When the dog bites, when the bee stings…
No, these are not a few of my favorite things, but recently a few clients asked what my pick of the best piano might be.
There isn’t one anymore!
At one time there were over 100 manufacturers in New York alone. Now, only one. If fact, in the United States, there are three: Charles Walter, Steinway, and Mason & Hamlin.
What happened? Nothing. You must remember that we have about 300 million people here. But, we have been making and selling pianos since the mid 1800’s. Virtually every household has a piano. We burned out our market…that’s all. “Even our piano in the parlor, daddy bought for ten cents on the dollar!” Are you old enough to remember that?
So, the piano, invented in Europe, was developed largely in the Philadelphia area and bubbled to the top in New York.
Where do I see them? And remember, this is just one man’s opinion, not the law. And I hope I didn’t, but I may have missed one or two in any of the levels.
The creme de la creme: Which is the best? The one you like the most. They are all way up there in quality. Some have more or less name recognition depending on your station in life. If you are a pro, you probably know all of them. If not some of them you may have never heard of, but then how many of us is familiar with the Lamborghini?
Bechstein
Bluthner
Fazioli
Schimmel
Seiler
Bosendorfer
Steinway & Sons
Kawai – Shigeru
Yamaha – S class
Honorable mentions: Schulze Pollmann Pianoforte, Kawai GX and the Yamaha CX, these are really strong instruments.
The Middle class:
Charles Walter
Kawai mid-level
Yamaha mid-level
Estonia
Boston
Young Chang
Petroff
Mason & Hamlin
Some of the upper-class manufacturers do have a mid-level brand to compete in that market, so you have to be cautious, not every Kawai is an upper-level instrument. However, in both Kawai and Yamaha, their X series are pianos to be taken seriously!
The rest fall to the bottom. These are generally Chinese or Korean made pianos with German or American names. Not to worry, some of these names will climb in stature and quality as the markets change as Yamaha and Kawai did.
Then there is the used market - a mine field. Don’t go without protection: a Registered Member of the Piano Technicians Guild. They can run interference for you. There are some great buys out there and some terrible traps.
The last market is the rebuilt one. When I closed my shop, unfortunately, many of the top rebuilders followed suit, sad! One in particular, David Hughes closed, and I cried. He started following me and quickly surpassed me. There is Lindeblad in Pine Brook, NJ. I see their work when they come my way. You have to be pretty sure of yourself to send someone like I out to do warranty work on your rebuilt piano, LOL. However, Lindeblad is doing a stellar job from what I can see. The retailers send their work out, many times to Mexico, again, careful! I am not one of those technicians that beats down everyone else’s work. If it’s good, it’s good. But if it’s bad…oooopps.
One final word: WARRANY!
Some have 5 years some 10. Some are transferrable, some not. Do your homework!
Ciao,
Ralphie