What are some mellow (dark) sounding pianos besides Steinway?

[Ed Cupman]

I want to get a piano that isn't bright. I'm playing a Yamaha C5 now and I
don't like the bright sound. Does anyone have any suggestions?

ED

[Frank Weston]

Have a good tuner voice your C5.

Frank Weston

Ed Cupman wrote in message ...

[Rick Clark]

"Ed Cupman" <eds...@netwiz.net> wrote:

>I want to get a piano that isn't bright. I'm playing a Yamaha C5 now and I
>don't like the bright sound. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Brightness/mellowness is largely determined by the condition and/or
voicing of the hammers. Changing a piano because of brightness is like
changing a car because of stiff shocks. It makes a lot more sense to
fix/voice/ or change the hammers just as it makes more sense to
install some softer shocks.

That said, the so-called "European sound" (German pianos, etc) is
generally considered a more mellow tone, though there is always
someone who will say one is too bright.

I have a client with a Korean grand, who finds even the European sound
too bright for him, and despite the fact that so many people in this
NG bitch about "too bright" Korean pianos, I have this client's Korean
piano voiced down to a mellowness that is "sub-European" and pleases
him quite well.

Rick Clark

[coltrane1]

You've got a premiere instrument. Consider having it voiced to your liking.
Aside from that, you can always substitute the hammers which would change
the tonality of the piano. Any qualified technician should be able to make
some recommendations for you.

Good luck!!

coltrane

Ed Cupman <eds...@netwiz.net> wrote in message
news:s30lsg...@corp.supernews.com...

> I want to get a piano that isn't bright. I'm playing a Yamaha C5 now and
I
> don't like the bright sound. Does anyone have any suggestions?
>

> ED
>
>

[Nick Bell]

Ed,
Play Bluthner & Grotrian and see what you think.

[Gary and Jo Evoniuk]

In what city/country are Grotrians made.

I'm American but get over to Europe regularly and have played a lot of
European pianos, but never a Grotrian (heard about 'em).

Gary Evoniuk
Durham, NC
Nick Bell wrote in message <3832FFFD...@easynet.co.uk>...

[Jon Parker]

Nick Bell <nb...@easynet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3832FFFD...@easynet.co.uk...

> Ed,
> Play Bluthner & Grotrian and see what you think.
>

> Ed Cupman <eds...@netwiz.net> wrote in message
>
> > news:s30lsg...@corp.supernews.com...
> > > I want to get a piano that isn't bright. I'm playing a Yamaha C5 now
and
> > I
> > > don't like the bright sound. Does anyone have any suggestions?
> > >
> > > ED

I'd never heard of a Grotrian till today (on this NG.) Are they decent
pianos? How much do they range in price? And one more, who are they made
by? TIA

--
Jon Parker
Jazz Pianist
Denver
--

[Niles Duncan]

>In what city/country are Grotrians made.
>

Braunchweig, Germany.
Niles Duncan
http://www.pianosource.com

[Rick Clark]

"Jon Parker" <jonatho...@EATMYSPAMhotmail.com> wrote:

>I'd never heard of a Grotrian till today (on this NG.) Are they decent
>pianos?

High-end German pianos.

>How much do they range in price?

High-end, $30000+ range, maybe more.

>And one more, who are they made
>by?

Grotrian. Of Braunsweig. Very long-established company. Originally
Grotrian-Steinweg, but Steinweg split off to form Steinway in the
1800s.

RC

[Darryl]

Actually, one of the Steinweg brothers stayed at home while the others went
to NY to seek their fortune. I think that Grotrian was one of his partners.

[Jon Parker]

Thanks Rick and Darryl.

--
Jon Parker
Jazz Pianist
Denver
--

Darryl <darrylg@ bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:811hno$m1u$1...@fir.prod.itd.earthlink.net...

[VOCE88]

>
>Grotrian. Of Braunsweig. Very long-established company. Originally
>Grotrian-Steinweg, but Steinweg split off to form Steinway in the
>1800s.
>

> RC

Just a point of interest, Rick. In Europe, they are still called Grotrian -
Steinweg. Only here in the USA, they go as Grotrian. A client (Patent Attorney)
told me this USA case is quite famous in his field.

Richard Galassini
Cunningham Piano Co
Phila,. Pa.
1 (800) 394-1117

[Fredisg]

Funny, you should ask this from Colorado. Did you know that there are new
Bluthners at the big Jazzfestival in Colorado each summer? Ask Jim Reeder
from Lansing, Michigan. he supplies them.
Irwin Goldberg....pianist, conductor.

