When I was young I was slightly misguided in thinking that every piano brand had a signature sound. While there is truth in that statement, pianos can sound vastly different from model to model… Read More
This was the first year since covid that the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show was back to its regular January date and, in fact the first show where it felt back to normal. How was it? To answer that, I’m going quickly review the piano market over the last few years. Piano… Read More
Five Tiers of Yamaha Grands… Read More
You don’t need to look at the artist page of Steingraeber Piano for too long before you start to realize that their pianos are highly sought after and prized by world renown pianists. It begs the question, what are they experiencing that compels them to perform on their pianos? What goes into a Steingraeber piano… Read More
They say that French cuisine and baked goods are inseparable from the ingredients grown there, that the quality of the food is due in part to the local culture from farm to table. In music, there is something similar in Austria known as the Viennese sound. It is a unique sound that is also considered… Read More
I’ve heard this statement many times before: “I’m just doing my research on what piano to buy”. But what does this actually mean? What do people research when they say that they’re examining a piano? Isn’t a piano just a piano? They’re shiny, they have 88 keys with 3 pedals, right? While that is a… Read More
…The soundboard actually acts as a transducer changing vibration into audible signal. Ideally, to hear the piano you would want to have full exposure to the soundboard to hear all of the tones and overtones. When people ask what the difference is between a grand and an upright, that’s a major difference…… Read More
Piano Name: Ravenscroft Website: Ravenscroft Model: 275 Made in: Germany & USA Parent Company: Ravenscroft Company Location: USA Length: 9’0″ Impressions “The Ravenscroft 275, weighs in at 9′ long. The sound is almost palpable. Although it might simply be a product of voicing, I found the top end of this concert grand size more conservative than… Read More
Recently I sat down with June Wang from Pearl River Piano Group and corresponded with Rob Slayman from Schimmel Piano to discuss their strategic alliance as I was curious how it had affected both companies. It was announced at NAMM 2016 that Pearl River had purchased a controlling interest in the Schimmel company.
Why do piano companies purchase other piano companies? We hear of company mergers in the news all the time. What is the impetus – the driving force for one piano company to acquire another piano company? If we paint with large brush strokes, on one side there is massive demand to be fulfilled in China. Nearly 80% of the world’s piano purchases happen in China.… Read More
Today we have the privilege of speaking with David Stanwood, a piano technician who also happens to be a published author specializing in piano touch metrology. (Metrology being the science of measurement)… Read More
