Read up on Glen Gould and how it took him years to find a replacement for his favourite piano that was damaged during transportation.

 Reply

Pianos that are maintained by a number of technicians (tuners, voicers, regulators, etc.) will sound better than a new one, but not because the piano improves with age, like wine, but because it's maintained well.

If you buy a new piano today from Steinway, it will sound a lot better if it's brought up to spec by a good team, than when it rolls naked off the assembly line.

However, pianos themselves wear out over time: the pin block, sound board, felts, action, etc. Good technicians can improve a piano at any stage of its life. But pianos, like any mechanical system, wear out.

So yeah, a well maintained old piano will sound better than an unregulated new one. But unlike a violin, a new piano (as long as it's well made) has an advantage over an old piano if all else is equal.

Which it usually isn't... For example, the quality of Steinways went down for a while (so older was better than new), but then went up again, so new was as good as old, if not better.

 Reply

The extra octave on the Bosendorfer Imperial (which costs around $180,000) makes every note you play on it that much louder and richer. If you actually play the notes on the extra octave, the fundamentals disappear because it starts to dip below human hearing. But the harmonics produced by them ring with every other note you play. It's almost too rich and gooey, like pouring butter on chocolate cake. It's an amazing sound, but I wouldn't swap a good ol American Steinway for a Bosendorfer Imperial for pure piano playing goodness.

 Reply

No but really, I could play on my parents' Schimmel for weeks on end and never get tired of its rich sound - and that's only a $70,000 model. Also, it out-classes most pianos twice its price when it comes to looks.

My buddy's mom is one of those "insanely good, high reputation, exclusive" piano teachers that charges through the roof to give lessons to rich people's prodigy kids... She bought two Steinways last year, one costing $90,000 and the other was $140something000. I personally like the sound and feel of the cheaper (ha! cheaper! $90,000!!!) one. The $140k sounds too bright to me.

Now on to more important topics.... Being a 22 year-old college bum... if I could only convince my buddy's parents to just drop me at least a few thousand bucks as a loan... or ideally as a gift - since they've got the cash to toss around anyway - that would be fantastic. Or yeah, from my own parents (heaven forbid I ask them for anything), who don't qualify as being in the "ridiculously rich" category. Nevertheless... being cut off the gravy train is "good for me in the long-run." ::::siigghh:::: Sure it is... $9.00/hr part time. yup. good for me. (it really is tho - I'll admit)

 Reply

As for the 140k vs. 90k steinway comparison, that's actually a pretty insightful observation you made. The more expensive, larger steinway is known as the concert grand (model D), and is essentially engineered to project sound into a big hall. Most pianists actually prefer playing the smaller (albeit still large) grand known as the "artist grand" (model B). It doesn't produce as much sound as the concert grand, so unless it's amplified you wouldn't play it in a big hall. But when it comes down to actually playing the thing, it just feels better, like you said. It's more manageable, more controllable, kinda like a sports car vs. an SUV.

Either way, on to the more important topic... who'd want a sports car or an SUV in college anyway... amiright or amiright?! OK... maybe not! :)

 Reply

On the other hand, guitar players obsess about their guitars more than keyboard players obsess about their pianos. When it comes to pianos, there really aren't that many choices. They're expensive, and you can pimp out your instrument, but you buy one and that's that. My guitar friends seem like they're always doing something with their guitars, or looking for another one, like constantly searching for a better girlfriend.

 Reply

[www.johnnyrandom.com]

 Reply