Acoustic Pianos

[stoken6]

Men are from Mars, pianos are from Hamburg?

 

Cheers, Mike

 

 

[Outkaster]

In the 80's my cousin bought a brand new Schimmel . It was a really good sounding studio piano. I do someday want to get an Yamaha though.

[Brettymike]

I have always thought Chris Martin's small upright Yamaha sounds wonderful , and well miked > http://youtu.be/Vwf5iRBbilM

(such a Beautiful song)

 

Brett

[JeffLearman]

I see the market for acoustic pianos getting smaller and smaller. As a result, the prices will climb. Eventually only the best acoustic pianos will be available, unless it becomes some kind of status symbol driving the market.

 

The rich guy who bought Steinway: at least he picked a name that's likely to survive. I don't think Yamaha will go away soon. Kawai might not last as long, despite the quality of some of their pianos.

 

The prices for used pianos will probably follow a smile-shaped curve, dropping as digital pianos get better but then rising again as decent used pianos start getting scarce.

 

Piano maintenance costs will rise, as there'll be fewer and fewer good techs, and remanufactured parts will get pricier.

 

Currently, most (roughly more than half) of pianos are barely playable. They're still fun to play -- I can enjoy plinking on a beater for a while, since it's different that what I'm used to, and every piano has some virtue for some purpose. But most pianos are hardly worth keeping, and when someone moves or dies, they'll go into the trash pile.

 

I bet the number of pianos trashed every year is higher than the number of new pianos sold. That's just a wild guess, though.

 

Of the nearly half of pianos that aren't junk, most of those are fine, ok, but not really better overall than a good DP. They're better at some stuff, but not as well-rounded and widely applicable. Really only a fairly small percentage of acoustic pianos are overall considerably better than a good DP.

 

But those that are, are real treasures. I agree with Brettymike that the gap will continue to narrow, and as a result the market will shrink. It won't disappear, and even if the gap does disappear to all objective measures, there will be those who prefer acoustic pianos regardless.

 

I'll probably be one of them.

 

Any time I'm in a hotel or convention center and have some time to kill, I look for a piano that's not locked. As I get older I get a bit more reserved. (I no longer carry around a screwdriver and tuning hammer!) But I doubt I'll ever stop, and I plan to have a nice acoustic piano wherever I live as long as feasible.

[MonksDream]

You can make great-sounding piano music on a DP but you will always feel and sound better on a good, well-maintaned acoustic. A good acoustic offers greater dynamic and tonal control with less effort thereby expanding your possibilities in ways a DP just can't. This assumes a decently maintained piano. If the instrument has been beaten up, neglected, and left to die you're better off with a DP.

 

For solo - yes.

But they are often like Tits on a Bull in a band situation.

Unless you've just carried in (like a Mule) one of the top of the line 9 footers - but that never happens.

 

Brett

Maybe it's because a play mostly jazz but it happens to me a few times a year. (Note my avatar). I did a reception casual at an art school a couple of weeks ago and met one of the loveliest Yammie concert grands I've ever touched.

 

I've never met anyone who sounds better on a DP than they do on a good acoustic. I'm not talking about moving, maintenance, or amplification. Those three concerns make DPs a necessary concession. I'm talking about the act of playing and evoking a musical response from the instrument. If you play piano music you will play and sound better on an acoustic, all other things being equal.

[opdigits]

If you play piano music you will play and sound better on an acoustic, all other things being equal.

Plus, you, or at least I, FEEL better sitting down to an acoustic piano. It just feels .... right!