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110 Lb Acoustic Piano


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There are uprights which are given away for free. Usually however they are simply also worth nothing because they are in bad shape. And this piano here would be quieter, which would suit a bunch of people better than a normal upright.
2019 W.Hoffmann T122 upright, Roland FP-50, Roland RD64, Korg Microkorg
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Not to mention, you still have to move a heavy upright to your house.

 

My biggest problem with used pianos is that I have no way to tell if something is really wrong with them before I rent a truck and maybe help to go get the thing. They are almost always badly out of tune as well, and who knows if you are going to be able to keep the thing in tune once you pay to have it done (assuming you can find someone these days.)

 

This also means that if you are renting or think you might move, no biggie, this easily comes with you.

 

Above all, I really love being able to see the hammers work. My first thought was "hmm, going to get all dusty" but heck pianos get all dusty inside anyway (and it's hard to clean them!)

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as a home piece, I question the value prop: conventional uprights are given away free, so why spend $2k? (I can see the case for someone who changes home a lot, but $2k buys a lot of piano movers).

Okay, I'll bite... For one thing, like pretty much anything you can buy, yeah, you can save money by looking for something used, but people still often prefer to have something new. But I think more than that, finding a free piano isn't necessarily so easy, especially depending on where you live, and even then, a lot of what's given away for free is junk, and you may have to spend/waste your time perhaps going from one home to another over some number of weeks or months before finding something free that you think is decent. Usually the stuff that is given away for free hasn't been tuned in years, and while you can tell something about the action when you try it, you may not know how it will sound in tune or how well it will stay in tune... sometimes a problematic piano can never be tuned to sound right, and you won't know until the first time you pay someone to tune it (or perhaps a couple of weeks later, if it sounds okay at first but just won't hold). Then, when you do get that free piano, if and when you don't want it anymore, you'll have to deal with having to dispose of it, whereas I suspect this would be easier to find a taker for if you ever wanted to get rid of it. And also this is interesting looking and a cool conversation piece. Pianos are also decoration/furniture, after all. People will spend $2k on a fancy coffee table. ;-) Considering all of that, I can see lots of people choosing to spend $2k on this than go searching for a freebie. For lots of people, this is still far from crossing the "prohibitively expensive" threshold.

 

ETA: yeah, what the guys above me said. ;-)

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Finding a free piano isn't necessarily so easy, especially depending on where you live, and even then, a lot of what's given away for free is junk, and you may have to spend/waste your time perhaps going from one home to another over some number of weeks or months before finding something free that you think is decent. Usually the stuff that is given away for free hasn't been tuned in years, and while you can tell something about the action when you try it, you may not know how it will sound in tune or how well it will stay in tune... sometimes a problematic piano can never be tuned to sound right, and you won't know until the first time you pay someone to tune it (or perhaps a couple of weeks later, if it sounds okay at first but just won't hold). Then, when you do get that free piano, if and when you don't want it anymore, you'll have to deal with having to dispose of it, whereas I suspect this would be easier to find a taker for if you ever wanted to get rid of it. And also this is interesting looking and a cool conversation piece. Pianos are also decoration/furniture, after all. People will spend $2k on a fancy coffee table. ;-) Considering all of that, I can see lots of people choosing to spend $2k on this than go searching for a freebie.

What can I say? I hope you're right, because this is a lovely piece, and $2k is well-priced.

 

The other advantage is one of compactness 69 vs 88 keys. I think this is important in Japan (hence Korg's Micro* range, Yamaha P121 and others) where land costs are high and homes small.

 

Cheers, Mike.

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Has an interesting hammer dulcimer quality to the sound, an instrument I have always had a soft spot for.

 

Needs to only to be used on one mega pop hit and sales will follow

"It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule."

"You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden

 

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The open frame architecture looks very cool, but way to exposed for a gigging situation. It would certainly need a hard shell case or two which would detract from the 110 lbs, fits in a sedan narrative.

 

I agree and also think a case might be desirable when being used in the home, particularly for owners with small kids and/or pets.

 

I suspect as it is shown here, in that situation, it might suffer all manner of possible problems of damage, or "posted" items wihin the internals. I can't imagine general dust or damp would do it a whole lot of good either.

 

In a gigging situation, a player/owner might become paranoid when the slightly swaying drunk approaches with dripping beer glass in hand.....