[Jon Parker]

Which Jazz Festival? There are lots of them here (especially in the ski
towns.)
I would love to go and see which one you are talking about. Is it by
chance, the Aspen Jazz Festival?

--
Jon Parker
Jazz Pianist
Denver
--

Fredisg <fre...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19991118233006...@ng-fi1.aol.com...

[David Ongley]

Grotrians are very fine german pianos. They are highly respected
instruments with a wonderful singing tone. Very expressive and satisfying
to play. A classical pianist's delight. Speaking as a Grotrian owner
perhaps I am a bit biased. I believe they are not built for the rigors of
the concert stage but rather for recital and home use.
ong...@paradise.net.nz
Jon Parker <jonatho...@EATMYSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bt_Y3.1838$Iz.3...@news.uswest.net...
> Thanks Rick and Darryl.

>
> --
> Jon Parker
> Jazz Pianist
> Denver
> --
>

> Darryl <darrylg@ bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:811hno$m1u$1...@fir.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> > Actually, one of the Steinweg brothers stayed at home while the others
> went
> > to NY to seek their fortune. I think that Grotrian was one of his
> partners.
> >

[Darryl]

Yes, apparently Grotrian had a legal agreement to stop using the Steinweg
family name but they tried to back out of it. I'm running out the door for
a meeting at the local Steinway dealer to meet Miles Chapin, author of "88
Keys - The Building of a Steinway Piano"

- Darryl

[Father Yenda Smejkal]

What is a gotrian..?

The answer is...sheer perfection! Gotrian Steinweg is perhaps the most
wonderful instrument I have ever encountered - and I believe that Walter
Gieseking used to prefer to play these instruments - and that must surely
illustrate the range of colours possible from the instrument when we listen
to his superlative Debussy performances.,

Every good wish,

Yenda.
Jon Parker wrote in message ...

>
>Nick Bell <nb...@easynet.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:3832FFFD...@easynet.co.uk...
>> Ed,
>> Play Bluthner & Grotrian and see what you think.
>>
>> Ed Cupman <eds...@netwiz.net> wrote in message
>>
>> > news:s30lsg...@corp.supernews.com...
>> > > I want to get a piano that isn't bright. I'm playing a Yamaha C5 now
>and
>> > I
>> > > don't like the bright sound. Does anyone have any suggestions?
>> > >
>> > > ED
>

>I'd never heard of a Grotrian till today (on this NG.) Are they decent

>pianos? How much do they range in price? And one more, who are they made
>by? TIA

[John Brock]

In article <814n2b$ljk$1...@nclient15-gui.server.virgin.net>,

Father Yenda Smejkal <yenda....@virgin.net> wrote:
>What is a gotrian..?
>
>The answer is...sheer perfection! Gotrian Steinweg is perhaps the most
>wonderful instrument I have ever encountered - and I believe that Walter
>Gieseking used to prefer to play these instruments - and that must surely
>illustrate the range of colours possible from the instrument when we listen
>to his superlative Debussy performances.,

As an amateur pianist I can't claim to be any great judge of pianos,
but nevertheless the one time I tried a Grotrian grand, in a Chicago
piano store, I walked away convinced that it was the finest piano I had
ever played. Nothing since has changed my mind.
--
John Brock
jbr...@panix.com

[judith...@gmail.com]

On Monday, November 15, 1999 at 12:00:00 AM UTC-8, Ed Cupman wrote:
> I want to get a piano that isn't bright. I'm playing a Yamaha C5 now and I
> don't like the bright sound. Does anyone have any suggestions?
>
> ED

I've got the same problem with a Steinway upright. I see some of the reploes you've received are to have the piano voiced. Since I don't know how to post to everyone, I'm including the following question here: Any suggestions? My piano tuner recommends buying a full height piano, European or US. Any ideas would be very appreciatred. Judith

[Hope Morrow]

If you decide to change the hammers, make sure you hire a technician who ALSO knows how to re-weight the keys. Hammer sets have varying weights and the leads in the keys offset that weight. If the tech just puts on new hammers without weighing-off the keys afterward, you may find that the feel of your piano isn’t what it was and that you no longer enjoy playing it. Go with voicing it instead. Even if you replace the hammers, it willl still need to be voiced afterward.