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Buying A Piano Part Deux: The Trouble with Brands
by OnlyPiano.com
According to pianofinders.com, over 11,000 piano makers built and sold pianos at sometime in the past. Many are still doing so today. Even if we wanted to limit our discussion to new pianos there are still far too many to individually compare. Fortunately, in your search for a piano you probably will only have to compare at most a few tens of manufacturers, and likely only a handful. Even so, it's important not to rely too heavily on brand name to appraise the quality. Here's why:
First off, while a brand does say something about a piano and its quality of construction, many manufacturers make a range of pianos from entry-level student pianos to top-of-the-line concert grands. For example, manufacturers like Mason and Hamlin, Steinway, and Knabe generally only make high quality pianos, whereas Yamaha and Kawai make pianos for beginning students as well as professionals. Thus the name “Yamaha” does not provide a lot of information about a piano's value or quality: An Yahama C series upright will sound much worse and cost much less (by a factor of at least 10) than an S series grand.
Another factor to consider when attempting to use the brand in evaluating a piano's quality is that a manufacturer's standards may change through time, particularly if the company is bought or sold without getting a name change. Sohmer, for example, was purchased by Samick some time ago, and some say the quality of pianos labeled Sohmer has since declined.
The example above illustrates yet another issue with using brand names to evaluate quality: Company ownership. Boston pianos are built for Steinway by Kawai. Chickering is made by Baldwin. Samick makes the lower quality Kohler & Campbell, but also Knabe, considered to be excellent. These brands are often set up to fit a specific quality niche, but quality standards and customer service may be subject to trickle down influence from the larger owner.
Lastly, unless you are buying new, many of the distinctions in brand can easily be overshadowed by the condition of the piano. A Boesendorfer or Fazioli may be of less monetary and musical value than a Kawai if the more expensive one was cared for poorly enough.
What do you look for then? Use the brand name, but only as a rough guide. There is little substitute for personally appraising a piano and its look, tone and feel. If buying new, it is a good idea to go through a dealer that lets you compare several brands directly. If buying used, make sure that you get the condition of the piano checked out by a technician. For more specifics on choosing the right piano, check out:
The Piano Book by Larry Fine – widely regarded as an indispensable handbook for buying piano. Evaluates the products of most major manufacturer's, and explains what to look for. [probably link to amazon]
An extensive listing of piano brands can be found in the Piano Archives:
http://www.bluebookofpianos.com/archives.html
You can find many personal opinions of different brands online. Three decent overviews are here:
http://fortunapiano.com/_wsn/page4.html
http://www.serve.com/marbeth/piano_brands.html
http://www.pianoguide.org/pages/4/index.htm
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