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About 1/2 the weight of my CP70b (128 lbs keyboard, 154 lbs harp), but my CP sounds MUCH better. Question is, would I ever haul my CP to a gig again; probably not.

 

Interesting observation about the sound vs the CP70 because I would say the opposite. The bass, while not very deep at all (for obvious reasons, not to mention the CP's bass wasn't very deep either), exhibits much less of the inharmonicity than I remember from my CP â it sounds more "in tune" and I like that more. I know the out-of-tune-ness of the CP is one of its calling cards, makes it instantly identifiable and might even be considered part of its charm, so I respect anyone's opinion if they say they like it more. The CP also has two strings per note on the treble strings so is more piano-like in that regard. One major difference though, is that anytime you're listening to a CP70 or 80 you're listening to electronics â the sound of amplified pickups. Here we're listening to the acoustic sound. I hear a mellow but distinct hammer attack in this piano that I never heard in a CP - perhaps that was because of the pickups; I can only guess (the CP's attack always sounded compressed to me). I prefer this acoustic sound myself, but obviously the CP, having been used on a lot of tracks in the past, has acquired an identity and I know a lot of folks may value the "vibe" that imparts. That's all good.

 

Anyway, I applaud the team that came up with this piano and wish them much success. It's obviously a labor of love â wouldn't it have to be? :)

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I totally agree about the bass on the CP and inharmonicity. However, the midrange and upper register of the CP sounds much better to me; better than most uprights and all digitals. When I say "better", I don't mean authentic, rather pleasing and "playable". I hope that makes sense. I still have PTSD from transporting that beast to gigs! Maybe I'm just trying to suppress my GAS and resist the temptation to buy another keyboard!
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Question is, would I ever haul my CP to a gig again; probably not.

 

Comparing this to a CP or even another portable DP in terms of "gigability" is wrong IMO. You probably wouldn't want to carry this new piano to a gig. The developers certainly don't think so anyway. From their FAQ: "We envision that this instrument will be primarily used in a domestic context." There's nothing on their website or videos to suggest this is a piano to haul around to gigs. Yes, it's a piano that's much easier to move than a regular piano, a piano that fits into tighter spaces than regular pianos, and a piano that costs less than a traditional piano. All general characteristics that could be associated with "gigability." Maybe that's what's driving these assumptions. However, I don't see anything in its design or construction that points to what I feel is really needed to gig with an instrument like this: things like a case, ruggedized finish, protective corners, etc. IMO this is furniture for small apartments, something budget-conscious families might buy to enjoy a nice sounding acoustic piano rather than built-in 4" speakers of a home DP. Should we really assume this might be a viable instrument to gig with â when it isn't â then proceed to diss it because it doesn't meet the qualifications for that purpose?

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Question is, would I ever haul my CP to a gig again; probably not.

 

IMO this is furniture for small apartments, something budget-conscious families might buy to enjoy a nice sounding acoustic piano rather than built-in 4" speakers of a home DP. Should we really assume this might be a viable instrument to gig with â when it isn't â then proceed to diss it because it doesn't meet the qualifications to do that?

 

I completely agree with this. For folks in college towns or the suburbs with big living room spaces or music room basements, I can see how this wouldn't be a value-add over a used upright. But if you live in a city apartment like I do, this seems like possibly the only route available to living with a real acoustic piano. It seems nuts that someone could have an actual piano up against the wall that is so small. I'm going keep tabs on this one...

Numa X Piano 73 | Yamaha CP4 | Mojo 61 | Motion Sound KP-612s | Hammond M3

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My take is this is perfect for the flat living person who has say an end of lease move every 6 months. If its giggable constantly thatd be the icing on the cake.

 

Its still a bargain for a flat dwelling piano lover.

 

As I mentioned above perfect for 6 month leases. You guys may not know this but Australia is basically only 6 month leases unlike Europe that can be long leases i believe and correct me if im wrong America has longer leases.

 

Yes we are stuck with generally 6 month leases that if they are happy with you you are then on 1 month extensions or at best another 6 month lease. I feel very sorry for australian renters.

 

So this type of piano in theory would be useful here in Australia for those wanting a real piano who are leasing. Piano moving costs here are not cheap. I moved my yammy grand piano interstate 5 years ago to here and it cost a bomb. As much as a good mid range digital. Even moving it half an hour from my dads place to my place before that was very expensive that i could have bought a cheap digital new.

