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Hey CoJac,

I have never played a Broadman but I hear they are wonderful pianos. Actually I always thought they were British but from some of these threads, I see they are imported from Holland???

Anyway, just to address something you said about free shipping in the UK which would mean that you would not be able to play the one you would get. That has always seemed to me to be a mistake.... the cost of shipping should outweigh the possibility that you would get an instrument that you had issues with. No piano is the same from instrument to instrument.... you should only buy a piano that you have played... a few times and for a few hours... and it should be freshly tuned before you play it. I played my August Forster 215 on at least 6 visits to the dealership. I knew I loved it from the first time I played it but I had to be sure. It was the only 7'2" Forster in the showroom. For example, all had full Renner actions yet some were lighter then others. Sound is a whole different ball game.... you really have to listen closely. I had played 6 or 7 of the 190's in the same room I certainly liked some over others. (I was actually trading in my 190 for the 215) On my last visit, he actually had another 215 that just came in, he tuned them both for me and I ended up picking the original one after all. (also was cheaper because the Euro had gone up since he purchased the first one and he was willing to pass on that savings to me... he would have had to charge me $6,000 more for the newer one.) You're spending a lot of money and the dealer is making a nice profit.... make sure he tunes the piano for you and make sure you spend time with it on at least 2 or 3 visits. Good luck.

Tone quality comes primarily from soundboard, hammers, and the ability of the piano to sustain the tone once it has been produced.

If you use a higher quality soundboard (Strunz from Germany), Abel hammers from Germany, and a substantially thicker rim, you have a tendency to achieve the quality of tone which is the hallmark of the world's finest pianos, and at the very least these are considered to be the necessary ingredients. But these are also specifications that exceed most all Japanese pianos. For a discussion of this, see The Piano Book 2008-2009 Supplement, pages 7 through 9.

Yet, I too am a fan of that 'mellower' sound. The opening poster was ranking his preferences for the pianos he played seemingly based on the brightest piano being the least favorite. I get similar observations as well.

So, I suggest voicing down the Brodmann and evaluating from there. I have excellent results with this although most dealers do not invest in this level of preparation (I get it done for free).

Jonathan, I wrote that if you do this I THINK you will get a more beautiful sound; I was not making a sworn declaration. Of course it is up to our own ears!

The poster additionaly stated:

"The Brodmann however had a very even touch and tone across the whole keyboard... very responsive and made pieces seeem easy!"

An added plus!

Hi Folks,

Sorry for starting off the whole brodmann debate again!

Here is the email I received from Colin Taylor explaining the UK office situation:

Thank you for your interest in Brodmann Pianos and I am very sorry you have had a problem trying to find us here in the UK. Our office in Viennahas contacted me and informed me of the situation.
Firstly I feel I owe you a short explanation of the situation. When Brodmann first started, we had a small showroom, warehouse and distribution point in Europe based in the UK in Suffolk. All pianos for Europe came through this warehouse and were sent on from the UK. As Brodmann grew much stronger in Europe we decided to open another warehouse in Holland which served all our mainland Europe dealers, together with our main offices and headquarters in Vienna.

Unfortunately due to the general economic downturn in business the warehouse in the UK has had to close and we now distribute our pianos from Holland and Vienna, but there is a small showroom locally which does have a few Brodmann pianos on display for sale. For some reason our website continues to show the UK details on the site and this is being amended immediately.

Following the closure of the UK warehouse, I am currently in the process of setting up a new office to look after the interests of the UK market and I hope to have completed this by the end of next month.

So back to the pianos...

I went round the dealers to try them all again today.

Again, I found the Kawai and Boston pretty difficult to separate. I think I prefered the tone of the Boston but prefered the action of the Kawai. The boston had a better bass, but still had an octave or so below middle C that sounded a bit duller than the rest. I played a tune with a L/H melody around there and found it hard to bring it out. No problem with the same tune on the Kawai. Overall I think the Kawai just takes it.

I then went to the Brodmann dealer who was closed! It is meant to be open till 6 and I was there before 5.30! So wasn't very happy. The last time I played the brodmann though I couldn't really find any faults.

So...
I think I'm going to take the trip to Leeds tomorrow to try the one there (which was cheaper anyway). They also do Kawai and Boston so I should be able to try them all together. I'm interesed to see if other Bostons have the same difference in the tone.

So hopefully my next post will be to say I've placed a deposit on one...

Thanks again for all the input,

CoJac.

Good luck Cojac!

I know its an exciting time being so close to making a decision on the piano of your dreams..

Play all the pianos with any open mind get a good feel for the dealerships and trust your own opinions about each piano. All of the pianos you are considering are good choices.

