I finally play Bosendorfer, Schimmel..

[Goldberg]

Like any of you actually care... but if you do, or are just bored, listen to my dreams. I finally found a very well-equiped Bosendorfer shop-which also carried a wide assortment of other European pianos-Petrof, to name ONE i can remember...Anyway, the Bosendorfers (7ft, 6.5ft) completely exceeded my expectations. They had tons of power, especially in the bass, yet were controllable, and had a nice upper register. It was very cool-also highly expensive. Even cooler was I played a particularly special Chopin Edition Bosendorfer, which I think was 8ft, maybe 7ft (no, I didn't want to seem TOO interested-too expensive). Also on the list was a 100+ year old Steinway that was found in a basement of a castle in Denmark-the real thing, their concert grand. An absolute joy to play, and I kept on switching around from the Steinway to the Bosies(or whatever the nickname is). Of course then I went around and tried the various sorts of pianos, and came across a name called Schimmel-not a name I've heard on these boards. It was a small piano, probably 5ft, but it sure sounded a lot bigger-and the touch was excellent as well. It was really cool, and a great alternative to any Steinway (though a BIT lacking in that bass power-but, how much can you ask for an inexpensive piano?) I also found a really cool brocheur for a Schimmel made piano called the Pegasus-anyone familier with this? It looks really cool. Anyway, congratulations if you've made it this far. I just needed to get my opinions out because the experience was simply overwhelming. I hope you understand.

[Bardstown Audio]

Like most of us who cannot afford the real thing, there is the Giga/HALion sampled "Bosendorfer Imperial" Model 290, which is the top of the line nine and one half foot concert grand piano from Bosendorfer.

 

You may check out MP3 demos of this sampled Bosendorfer Imperial on the mp3 page at www.bardstownaudio.com

 

Kip

Bardstown Audio

 

www.bardstownaudio.com

[fantasticsound]

Thanks for sharing your experience with these wonderful pianos. I've heard such wonderful comments on Bosendorfer pianos over the years, but I've never had the chance to try one. Very neat!

 

Originally posted by Bardstown Audio:

Like most of us who cannot afford the real thing, there is the Giga/HALion sampled "Bosendorfer Imperial" Model 290, which is the top of the line nine and one half foot concert grand piano from Bosendorfer.

 

You may check out MP3 demos of this sampled Bosendorfer Imperial on the mp3 page at www.bardstownaudio.com

 

Kip

Bardstown Audio

 

www.bardstownaudio.com

You're joking.. right??? What a troll.

 

I have as much chance of winning the recent lottery as I do of owning a Bosendorfer anytime soon. (Perhaps anytime at all.)

 

But why would you use someone's joyous description of their chance to play some really cool pianos to sell samples intended to recreate those instruments? Well... unless you're a spam/troll, that is.

 

The opportunity to have those samples would be nice, though I'd be shocked if anyone on this board would equate playing an exceptional piano to playing samples of one. I'm a complete novice on piano, but I appreciate the difference. Very tacky.

 

Go buy some ad space.

[Superbobus]

Striker, if you want "the real thing" and if Bosie and Steinway are too expensive, go check out some second hand European models. Schimmel is one of them, a very old German company. Before the second world war there use to be a lot of small German piano factories but few of them survived Yamaha and Kawai. These old instruments have Character but check them everywhere when you want to go for one. My Duysen (?) grand is 100 years old, sounds fantastic and now it appears that the mechanics need some serious service.

Great grands and pianos to check out: Grotrian Steinweg, (yes, Steinway's brother) Bechstein (watch out for mechanic failure!) Feurich, August Forster, (either they're great or they suck) Petrof.

[marino]

While European pianos seem to be more deep-sounding, generally speaking, than American ones, they're very diverse instruments. A good Steinway is still unbeatable IMO, but a bad Steinway can be a nightmare! Bosendorfers seem to be more consistent from instrument to instrument. Also, deeper in sound, but lacking that metallic "zing" that makes Steinways SING in a hall.

I always liked Shimmel pianos. They seem to be a good alternative to Steinway and Bosie, without the need to sell your house and parents...

I am very familiar with Petrof pianos. I think the uprights are quite good, if a bit light. The grands are too metallic and bright for my tastes.

Gotrian-Steinweg... I have a kind of love-hate relationship with them. They're impossibly stiff! But the sound is good - just a bit dark. I'd love to have one to study on. But every time they gave me one to play live, my fingers got hurt!

August Forster: Never found one I liked. Bleaaargh! I much prefer Yamahas.

 

But why would you use someone's joyous description of their chance to play some really cool pianos to sell samples intended to recreate those instruments?

I agree.

[burningbusch]

In the USA, it was Great Depression that did in nearly all of the piano manufacturers. During the 1800s and early 1900s, most decent sized US cities had several companies building upright pianos for the local/regional population (New York City had probably several dozen). There weren't a lot of options back then for moving things as heavy as a piano so having them manufactured close to where they would be delivered was essential. Also, prior to the phonograph, if you wanted music in your home either someone in the family learned how to play or you got a player piano unit, so the piano was immensely popular. When you find an old upright, odds are it will carry the nameplate of a company you've never heard of. I believe that fewer than a dozen US piano companies survived the Great Depression.

 

Busch.

[Superbobus]

August Forster: Never found one I liked. Bleaaargh! I much prefer Yamahas.

 

Yeah, that was only one Forster upright I really liked, the rest was pretty crappy. The Steinweg action is heavy but you can get it adjusted by a good tuner who knows about these things. I like the dark sound of the Steinweg. Bosie is too clean for me and their mechanics are too light. Strings seem to be pretty fragile.

With Yamaha pianos it's like this, either I love it, either I hate it. Yamahas can have warmth and character, their mechanics are unbeatable, but when it sounds metallic and cold better look further (that goes for every instrument).

[Pat Azzarello]

Originally posted by Superbobus:

Steinweg

Steinway is the americanized version of Steinweg. My understanding of Steinweg is limited, but I seem to remember a story about early Steinways being called "Steinwegs" (pre-1853???), but someone later "assuming" the name and misleading the public that there was an affiliation between Steinweg and Steinway. If you're really interested, you should check out any number of Steinway Piano history books from your library.

 

This brings up another point - Be careful when you look at a piano "Brand". In the US (and abroad), piano companies have died, and been resurected with only the name/logo being alike, and sounding horribly different. The Piano Book (I think that's the name) has plenty of information.

 

BTW - I'm in Munich right now, and I always check hotel pianos when I'm abroad to see what they use. I was very glad to see that the hotel had a German piano (7 footer from the looks of it), though not a Steinway, Bosendorfer, or Schimmel).

[Superbobus]

With Steinweg I mean Grotrian Steinweg. The story I know is like this. Once there were two brothers called Steinweg. One went to America and became Steinway & Sons, though they had (or still have?) a factory in Hamburg too. The other one stayed in Germany and started building pianos together with a certain Grotrian.