 

Moving costs are so expensive here that when we thought we may be forced to move because of downsizing to a cheaper house to live off the difference in price i put my baby grand up for sale (due to not wanting to pay moving costs and downsizing may mean no room) anyway we saved the ranch for now but one day downsizing will be enviable so then the grand will again go up for sale.

 

Heres the rub i bought a cheap Kawai Mp9500 digital piano as a premove replacement for the grand piano as it is 35kg and although big is carryable in a station wagon which is exactly the weight of the harp of this beautiful instrument which indeed fits in the wagon. (IN AUSSIE you got to grab local second items when they come up not when you think you want one as its hard to find anything local when you want it.)

 

So in essence this featured piano could have moved with me instead of deciding to sell my grand. When we eventually move I think i wont want to pay the bn price of moving the grand so it will probably go i fact it may go before that to keep us living. But i do have the Kawai which although not the same its the best digital action ive had yet.

 

If this featured piano was sold here it would have the benefit of a rental market that is moving more often. A lot less high rise compared with europe. But id also think the digital market here has broken the back of real piano sales as si ce the pandemic the digital have flooded the market here. Digital pianos were sold out everywhere online here.

 

The price of this piano as i said before is very good and i am amazed they could do it for the price but i realise now why perhaps its so keenly priced. Its possible because the digital market is really there biggest competitor not the piano market. To sell these they need to be down to that high range digital piano pricing to snare would be digital buyers who are really the bulk buyers now of piano like instruments.

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Did anyone marvel at how easily the fellow in the "Bring In the Keybird" video just walks in with the piano like it's a bag of groceries? He doesn't struggle with it or schlep around *at all* -- just "here you go, mate"; plunk. I mean, it's still over a hundred pounds, and he handles it like a briefcase...

Legend '70s Compact, Jupiter-Xm, Studiologic Numa X 73

 

 

 

 

 

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Did anyone marvel at how easily the fellow in the "Bring In the Keybird" video just walks in with the piano like it's a bag of groceries? He doesn't struggle with it or schlep around *at all* -- just "here you go, mate"; plunk. I mean, it's still over a hundred pounds, and he handles it like a briefcase...

 

Yes and it certainly looked lighter wifh him carrying it than i would have thought. Wise marketing move.

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Sounds remarkably piano-like despite the shaving away of a considerable amount of mass. If you are going to move around a lot they should include a drum key sort of wrench to tune it and cut a deal with one of the strobotuner app developers for your phone. Sell a high end one with Gibson's self tuning motorized tuning pegs.

 

https://www.petersontuners.com/products/istrobosoft/

 

[video:youtube]

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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  • 3 years later...

Mini-review posted on another forum - not mine btw as I don't have one

Quote

 

I really like it. It is very compact, you can move it/tune it on your own, felt/midi options add a lot of versatility. The strings are easily accessible if you want to experiment with muting strings or whatever.

The sound is somewhat smaller or more intimate compared to an acoustic upright. Which is actually nice in an apartment setting at least.

The action is good. Is is a lot of fun to play.

Cons I’ve found is the sustain in the treble octave is kind of short. And the midi velocity is not super accurate, so I wouldn’t use it to play big piano libraries, more as a way to record sketches, trigger synths, or to be able to layer other sounds on top of a piano performance. And of course the design is not time tested like a traditional piano. It seems like they have ironed out most of the design/production quirks though.

 

 

 

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On 10/29/2020 at 2:42 PM, SteinwayB said:

out 1/2 the weight of my CP70b (128 lbs keyboard, 154 lbs harp), but my CP sounds MUCH better.

For couple years had my retired Cp70 in a NYC walk up apartment, with the top panel removed.  Hearing bass strings on this immediately brought me back to that vibe.  Would of killed for something like this.

 

Got one of those ancient Barcus Berry piano pickups stuck on with blue-tak that I still use for some cocktail gigs  Bet  it would work great on this. 

 

This might be a novelty, but at least I can see more use than some of the other stuff impulsively acquired and have barely used.  

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Chris Corso

www.chriscorso.org

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It doesn't sound too bad but without a pickup system, it's not very practical for live-gigging because it only has one string per note. This isn't much of an issue in tenor range, but once you get up into the treble, those notes are going to get lost. Having three strings per note balances the volume of those notes in comparison with lower tones. You'd have to play very hard in the upper end to be heard over a band, for example.

Also, I imagine most people would prefer a graded piano action modeled after a grand piano, like the Kawai VPC, over an upright style action.

But it's a cool idea.

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