# What piano do you own?



## Allegro Con Brio

Whether you play seriously, as a hobby, or just use it as decoration, I'd be curious to know which make/model and kind (upright, spinet, digital keyboard, baby grand..._concert grand???_) that you own. Was it passed down? Did you buy it new or second-hand? As for me (it's really my family's but I'm the only one who plays it), I have a beautiful Kawai upright from sometime in the 21st century, but not sure exactly when (it was bought used). I have played several other uprights, and I have not found another that matches it in touch and tone. It has a "brighter" and more bell-like timbre than many other uprights, but I like that. Kawai doesn't seem to be as popular as Steinway and Yamaha, but this instrument is very high-quality and has never let me down. The only downside is that, instead of a middle (sostenuto) pedal, there is a "practice pedal" that just lowers a felt pad over the hammers to mute them (supposedly, so one can practice without disturbing others).


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## Animal the Drummer

I have a 1925 Bechstein upright (manufactured the year before my dad was born) which I picked up years back for far less than it was worth from a local music shop which, while it had a fair few pianos in stock, was more orientated towards the electric keyboard market even then. It's a truly lovely piano, outstanding in every register, and deserves the lion's share of the credit I've sometimes received for my supposedly nice tone when I play it. 

P.S.The guy who tunes it has his own piano shop, is the Kawai stockist in this area and swears by them too.


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## mikeh375

I have a Kawai grand. I prefer the gentler sound of my model to the likes of Yamaha whose ubiquitous use in recording studios because of their brightness, put me off them for good.
Thing is, it's sounding like a honky tonk at present because it's not be professionally tuned for over a year thanks to cv19 and I'm not sure when it will be tuned as of yet. Chopin never sounded so bad.


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## ahinton

1896 Steinway Model C.


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## Taggart

1970's Zender upright. British piano with a medium weighted action and a nice mellow tone. 

We were having a walk in town just after I retired and saw a music shop we hadn't seen before. So I popped in and bought a piano on impulse, as one does.

Haven't looked back since.


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## Guest

I have a 1968 Steinway D 9' piano. It will do until I can afford a Fazioli F 308!


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## NoCoPilot

ahinton said:


> 1896 Steinway Model C.


Wow. Must be a story there. Family heirloom?


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## Manxfeeder

I have a Huyandai baby grand that I bought new back in 1992 for the house (never had a problem with it) and a Medeli keyboard that my wife plays in church. I keep my old Casio CT-650 by my computer in case I need to write music.


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## Festus

Had a Kanabe baby grand that belonged to my parents, for years. My wife learned to play only one song, "When The Saints Go Marching In". I learned nothing. Gave it away to a local music program for kids, waited a few years and purchased a Kawai keyboard.
Hoping for either a Fazioli or a Bosendofer this Christmas.


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## Sonata

Knabe upright. We bought it new in 2012. Took us two years to pay it off, but worth every penny. I don't have a great ear so I can't tell you much about it's tone or anything like that. All I know is it's all mine! (Well, my husband's too!)


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## pianozach

I grew up with a Baldwin baby grand, and hauled it around with me for many years as an adult. The tone and action was superb. It had an excellent volume spectrum, and could be both bright and mellow.

But I lived a bit too close to the epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake, and it went dancing. It was HERE, bashed in the wall over THERE, then triangulated to a new spot. The action was never the same, and the tone was crap. I think it warped the harp. 

I now have an upright Kincaid spinet (or is it a "console"?) that I acquired for the price of transport . . . someone had donated it to the church I'd been working at, and as they didn't need it, gave it to me as a permanent "loan" years and years ago. I think it's from the 60s or 70s.


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## ahinton

NoCoPilot said:


> Wow. Must be a story there. Family heirloom?


A story, maybe - but not quite a family heirloom!


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## perempe

a Petrof upright piano


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## Sonata

pianozach said:


> I grew up with a Baldwin baby grand, and hauled it around with me for many years as an adult. The tone and action was superb. It had an excellent volume spectrum, and could be both bright and mellow.
> 
> But I lived a bit too close to the epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake, and it went dancing. It was HERE, bashed in the wall over THERE, then triangulated to a new spot. The action was never the same, and the tone was crap. I think it warped the harp.


How depressing!


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## Aloevera

I'm using a digital kawai CA79. Its great as a digital piano but nothing compares to an actual piano but I'm not bt any means in a permanent residence and a real piano is way out of my price range. Its kind of a shame especially in terms of practicing as its hard to get perspective as to the velocity youre hitting the notes. i have to go to my parents house to play a grand piano. When I was in uni i could practice on the keyboard at home then go on campus to play an acoustic piano


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## morsing

Hi,

Just bought a Roland HP704 and it's pretty close to a genuine piano experience.

Thanks


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

Yamaha C3X grand.


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## Krummhorn

Young Chang Professional Upright 52".

Bought new in 1982, and have it placed on an inside wall out of the draft of heating and/or air conditioning. 

When I was going to buy a piano for home use I had narrowed it down to a choice of two: 1) Sohmer, 2) Young Chang. The piano dealer graciously moved both into a practice room for me and I was able to A/B between the two for almost two hours ... it was a tough decision, but the Young Chang won and I've had no regrets. 

The piano I play at church is a K. Kawaii GL-40 5' 11".


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## Potiphera

I have a Yamaha CLP-645

And it looks like I'm going to have it for some time . Budgets are tight! But the piano is perfectly fine and satisfying to play.


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## 96 Keys

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> Yamaha C3X grand.


Nice. I have a C5X. Someday a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand would be nice--I'd have to get a good deal on a used one, though.


