Cheaper/Smaller Acoustic Baby Grands - Which is good?

[Legatoboy]

Gas

 

I ment in the above:

>

"from the 60's OR not about that "

[Legatoboy]

Gas,

 

Looks like I found my own anwser. I thought so!

 

From Weikipedia:

 

"Musical References

The title of the Jefferson Airplane song "Bear Melt," from their 1968 live album Bless Its Pointed Little Head, is a reference to Owsley's nickname "Bear". Paul Kantner also refers to Owsley by name on the album.

 

The Jefferson Airplane song "Mexico," which was released as a single in 1970, opens with the lyric, "Owsley and Charlie, twins of the trade, come to the poet's room."

 

The Steely Dan song "Kid Charlemagne" from their 1976 album The Royal Scam was partly inspired by Owsley"

 

And this which is also kinda interesting about Stanley:

 

"Diet

Owsley firmly believes that the natural human diet is a totally carnivorous one, and that all vegetables are toxic. He has eaten nothing but meat, eggs and cheese since 1959, and claims that his body has not aged as much as the bodies of those who eat a diet considered to be more normal. He is convinced that insulin, released by the pancreas when carbohydrates are ingested, is the cause of much damage to human tissue and that both forms of Diabetes Mellitus are caused by the ingestion of carbohydrates."

lb

[Legatoboy]

Gas,

 

More Owsely musical references:

 

"The Frank Zappa song "Who Needs the Peace Corps?", from the Mothers of Invention' 1968 album We're Only in It for the Money, satirised the hippie scene and features the opening verse:

 

What's there to live for?

Who needs the peace corps?

Think I'll just DROP OUT

I'll go to Frisco

Buy a wig & sleep

On Owsley's floor [3]

 

and:

The Jimi Hendrix cover version of the Beatles song "Day Tripper", from a 1967 BBC session first released on CD in 1987, features Jimi Hendrix clearly shouting out, "Oh Owsley, can you hear me now?" during the climactic guitar solo.

lb

[Chris Link]

Originally posted by BluesKeys:

He could sell all the 6' and under pianos he could get his hands on but had trouble selling the larger sizes.

 

I stopped in a local music store the other day on an errand. I always sit down to play the big (8' ) Steinway and check out the other pianos. They had a couple of nice, but nothing special, 6' Kawais but no other "big" pianos. Absolutely zero pianos in the 6'8" to 7' range. No other Steinways, either. Everything else, about 20+ pianos, was a bunch of Kawai and some new label (? Chinese)- all of which were the ~5' pieces of sh-t.

 

Depressing is the only word I can think of. F-cking idiots. How many of us were inspired to play even more after sitting down at a really nice piano when we were young. Frankly, I'd rather play my S90 than anything in that "piano" store (other than the big Steinway).

[David Loving]

How many of us have the air conditioned room for a 7 foot grand piano? What the hell, make it a 12' ---and fresh horses for my men!! The discussion is getting quite grandiose, with the 5' or so being "p.o.s." pianos and all. I've got room for one of thoselittle fellers, and frankly, I wouldn't mind having a Yamaha or Steinway BG - p.o.s. or not. Maybe I'm just not discerning enough - I better keep reading.

[Chris Link]

Originally posted by daviel:

How many of us have the air conditioned room for a 7 foot grand piano? What the hell, make it a 12' ---and fresh horses for my men!! The discussion is getting quite grandiose, with the 5' or so being "p.o.s." pianos and all. I've got room for one of thoselittle fellers, and frankly, I wouldn't mind having a Yamaha or Steinway BG - p.o.s. or not. Maybe I'm just not discerning enough - I better keep reading.

Sorry, but I think the point is that you're better off with a good upright than one of those little "grand" pianos. Frankly, they have more appeal as furniture than they do as musical instruments. If your room or finances don't allow for a 6' piano, get a better-sounding vertical for the same (or less) money.

 

If YOU are happy with what YOU have, that's great and share your experience, but the guy was asking for opinions and advice, and there seems to be a pretty solid consensus in this case.

[David Loving]

There just seems to be more pure opinion than personal experience, that's all.