..one more thing, this is certainly a case where 'bigger is better', I promise you wont regret getting the biggest piano possible (even if its a little more than what you wanted to spend)

Dammit, if I hadn't promised to help a friend tomorrow afternoon I'd be hiding in the boot of your car for the trip down to get a look at that mahogany Model D at Besprode's!

Try not to be distracted by this:

http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/pianos-for-sale/bechstein/bechstein-grand-piano-5.htm

or this:

http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/piano-sale/steinway-model-A-grand-piano-6.htm

or this:

http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/piano-sale/grotrian-steinweg-185-grand-piano-1.htm

heehee

Think I might need to make a day of it.
Could be in there for hours...

Wow,

Had seen them before, but never looked at the price. Thought they would much higher. This might be a tougher choice than I thought...

Well, made the trip to leeds today. Took longer than I thought and I got delayed at the bank before I went - so I only got there about 40 mins before closing.

Didn't get a chance to try another Boston, but after playing the Brodmann was sure its the right choice. Best tone and action in my opinion. Also saving £5k is an added bonus...

So deposit it payed and I should get it within 2 weeks!

Thanks again for everyones input.

CoJac.

Glad you found a piano that's right for you and is within budget.

A couple of sticky keys, a squeaky pedal, and notes that sound markedly different from their neighbors are all a normal part of a piano's being played in. Now would be a good time to start looking for an experienced tech. You might want to have that person go thru the piano and see what might need to be done by way of preparation.

From your description of the evenness of this piano's tone, I'm guessing that it was at least tuned properly. But in the states, dealers sometimes skimp on prep. No harm in having your tech examine things like hammer alignment, action regulation, and the leveling and seating of strings.

All the best with your new piano.

Well done! very jealous, lovely piano, great price. What's the shop like as a whole? I'm determined to get there soon.

These hypers of Brodmann are nothing but a sinisters group of little Norberts out there trying to tell the world there may just be a piano that deserves perhaps more than an inkle of attention.

Of course that they are being assembled by lowly Chinese in even lower China is just another abomination.

Foreign conspiracy against our national interests of sorts....

Now, did somebody just order a few more tankers of oil and timber somewhere in China?

Norbert

The shop wasn't quite what I expected. Wasn't there long enough to have a proper look around. Its huge, 3 or 4 floors. The bottom one is nicely done up with all the Steinways and Bostons. Go up and its just huge bare rooms full of pianos - and no heating! I found it quite hard test the Brodmann because my hands were so cold! The people there were very good though. Happy to let u try anything, offered tea or coffee and could answer questions about the pianos. It's quite a drive if you're thinking of going. It took me nearly 4 hours (and that was driving like a maniac!). Well worth it though..

CoJ.

You still don't comprehend what's appropriate for a dealer to say OR QUOTE compared to what's appropriate for a non dealer. It's all explained in the rules where distinctions between acceptable posting for dealers vs. non dealers are there in black and white..just like most pianos.

And dealers here, other than Norbert, stay within the guidelines. [PianoMadam is gone.]

If anything I think the fact that norbert is SO forward consistent with his opinions removes the danger that people will fail to realise his lack of impartiality re this one brand - I'd figured it out within seconds of joining PW! Maybe there's a plug-in for the forum software that will auto-insert "as a Brodmann dealer, my biased (but possibly still valid opinion) is that " at the start of all his posts to help keep people happy.

I always knew Brodmann to be a great piano - that's why we took on the line - just in time by the way...

But I never anticipated this brand to become such a nuicance for other dealers such as Steve Cohen....

Norbert

Besides the "lack of impartiality" there's also the problem of all the free infomercials constatnly interrupting the threads.

Plover,

The interruption is really coming from you.

I've read many many posts from Norbert that were educational and entertaining. I've read many posts from you that were likewise educational and occasionally entertaining. However, your interests in certain pianos and Norbert's interests in certain pianos do not really converge.

Usually when you chase down a Norbert post you make the disclaimer that it's not about the pianos. To me that's the point. Your post history reveals little interest in pianos from China, and your specific comments validate that. It's obvious that you are tracking Norbert's posts to challenge him whenever you feel he has overstepped your personal interpretation of the rules. This is hardly the first thread to be derailed by your attempting to do that. In these skirmishes the piano under discussion, in this case Brodmann, gets lost.

If Norbert's odes to Brodmann contain incorrect information, the task of correcting that information would be better left to those who know something about that particular piano.

I am not aware of a Brodmann dealer in my market, so just how is it a nuicance to me?

No matter how often you try to deflect the issue, it isn't about me, it is about you violating Forum rules by incessently promoting the line here.