess lots of ppl with the extra change for furniture pianos didn't care to maintain them as fine instruments as long as they lookedpretty and bore the S&S logo XD
That would be for a new piano. One needn’t need to spend that much for a grand.
Should you buy a Steinway? Yes, of course! Can you buy a Steinway? Um… maybe not… yet. Lol
He gives Dr. Sturgis vibes
I think the whole "investment" approach is inaccurate. With EXTREMELY few exception, you will never make $$ on a piano. There are certainly legitimate reasons to buy a HQ piano...but "investment" in isn't one of them.
While buying a piano to make money is an unlikely scenario, at least the piano will have some value when it is worn out since rebuilding a high quality instrument will enhance its value. Whereas worn out, cheap pianos are not viable instruments to restore.
I think the term “investment” is used here to refer to the long-term relationship and presence of the piano in the buyer’s life/family. This is much less to do with the actual monetary value which will of course depreciate over time. However if you take great care of the instrument, it can definitely exceed expectations and fetch a decent return in a selling situation; but it will likely never be near the price you initially paid. I believe Robert is ultimately saying that we should get the best instrument that we can manage since playing the piano is meant to be a rewarding experience.
@@russd.522 Not according to Robert's reply to me above....I think he absolutely was referring to dollars. Having played for many years, and owning a gorgeous 2012 Estonia grand, I can testify that owning/playing a HQ piano is a beautiful experience. I also believe that only a small percentage of people who play the piano are actually in NEED of such a piano, since the vast majority of people who play are not at a level to truly appreciate and understand what they are performing on. You could buy 3 or 4 new stencil brand pianos over time for the same price as a new Steinway. Or, you could buy a HQ piano used...which is what makes Robert's business so valuable and essential to the industry. That is probably the most logical solution for most serious to semi-serious players who want a quality instrument. But you buy it because it's important to you...not because someday 50 years from now it's worth rebuilding.
Actually playing music is a great “investment” as it helps with critical thinking, and learning tougher music by breaking it down helps one with solving more problems than possible before.
I should get a piano donated to me. an HONORARY piano like an honorary degree. since I sight read 8000 pieces of music. I mean if you are a serious American musician that honours hard work you would not make excuses and acknowledge me otherwise you would be acting like those professors that blocked ALKAN from getting his post. I mean look at that freidrich Gulda guy who LEFT music. You represented people who could sight read wrongly. you said 'a sight reader can not refine their playing'. a sight reader can sight read the same pieces 20 times in the same day. statistically speaking they would improve. the question is not whether a person improves but whether recognition of the current musical ability is considered of merit. and it is. because the ABRSM can be taken to court. a musical establishment can be taken to court. the 'abuse of power'.
How much did Steinway pay you to make this video? I'm from a third world country - if anyone had to wait around for luxury there would be no music! Shameful propaganda, especially for the working class and underprivileged!
If you watch the video, I mention Bechstein, Mason & Hamlin and Baldwin pianos along with Steinway. The question is whether it's worthwhile to buy a fine piano if you can afford one. Not just about Steinway. I named it as I did because most people have never heard of any other fine pianos.
Pieter Smal: You are so typically small-minded... "How much did they pay you?" You sound like a Marxist!
What an extremely rude, ignorant and unkind question. Robert is one of the most knowledgeable, fair and broad minded expert not only on pianos but is an excellent pianist and teacher.