Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Steinway Essex baby grand -- Is it worth the money?

I am considering buying a Steinway Essex baby grand (EGP-161N) with the iPod music player for $22,000 ($15,000 for the piano & $7,000 for the music player). The keys felt a little heavy and hard to push when compared to the Steinway New York model. This Essex model is beautiful and would go well in our house. We would use it for my son to learn to play the piano, and for the music player so we could have piano music in the house. Is the Essex worth the money, or is there a better Steinway model or other brand for that price?

Not sure about the price of the iPod, but the price on this 5'3.5" piano is (in my humble opinion) too high. You should be able to purchase an RX-1 Kawai (the quality equivalent of the Boston line) for that price or better, and various other similar quality pianos of the same or similar size. There's nothing wrong with Essex pianos, but you pay dearly for the Steinway affiliation, and there are therefore better values to be had in the marketplace. In any market (and especially in this sluggish market), you can afford to be VERY patient. You will undoubtedly find many beautiful pianos to choose from within your apparent budget. Best of luck, and keep us all posted!

Hi Willie,

That is a lot to pay for an Essex, which is a nice piano, but hardly exceptional. The RX-1 by Kawai is a better piano for $15K, along with the 162 from Brodmann, for starters.

Since your son is a beginner, however, I would recommend either a Hailun 161 or a Steck G62, which both compare to the Essex, but are priced in the $8K range, so that you can get a piano AND a player for $15K. Both of these pianos look great, and are good to learn on for a beginner. Furthermore, the $7K that you save versus the Essex and player will be a nice chunk of change if invested to help pay for your sons college education.

As for the action on an Essex (or an RX-1, Brodmann, Hailun or Steck) versus a NY Steinway, there is absolutely no comparison. There's a reason why the Steinway S is $40K, and a big chunk of it is related to the action.

Have fun on your search. Like Deerwood Dad said, "you can afford to be VERY patient ..."

In California you can get an RX-2 for $15k. Almost all pianos are essentially the same width. A 5'10" Kawai will sound much better that that Essex.

BTW the first price you hear is almost never the price at which the piano can be bought.

Very true and well worth remembering.

Thanks for your comments. Now, I'm thinking about a Kawai RX-2 (with the Millennium III Action) or an Estonia 168, versus the Essex EGP-173C. Any thoughts?

If you took a poll, the results would be:
Estonia 168 > RX-2 > Essex.
Not everyone would agree, but that order is also consistent with Larry Fine's ratings. However you should also expect to pay more for the Estonia than the other two.

I would encourage you to do a search for "Essex" on this forum. Beware that this forum is historically an anti-Steinway-designed pianos (Steinway, Boston, and Essex) site, which flies in the face of what music school after music school is selecting for their students. You are in a good position in that you are considering very fine pianos in the mix so good luck with the decision.

Ok, time to pop up a big bowl of popcorn and watch the fireworks...

PianoMadam

I didn't realize that music schools were selecting Essex pianos. Interesting. Where is this happening?

When did schools start choosing Essex? I thought it was mostly Boston and Steinway.

Boston or comparable Kawai would be better, IMHO. Of course, a Steinway is best if you've got the funds. :p Get a B. You'll never regret it.

Back to serious, though, I'd take a Kawai RX- series piano or a Boston over the Essex. The best reason to go for a Boston is the Steinway trade-up advantage, if you ultimately want a Steinway. And if you don't, an RX- series piano will be excellent.

Willie -

Let me make sure I understand. No one in your family currently plays the piano - but your son is going to start taking lessons - and on top of that you'd like to have piano music in your house (i.e. the music player for $7,000).

If the IPod music player weren't in the picture - I'd recommend that you buy a nice looking upright for your son and see how he does with his lessons BEFORE you invest in a grand piano. BUT - if you really want to have both the grand and the music player, I'd recommend that you find something other than an Essex (a Hailun,for example, is of comparable quality and much more affordable). Don't worry about the "touch." Many folks on this forum may disagree with me, but a piano's action is not a major issue for a beginner - and the Ipod music player certainly isn't going to care!! I'd also recommend that you hold off on the RX-2 or the Estonia until your son's musical development justifies it. Of course, if money really isn't an issue - and you are viewing this purchase as an "investment," then I would encourage you to do whatever feels good - and more power to you !!