[BluesKeys]

Originally posted by Legatoboy:

Jim,

 

Jim, Wow this guy sounds too good to be true. Does he still do this?

 

lb

Lega, I can't find him any more but I know there are people or companies that are still importing these pianos. They are sometimes called Gray market pianos. Keep in mind some are old and not taken care of so don't buy one without playing it first. You may even want a tech to look at it before you buy.

 

The piano tech I had tune mine on Thursday told me he has never seen any problem with the Gray market pianos he has worked on.

 

good luck

[BluesKeys]

Originally posted by daviel:

How many of us have the air conditioned room for a 7 foot grand piano? What the hell, make it a 12' ---and fresh horses for my men!! The discussion is getting quite grandiose, with the 5' or so being "p.o.s." pianos and all. I've got room for one of thoselittle fellers, and frankly, I wouldn't mind having a Yamaha or Steinway BG - p.o.s. or not. Maybe I'm just not discerning enough - I better keep reading.

Daviel, It's all about choices my man. I live in a 750 sq ft house. The room my piano lives in (in this house) is 12'x17'. I have to put my PA,RD700,Motif6 (both in road cases) Keyboard stand,KC500,KC300 and EON 10 underneath the grand because there is no other place for all that gear. It takes up the entire end of the room with an endtable at it's foot.

 

I made a choice keep the grand or the wife and big house. I am happy with my choice.

[David Loving]

+1 Home is where the piano is!

[junkcar]

Anybody contemplating the purchase of a new or used acoustic piano MUST read Larry Fine's "The Piano Book...buying and owning a new or used piano, Foreward by Keith Jarrett", available at Amazon, and other places.

 

Without it you are basically stumbling about in the dark in a very complex marketplace.

 

For example, he debunks the gray market "wood not seasoned for America" thing as mostly a Yamaha scare tactic so American dealers have less competition. (But he cautions that parts are sometimes different on some of those grey-market models, and they may not be available by Yamaha America, so there is some risk.)

 

Also, IMHO, buyers should stay away from Steinway's Studio Uprights unless they are offered at very inexpensive prices. I purchased one slightly used from a Steinway dealer (a 1098) back in the early 1980's.

 

Those pianos are WAAY overrated (and overpriced) because of the Steinway mystique. Basically they are just ordinary upright pianos. You would likely be just as happy, if not more so, with a Yamaha U series, or Kawai's counterpart.

 

The several tuners I used over the years (I moved a bit) all had nothing good to say about any Steinway upright. One audibly groaned over the phone when I mentioned what model Steinway I had.

 

As my playing abilities improved, I got more and more disgusted with it, and finally sold it at a big loss.

 

As for Uprights vs. Grands, keep in mind that the action is physically different with the two designs. Uprights, therefore, cannot play like grands because of that mechanical difference. It is like cars with automatic transmissions cannot drive identically in all respects (driver feedback, driver body movement, smoothness, etc) as cars with standard transmissions.

 

Because of their action differences, uprights, with very few exceptions, cannot repeat notes as fast a grands. (The uprights that supposedly can are super-expensive German models that cost much more than many good Grands, such as Kawai RX's.) There are other touch-related implications from the design difference; speed of repeated notes is just one.

 

Therefore, if touch and playing feedback are your primary concerns, you may not be happy with an upright. As for sound, some uprights (as noted in previous posts above) have better sound than the smallest Grands. But Grands 5"8" and above should, if properly designed, sound better than even the largest upright.

 

The bottom line is that a decent, well-designed and maintained grand piano is the standard. Uprights, on the other hand, are a compromise designed to meet space and financial limitations.

 

You don't hear people with nice grands saying "I can't wait until I can upgrade to an upright"

 

And, don't forget that any piano will sound different in your home than it did in the showroom.

 

Good Luck!

[Legatoboy]

BluesKeys,

 

Your right, I found a guy through Ebay that imports in NJ. He has a few very nice refurbished w/warranty Kawai 52" uprights fairly . I'm gonna make an appointment!

 

lb

[Legatoboy]

Junkcar,

 

I did want a Baby Grand to start with. I think they sustain alittle better also beside the action response. I have yet to actually prove this to myself though!

lb