Some from 20 or more years ago were not that impressive. I agree that Kawai pianos are not half bad, especially recently. I will admit that GS grands are in some ways a little eccentric - they often feel rather odd under the fingers and the voicing seems to be quite individual sometimes, but they are well designed and made and really very rewarding instruments when you get used to them. I play quite a few Welmars and they are really tough old birds: a 30-year-old Welmar will still play nicely which is more than you can say for a lot of 30-year-old Yamahas, and I'm prepared to put money on most of the cheap Korean and Chinese pianos of the last 10-20 years being sawdust before they reach 30. Unfortunately, both firms suffered from the 'it's not a Steinway' syndrome, by which I mean that people who know enough about pianos to recognise the Steinway name, but not much more than that, tend to write them off as cheap tat and not look after them properly, so they often end up sounding a lot worse than they should. They are generally pretty dreadful.īoth Welmar and GS made/make very good pianos, almost invariably. I am surprised Samick has gotten no flak. I have played many a lovely Young Chang too. Certainly I would take one, though, if my other option was a Casio Privia.

A 7 footer comes to mind that was much better than and Steinway B I have played (save James Tocco's B, which did not sound or feel like a B at all).Īmong pianos that are supposed to be good, my least favorite is the Stainway L. I have played absolutely delightful Wurlitzers. Had I been infatuated with Haydn and Scarlatti that piano would still be in great shape.

I destroyed a poor Daneman during my teens when I fantasized about playing lots of Rachmaninov, loud Brahms and loads of Liszt. I would put 90% of uprights there anyway, because I don't like them in general, but hey, if you can't afford a 7 footer and you can learn on an upright, by all means. The other is what pianos cannot be made fine no matter what you do to them. One question is what pianos get to dreadful faster, and I would say the old Asian-made uprights and mini grands have a great lead there. Bernhard, sorry, but if you mean you don't like Bechsteins, I have to say you loose points in my esteem meter (not that you should care, I have in good steem anyway, but c'mon, Bechsteins are world class pianos). Wow, this thread is getting the worst out of some people.

Young chang piano parts