Hi everyone, I am new to the forum & finds it very informative. I am looking at buying an upright piano for my family. We don't have enough space for a grand and would like a nice upright instead. I am impressed by the sound & tone of some of the German makers & am considering the Sauter Competence 130, Seiler Konzert SMR 132, Schimmel Konzert 132 & Schimmel Classic 130. I cannot locate a Sauter MC 130 in Melbourne but would also include it in my list for consideration. Despite being a beginner piano player I have a weakness for audiophile speakers/gear and prefer the warmer fuller sound of the German makers, I think. I like the Yamaha YUS5 as well but finds it a little "bright". The pianos are all in different shops & cannot be compared side by side ( as I do when I audition speakers). Would love the opinion of the forum community to help me to make up my mind. Regards

Anyone out there to help?

I tried several nice high end uprights (in the archives under names of them), but there was no Seiler to try so I can't really help.

Both Sauters are nice.

Schimmels are brighter. I was turned off when I had called for an appt and asked if the top of the line was on the floor and if their instruments were prepped. Arrived to the owner forgetting the appt AND no top of the line. The two that were on the floor both had unworking keys right in the mid treble. As well I tried a used one privately that was attended to yearly. It was horrid.

Not that all Schimmels would have these problems, but it surely turned me off at their price point and with so many others out there that were great.

Others?
Grotrian
Steingraeber
August Forster
Bluthner

I actually found the U5 a very nice piano and for so much less. It was not 'my' piano, but I have highly suggested it over the past couple of years to others. There was a sameness to its voice where I wanted to be able to get a difference (timbre?/voicing) according to my playing/mood.

Hi,

I'm probably biased given I have a Sauter but I'd agree with Lilylady in saying that the Schimmels are probably a brighter sound. Sauter's are extremely 'clear' sounding with emphasis upon the fundamental tone. The tonal range on all the Sauter instruments seems to be very broad, with greater ease of playing ppp than a lot of comparable instruments, despite having a 'big' voice for any given size.

The build quality of the Sauters is extremely high. If you do a search on my old posts you can have a look through how I compared the Sauters with instruments by Bechstein, Steingraeber, Bluthner, Grotrian, Bosendorfer and others. I found the Sauters to be every bit as good as these instruments, if not better, and considerably better value when comparing prices.....

Enjoy your search and be sure to let us know what you decide

hello!!

i just bought a sauter master class 130! here are some links that you might find useful. they are all threads on piano forum.

Tweedpipe's piano quest
Preparedpipa's piano quest

I played both seiler and schimmel uprights. shimmel is the brightest of them all. i played two seiler konzert SMRs and they are not bad but not as sweet sounding as sauters.

hope this helps!

Definitely the Sauter's and Schimmel's sound is prefered to the seiler, but do try some of the others suggested, by Genna, Bechstein, and Bosendorfer's, I think you will like them as well.

Thanks everyone for your posts. The Sauter competence 130 indeed sounds sweet yet neutral/clear without being bright. I have a pair of ProAc D two speakers and they display similar kind of tonality. A very respected piano maker in Australia suggested that voicing can in fact alter the tonal quality of a given piano. I know that voicing can make a piano more warm or clear but can say a Yamaha YUS5 be made to sound more like a German upright? or a Schimmel voiced to sound less bright?

Regarding the other makes such as Bosendorfer, August Forster, Grotrian, Steingraeber and Bluthner, love to check them out but they are not apparently available in Melbourne Austrlia!! It's amazing that Melbourne being the cultural capital of Oz does not have representatives of these respected piano makers.

ps the Sauter MC130 looks fab & I wonder how different is it from the Competence 130. The difference in MSRP is about 5K but the Sauter website seems to suggest the MC 130 is in a different league altogether. Pity I can't find one in Oz to have a look at!

Time permits in the new year I will try to check out a Bosendorfer in Adelaide & others in Sydney.

Regards

I've played a fair number of Shimmel, Sauter and Seiler uprights. For sound alone I would probably choose the Sauters I've played. They also have nice build quality. The Seiler however offers a magnetically assisted action which I found to be very impressive-- much closer to emulating the action of a grand than Sauter or Shimmel, and much easier to control dynamics and tone colour.
I've also played the 54" Steingraeber upright which is IMO the very best upright I have ever played in every possible way--tone, touch and colour palette. But you said you don't have access to a Steingraeber dealer. I've also tried a couple of Bosendorfer 130 uprights and (although very expensive in my neck of the woods) to me they were significantly better than any of the Sauters, Seilers and Shimmels I've tried--a far richer sound with a great action, full sounding bass region and a flawless fit and finish.
Good luck with your search and happy new year.

the Steingraeber 138, the 54" model is indeed a beast of a piano. Too big for my house however hehe.... only played one Bosie 130 and sadly it was a disappointment. Might have needed some prep perhaps or maybe I was expecting to be far more wowed than turned out to be the case.

A Steingraeber 122 was a very close runner-up in my search for a piano.