Good luck.

Since you are considering a player piano, you should also stop by your local Yamaha dealer for a Disklavier Mark IV demonstration.

Hi Willie,

If you're looking at an Estonia or RX-2, then I'd also toss a Disklavier into the equation, but I'd also really recommend that you think about Carey's comment first, and even add another consideration.

A beginner, which I am, can actually be discouraged on a great piano with a more responsive action. I practice on an Estonia 168 and Steinway M and O regularly. I find them much harder to play on than the Albert Weber 48 that I have at home, which is a very nice upright, but clearly not a 168 or an M.

The less responsive keyboard on my A Weber is far friendlier to my fingers, which are just learning to make the moves that I need to know to play properly. It will take me a few YEARS before I'm ready to take advantage of the better action on a great upright.

My advice is to do your son a favor and buy a piano that will be friendlier for him to learn on, such as the Essex or a Hailun, and then let him choose the great piano he enjoys best when he's ready to take it to the next step several years down the road.

I'm not sure I understand what's going on with this - assuming the Estonia, the M, and the O are in good regulation. Care to elaborate?

School selcetion of any one brand depends on a lot more variables than what is commonly assumed by the unsuspecting public.

The moment word comes out a college is looking for pianos, a number of corporations jump at the ready and make all kinds of proposals, none of which have anything to do with 'tone' or 'quality' of the pianos but rather 'cost'.

It's 100% business - plain and simple.

And this 'business' is worked out in each case differently with the benfits accruing to the college in one way or another being competed with usually by several companies all at one.

Of course, nobody could ever accuse Steinway not being good at business...

Norbert

Hi T,

The pianos are in very good shape. Their actions are so fast that they're not very forgiving of the kind of mistakes that I'm making as a beginner. It's hard to put into words, but let me try. As I'm learning to play a piece, I start out very slowly and then speed up as I become more familiar with it. One of the problems that I have, and I assume it's fairly typical, is that no matter how fast I play, I still can't play it as fast and smooth as the piece calls for, which is why I'm a beginner.

When I'm on an Estonia or Steinway, it's far too easy to play at a faster speed than I'm capable of playing at, so I mess up. On the A Weber, I don't have the same tendency to overplay my ability because the action isn't as fast and the keys are less sensitive to being pressed with varying tensions. It's the inverse of why a great player prefers playing on a great piano.

Another analogy is learning to drive. Which car is safer for a new driver, a Toyota Corolla or a Ferrari Dino?

You should be able to get an Essex for under $20,000 (closer to $15,000 I would think). But there is one advantage the Essex and Boston have (I've only tried the Boston, and it's worth the price of admission BTW): Steinway offers 100% of the original purchase price if you decide to upgrade to a full Steinway within 10 years of buying your Essex. So if you buy the Kawai and want to upgrade, you're out whatever the depreciated value is. But with the Essex or Boston, that price is leveraged against your upgraded instrument.

Just a thought in value-added terms.

Thread is 5 months old if anyone cares or hadn't noticed..

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Many Kawai dealers offer a ten year 100% of the original purchase price Kawai trade up policy on new Kawai pianos.

Many Steinway dealers offer a ten year 100% of the original purchase price of a Kawai if traded in on a new Steinway.

Many dealers of various different brands love to trade in Kawai pianos that are less than 10 years old, due to Kawai's full and fully transferrable factory warranty. Good for the dealer and very very good for the subsequent owners of the used Kawais.
I don't think Essex and Boston pianos have transferrable warranties.

In my opinion, 100% trade up policies aren't necessarily a good deal for the consumer. Those 10 year trade in deals thought of as "value-added terms" usually aren't consumer friendly value added terms.

Do a search here on Piano Forum regarding 100% trade ups.

At the present time there seems to be some very low negotiated selling prices on many brands of pianos including Kawai.

I'm not too sure what the "Family of Steinway Designed Pianos" dealers are doing regarding "knock your socks off" discounted prices on their instruments.

Anyway, as stated many times before,
"Buy the piano, not the deal."

Bear