Buying a piano - good sounding upright piano suggestions

Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 3:59 pm

played a petrof the other day... it had that magnetic assisted action... fely way weird...

Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 4:37 pm

I"m sorry, I don't know anything about a Petrof piano with magnetically assisted action. I'm a traditionalist so I only know about the standard action. Peterof imitates Bosendoerfer in the construction of the wood case. It resonates like a cello.

Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 7:48 pm

on some of their pianos they use 2 opposable magnets to asist the return... feels very weird to me...

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:40 pm

So I know this is terribly old, but just for those searching for info on the subject. I have a Kawai mp8II and IMHO its the best stage piano ever made. I'm kind of a freak about 2 things when it comes to keyboard, touch, and sound. Go figure. Everything else isn't all that important to me. How does it feel and how does it sound. So I've played just about all the others and I can tell you this is the one. Everybody always says they love the Roland sound, but IMHO it sounds a bit...anorexic? The Kawai sounds fat and full but not OVERLOADED! Most keyboards sound decent when playing a simple chord or two, but go all Elton John on them and you get that little electric sound to it, that takes away all its believability. The Kawai does not do this. Hope this helps.

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 2:20 pm

Pianos are a pain in the butt, but since I play them for a living I suppose I can't knock them.

I keep a P-90 (Yamaha) hooked up to my computer for notation and sequencing and it does a good job when I need to take it out for a gig.

I personally like expensive German hand made axes. American Steinway is nice and I've played some lovely C Series Yamaha's.

The guy's probably got his piano already for better or for worse. Hope it's for better.

Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:29 pm

forgive me for my ignorance... what are the limitations of an upright piano ina recording situation? are they ever used in recordings instead of a grand piano?

thanks,

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 1:31 am

Upright pianos have a different sound from grand pianos, and in some situations, that sound is certainly desirable. I wouldn’t necessarily say there are limitations, but the micing techniques somewhat different. Aside from room mics, I’ve had pleasing results micing the back of the piano (on the back of the soundboard, a few feet up from the floor) as well as hanging two mics slightly inside the lid, or both. I’ve also seen some uprights miced in a fashion that necessitates the upper portion of the piano facing the player to be removed and the mics being hung in front of the strings just above the hammers. Different micing positions will lead to different sounding results.

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:48 am

Synthme nailed it overall; i'd just add a bit more regardling the sounds of the three (or four?) main choices.

You have the spinet "sound" - which is pretty cheesy overall, but always has its place. It turns up occasionally in pop songs, and has a quaint charm to it. You just wouldn't use it for solo classical work or most backing tracks in a professional setting.

The upright is much loved as well; from the honky-tonk/rinky-tink sound that many bar rooms and tack-hammered instruments have. Even a little out of tune, they have a certain sound that fits certain songs perferctly.

Also in most cases, these two types never have the proper string length for good, serious bass, so they just don't work as solo instruments. (The strings are thicker, but not long enough for the true harmonic overtone series. It's a trick to get around the laws of physics) This is partially why a spinet SOUNDS like a spinet; no matter how much in tune it is, it will never sound quite right harmonically, nothing like a grand.

Both the spinet and the upright (and "studio" pianos) have vertical harps, which plays a big part of the projected sound too. Arguably, they sound better against a wall, too, and the room sound has a lot to do with how well it resonates.

Then of course there's the grand piano case style. The harp & strings are horizontal, and the hammers hit the strings from below, instead of attacking from the side. Ditto for the whole damper system. It does indeed affect the sound. Then of course there's the lid that helps project the sound outward on a horizontal plane. Of course, this changes the entire way of mic'ing it for a recording.

With a good concert grand - 7 feet or more - the string length vs. pitch & overtone series is true, and the bass is wonderful, not cheesy. ("Baby Grand" pianos can be just as bad as spinets and uprights; they too have shorter, thicker strings below middle C, and the first thing to suffer is the bass.)

The first thing I listen for in a piano is that low end sound. If it's not true, then it changes the whole point of the recording and the usefulness of the instrument.

It all comes down to what you need the piano sound for; Solo concert classical music vs. rock vs. pop vs. novelty.

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:09 pm

Uprights generally do not have the depth of tone or sustain... that's only generally.

I've played some fantastic and lovable uprights and some very undesirable grands.

.... always judged from a piano players perspective, of course!

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:38 pm

just to say thanks for the kind replies. and sorry to the OP for taking this OT Thumbs Up

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:42 am

So...bigtree, whatcha got? I'm a big fan of Chickerings, which seem to be the exception to the "if it's old it's often not worth the trouble" rule of thumb.

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