[HN Gopher] My First Piano ___________________________________________________________________ My First Piano Author : jbd Score : 42 points Date : 2022-11-01 20:16 UTC (2 hours ago) (HTM) web link (www.jeromeleroy.com) (TXT) w3m dump (www.jeromeleroy.com) | bombolo wrote: | > my parents displayed a bunch of trinkets, including a 19th- | century clock made entirely out of metal which vibrated | | I bet it was the mother... | geff82 wrote: | Oh dear, that story, except the abuse, could be me. I bought a | Bechstein upright last year, an R124 with S/N 215798. The R (for | Residence) and A models differ a bit. R is more refined, and the | differences between individual pianos are much less than in the A | series. You can buy an R blind, but should never do so with an A. | That said, just like the OP, I had great As at the Bechstein | center. Buying this piano was a deep experience. It's a nerdy | thing, too. Because you have to deep dive into why some pianos | cost 4000 and others cost 40000. And it was deep in an emotional | way. Deciding to sink the cost of a car in something... so | emotional... not necessary to survive... is an act of love. | | Bechstein itself is to be loved, too. While their pianos are | super premium just as those from Steinway, they also produce the | Hoffmann-brand on their own, which is much more affordable. In | contrast, Steinway more or less sells rebranded pianos from Asia | as their lower brands. | | For those not into pianos: Steinway and Bechstein are premium | manufacturers from Germany, like BMW and Mercedes. (Fazioli would | be the Rolls Royce then). | reikonomusha wrote: | Steinway also makes pianos in the USA, with a slightly | different design than their Hamburg-built ones. | | I personally find them to be over-priced (since they have a | stage monopoly), and lacking the quality control that Bechstein | or Fazioli have. | Cupertino95014 wrote: | I had a conversation with a prof from University of the | Pacific (which is in Stockton, go figure) who was in charge | of their piano program. He strongly contested the "new | Steinways are shit" trope, after playing a whole lot of them | and buying them for his students. | | There's actually a book I read about the _making_ of one | particular Steinway concert grand, which is now retired after | an illustrious career on stage at Carnegie Hall and other big | places. I think this is it: https://www.amazon.com/88-Keys- | Making-Steinway-Piano/dp/0517... | | (reviews are a little mixed, so read those before you buy | it.) | geff82 wrote: | You are of course 100% right. That said, the New York | Steinway factory mainly builds for the American continent. | Where I live, Steinways come from Hamburg, Germany. | zwieback wrote: | Nice story, he looks proud and a little scared in the final | picture, probably some interesting times ahead. | | My uncle had a Bechstein concert grand. When he passed away the | family expected it would fetch a nice sum but were told that it | was cracked and worth just enough to pay for disposal fee. Sad! | AlbertCory wrote: | I took lessons from someone who had TWO grand pianos, a Steinway | and a Bechstein. They sold their house, and I became the | custodian of the Bechstein on indefinite consignment. It had a | cracked sound board, but she was sure that collectors would | overlook that and be willing to pay at least $20K, given the | illustrious name. | | Finally a technician came and examined it, and offered $2K, which | he said was mostly charity. Eventually I was getting my floors | refinished and the piano had to go, and her daughter took it. | | The only pianos that definitely fetch a lot are Steinway grands, | and maybe a few smaller brands like Bosendorfer. Full uprights? | Maybe a little. Spinets? Forget it. | reikonomusha wrote: | Bechstein, Bosendorfer, Bluthner, Fazioli, Steinway, Shigeru | Kawai, (golden era) Baldwin all fetch good prices for a piano | that's in good musical condition. | kawera wrote: | Pleyel too. | zwieback wrote: | Wow, 4 comments on this post and two are about cracked | Bechstein soundboards! | geff82 wrote: | This can happen on all pianos. Do not forget that having ,,a | Steinway" or a ,,Bechstein" for many people means that the | piano is 100 years old (I think of my neighbor's 100 year old | Steinway with a cracked soundboard, too). In so many years, a | lot can happen. And in 100 years, the piano will sure not | have been kept in perfect environmental conditions (which is | a difficult topic for piano owners). | reikonomusha wrote: | This is rarely a defect of the piano as built, and more that | people don't realize that pianos NEED an environment with a | stable humidity of about 45% year-round. If humidity changes | drastically, the wood will crack and the piano action will | suffer. | | You can either install a humidity control system (known as | "Dampp-Chaser systems") onto the piano itself, or invest in | whole-home humidity control. The latter is always preferable | when possible. | | If you don't do either of these, the piano--even the $250,000 | ones--will fall apart over the course of a decade or two. | Almost all used pianos held onto by people who don't play | (e.g., the piano is furniture) almost always are busted. | bluGill wrote: | A grand piano can be rebuilt, for $20000 investment that | bechstien could have been like new again. This is a great deal | if you have room for a large grand as most places (not people) | buying grand pianos want new even though a rebuilt used is just | as good. | reikonomusha wrote: | Rebuilding can be a great option, but you really don't know | what you're going to get on the other end. Pianos definitely | have "personalities", that is, quirks, unique | characteristics, etc. You may get a "like new" piano, but it | also may not be all that nice sounding. | | Even 5 brand new pianos, same size, same manufacturer, same | production year will sound different to a pianist's ears. | Some will be warmer, others brighter; some sensitive, some | temperamental; some duller, others sparklier; etc. Many of | these qualities can be adjusted a bit through a process | called "voicing" and "regulation", but general wisdom among | piano technicians is to _not_ try to push a piano too far | away from its "natural" timbre. | | Rebuilding with a new soundboard would be a huge job. | Depending on where OP lives and just how much work the | rebuild entails, it could be closer to $40k. | Cupertino95014 wrote: | Yeah, I don't think most people are up for that, as | evidenced by the lack of interest I got. I had a piano tech | from San Francisco, and he was not encouraging about it. | barkingcat wrote: | Great journey. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2022-11-01 23:00 UTC)