[rollei_list] Re: OT Pianos

I have spent the last 18 months picking out a concert piano. I have played just 
about everything and have strong opinions.

I regard the Steinway as a fine piano. Its design is truly great. Of the two 
Steinway factories, the Hamburg one seems to produce to a higher standard. Both 
have a "Steinway" sound, though if you play them you notice the Hamburg sounds 
clearer than the New York. The New York has a rich, thick tone, which can be 
wonderful and alluring when it has been properly prepared. The New York and the 
Hamburg use different hammers. I prefer the Hamburg's. 

I have owned a New York and a Hamburg B (6 foot 10) and prefer the Hamburg to 
the New York. My New York always had an annoying brassyness in the treble to it 
that the tech never removed. My hunch is that if I had had one of the good 
rebuilders replace the New York hammers and put Hamburg or German ones on it, I 
would have found the New York's tone more alluring. As it is, I love my Hamburg 
Steinway!

My hunch is that the New York B had over lacquered hammers. Steinway New York 
first lacquers the hammers to harden them and then pinpricks them to mellow 
them out. My feeling is that my piano's hammers were overlacquered. I heard 
about a concert Steinway in the Middle West that was sounding horrible. The 
local tech thought that short of restringing the piano the problem would not go 
away. A well respected rebuilder was brought in, he took the action home, put 
new hammers on and adjusted the mechanical parts. After that, the piano sounded 
great. As I say, the Steinway design is great, wonderful. You need someone to 
work on it who knows the ins and outs of the piano. My feeling is that while 
people praise the older American Steinways, the newer ones would be just as 
praiseworthy if they were attended to by the good rebuilders. The Steinway 
design just needs to be brought out.

I've played the Boesendorfer Imperial, which is 9 foot six, or 290cm, not 11 
feet, as someone wrote. The Fazioli is 10'6" I believe. The action of the 
Imperial at the New York dealer is fantastic. The piano's ability to play loud 
and soft unequaled. That is true of all the piano's at Boesendorfer New York. 
The dealer has prepped them well. The Fazioli dealer does the same thing. The 
pianos are voiced and regulated to show well in both stores. When you play 
them, you have a good idea of what you are playing.. That isn't always the case 
everywhere.

                 
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