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## Rasa

The obsession with old European manufacturers amounts to little more than fetishism. Bar Steinway (and Fazioli, but that's not one of the historic brands), there's really not usually anything particularly special about them.


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## Michael122

Victorian 1904 S&S Model A, Mahogany, ice cream cone legs with shells.
Part of the piano is visible in the photo.


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## gnail

Yamaha U1 upright piano that I have for almost 20 years.


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## Michael122

Rasa said:


> The obsession with old European manufacturers amounts to little more than fetishism. Bar Steinway (and Fazioli, but that's not one of the historic brands), there's really not usually anything particularly special about them.


Largely, must agree with this. Quite a few of those old European manufacturers are now owned by samick; a Korean company, unless mistaken.


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## Animal the Drummer

With respect, that's too sweeping. It depends on the individual piano. For sure the "old" (surprising adjective to use given the age of much of the music discussed on these pages, but let it pass for the sake of argument) European manufacturers are not alone in having made outstanding instruments but the idea that their reputation "amounts to little more than fetishism" overeggs the pudding.


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## D Smith

I have a Yamaha Clavinova which I bought in the 90's. It may be the original model. Still works great though the pedals can squeak. It replaced a beloved Fischer upright which I had had for many years before but had to give up when I moved.


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## SanAntone

I wish I had a nice grand sitting in my living room. But those days are long gone. 

I would never own an electric keyboard.


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## SixFootScowl

I have one of these that I cannot play, but my wife used it to teach some piano to our kids.


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## SearsPoncho

1980 Baldwin upright.


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## morsing

SixFootScowl said:


> I have one of these that I cannot play, but my wife used it to teach some piano to our kids.


What brand is that?


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## fluteman

Yamaha 5'3" 'baby' grand, circa 1962.


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## AaronSF

August Förster 215 (7'2")


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## Guest

SixFootScowl said:


> I have one of these that I cannot play, but my wife used it to teach some piano to our kids.


It's a toaster, is it!!!??


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## Mimi38

I have a Pfeiffer upright, bought new in 1980. It's a German piano. I love its clear and precise sound.


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## footunes

Yamaha SY99 - 76key FS synth-action keybed - Ivory II Bösendorfer samples.
It works as new and never been to a shop. No tuning or temp/humidity concerns. Buttery smooth key action and great piano sound. I've owned it for over 25 years for its synthesis capabilities, but am just now learning to play it. If I ever get to advanced level, I may switch to a Kawai MP11 or successor instrument for more realistic support of nuanced pianistic technique. But at my advanced age, that is a pipe dream. And I love the SY99.


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## pianozach

So . . . no one here owns a *7/8 size piano*, eh?

I mean, they make 3/4 size violins and double basses, right? Drum kits come in various sizes; why not pianos?


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## Luchesi

pianozach said:


> So . . . no one here owns a *7/8 size piano*, eh?
> 
> I mean, they make 3/4 size violins and double basses, right? Drum kits come in various sizes; why not pianos?


Heh, but we can't change the distance between the intervals.


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## ThomasTo

I don't even have a piano. I just started learning piano on my Yamaha DGX half a year ago. Hopefully, I'll make enough to buy myself a digital one in the future.


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## Klavierman

A Bosendorfer 200 (6’ 7”)—got a great deal on it years ago at an estate sale.


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## N Fowleri

I don't own a piano, but I do have a little story.

A friend of mine was friends with the main piano tuner for a major symphony orchestra. This gentleman described the great lengths they go to to buy a new Steinway. Apparently, both this gentleman and the artistic director of the orchestra go to visit Steinway and try out lots of completed pianos. Then they have some famous pianists try them out. Finally, all those involved meet and pick one. Or, maybe they got two at a time, I don't quite recall.

I also recall the piano tuner feeling bad because he heard one of the keys go off a little in the middle of the concert.

It's been a lot of years, so I might not be remembering everything accurately. I am surprised that Steinway would have a large number of concert grands sitting around unsold, ready to be auditioned.


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## RobertJTh

gnail said:


> Yamaha U1 upright piano that I have for almost 20 years.


I've got the exact same one, bought new 30 years ago. Great instrument.

And maybe even greater after what happened to it. In summer 2021, the little river that runs through our town turned into a whirling maelstrom, flooding half of the town. Our house was filled with 1.5 meters worth of filthy water, turning the lower floor into a lake. Renovations took a full year, and even longer, some things haven't been fixed yet.
And of course my musical instruments suffered too. I had a George Rogers baby grand from around 1920, didn't survive the water (wasn't great quality anyway, but I loved the little thing).
And I feared my Yamaha U1 was doomed as well. All the keys were completely stuck due to the swelling of the wet wood. The insides were filled with mud. The outside still looked fine apart from some minor cracks in the black lacquer.
The movers already arrived to haul the piano away and ship it to the junkyard, but I decided to give it a chance, since in the couple of months since the disaster, the keys started to get loose again due to the slowly drying wood of the mechanics. Now, more than a year after, all the keys work, the sound is fine, rather detuned of course, but I can already use it for basic practice. We cleaned the junk out of the insides, the keyboard was polished to a shine, and it looks as good as before. What worries me a bit is a little rust on the strings, but that could be superficial - and bad strings can be replaced if needed.
My regular tuner/renovator took a sabbatical this year, so I'll wait till January next year to have the instrument inspected properly and have the few keys that aren't outlined perfectly yet with the hammer mechanism repaired.
Am I glad I didn't have the piano binned!

An even bigger miracle seems to be the electronic classical organ I use for studying - which shared the same fate: water till just under the keyboard. It was completely written off by the insurance company, but after a while I tried plugging it in and it works like nothing has happened


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