Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum (Hamburg) Steinway C vs. the D

So BDB established this in the other thread:

So, do the C & D use the same hammers? I'm guessing they do in light of BDB's info, but I'd like to be sure.

I've spent a lot of time on D's and I'm familiar with how they feel in general. Do the C's feel the same since they share an action stack?

The action feels the same. One notices less resonance on the C.
It is the perfect piano for sub-200 seat venue.

There are many different hammers you could put on a C or a D but they are interchangeable.

Thank you JAP!! Exactly what I wanted to know.

Isn't the small venue the C's basic mission in life?

Dang, I'm going to have to track down a C someday.

Lucky you! I have still never played one..

No, I said I'm going to have to track one down. I've never even seen one outside of pictures.

My school has one C, four D's, and two Yamaha CFIIIS's. That C is a nice piano, but I have also played many duds.

I've read everything I can find on Steinway, but nowhere has this alphabet soup of letters been explained, i.e. if the A is not the oldest model, why does it get the first letter? Does the C predate the D, or is it just smaller? Etc. Anyone?

The original sizes and models were the A, 6'2 B 6'11 C ? cant remember and D 8'11

When homes mainlhy in NY were getting smaller ie appartments a market develed where they needed smaller pianos.

so they created s,m,o models later on.

Im pretty sure ive got it correct.

Wrong. [edit] I misread the post.

There were at least three different A's over the years, too.

The original letter-model Steinway pianos were A, B, C, D grands, and E, F, G, H uprights, in order of increasing size. After that, it gets confusing.

There used to be a one-page summary of this on the S&S website, but I'm not finding it now--nor any dates for individual models.

I guess my question becomes much like that for Formula 409, Preparation H, etc....what happened to models E through K? How did O and L pre-date M but S come last? Were there 1097 unsuccessful upright attempts before they finally nailed it with the 1098?

There used to be a one-page summary of this on the S&S website, but I'm not finding it now--nor any dates for individual models.

I guess my question becomes much like that for Formula 409, Preparation H, etc....what happened to S&S models E through K? How did O and L pre-date M but S come last? Were there 1097 unsuccessful upright attempts before they finally nailed it with the 1098?

L does not predate M.

E was the original 49" upright, later replaced by the V.
F was the original 51" upright, later replaced by the K.
G was 53". I think the I replaced it, but I am not certain.
H was 56" I think. The F and G had the same action stack, as did the E and H, but the H had an intermediate sticker arrangement. I think they all had the same frame; the difference was the wippens and stickers.

As I said, after the original 8 models, the designations get confusing. Designations could have been made according to when the models were designed, rather than first built, or they just may have given up on orderly designations.

[I guess my question becomes much like that for Formula 409]

The active is 2-butoxyethanol, with 4 hydrogens attached to the carbons on one side of the oxygen and 9 hydrogens attached to the carbons on the other side.

HO-CH2CH2-O-CH2CH2CH2CH3

Here you go:

http://www.steinway.com/technical/sizes.shtml

I wouldn't say that is true of the "C" I play. It has plenty of resonance and it fills a 700-seat hall beautifully.

The only thing it seems to lack is some power in the bottom few notes, compared to a "D".

Although it can fill the hall with sound it seems to excel the most at quiet, nuanced playing. There is a wealth of tonal color and it is absolutely superb for accompanying and chamber music.



Compared to the D it seems to have a lithe and graceful appearance.

So many piano, such little time.

"Although it can fill the hall with sound it seems to excel the most at quiet, nuanced playing."

I have heard a variation of this from several people.

Thanks, Horowitizian!

1878 seems to have been a VERY good year.

Just wondering what is the use of that triangular frame thing holding the piano's legs?

I always see them, but I don't know what they are for, and never had the opportunity to ask...

sorry about the deviation from the thread... I really want to know.