Well, now we got it up. In spades.

Yep==-Thanks!

OK, so at last here's my photo, Thanks to currawong for passing along Monika's instructions, which I couldn't find. See my previous post for details.

Incidentally, the photo on the fireplace mantle was from our 50th wedding anniversary party. The piano was our gift to one-another for the occasion.

Can I share too? That's my Yamaha UX1. We took this photo to show off the floorcloth that my wife painted for me for our 30th wedding anniversary. She also painted the little spinet harpsichord. We move the chairs around when we play ensembles. I store music (some of it, anyway) in the huntboard (it's a former dining room).

Sam

Charming, Sam. Especially your wife's painting. Isn't it amazing how many rooms become a former something when a piano mores in?

This thread is just fun and a half. As btb points out, there are some affluent -but classy, I must add- Yanks here. Love the pictures.

And now that the uprights are starting to make their appearance, I will be uploading a pic of mine. Can't get around to it till tomorrow, so keep the thread active!

omg Varcon, do you play all three grands? Do you have a favorite? How big is the room?

OK - here's where I spend about 30 hours a week these days.



As you can see, I need to work out a better solution than stacking all the things on which I'm working on an otherwise unused piano bench.

The thing on the wall that looks like it's covered with aluminum foil is an air return for the HVAC system. It's actually covered with a sound dampening material so that there are no buzzes or other resonances. Functional but not very elegant.

The black rectangular shape under the piano is the Damp Chaser humidification piece.

I store about 3/4 of my sheet music in hanging folders in the lateral file you see on the left.

Not pictured, at the other end of the room is my digital recording gear - fast pc, Presonus Firepod, some monitors.

The room was a one car garage, then became the sales office in what was one of the "model" homes for the development (that's estate to some folks), and eventually, my studio. Instead of the usual 8' ceiling, they left it open to the rafters, so it has what we call a "cathedral" ceiling. In any case, the acoustics are good, and I've made recordings here with opera singers at full blast successfully.

When everything is in proper working order, the Weber sounds a heck of a lot like a Bechstein of similar size (208 cm).

All in all, it is a very pleasant space in which to work, particularly on a day like the one in this picture. The view out the window is to the rear of our property, about 150' to the fence line, and there's always something interesting on which to focus when I look away from the sheet music or the keyboard.

So, which is your favorite?

Thanks for the instructions. Let's try this:



As I posted previously, the room gets a lot of use!!

Jazzyprof! The room is about 22 by 20--sort of square--converted the garage to house the pianos. The M&H is the favorite but I practise on both the M&H and the Estonia. Rarely I play the Horugel but use it mainly for teaching so the students play it.
It's separated from the rest of the house so wouldn't bother others with practising. However, I live alone with Gabby, my Olde English Bulldogge, so not a problem.
Horowitzian: The M&H is my favorite! But I did move the Estonia out (very nice piano) for the program when I decided to play in public one more time. Seems to have all of the touted pluses--Roslau strings, Renner action and hammers, etc., and has the 'European' sound. It's really quite nice.

Well, all I can say is it looks nice! Speaks volumes about how good a 7' grand can be, that it is your favorite over the Estonia.

Thank you, H....! I had a time with the real estate agent who did not seem to understand that I wanted them side by side as you see them. In Beaufort I had a 23'X27' room with a tray(?) ceiling and virtually nothing else but a table and a sofa. Nice for recitals! Eventually a friend here in Mount Vernon told me of this house and it seemed to be good--4 1/2 acres and both houses on either side some distance away. So, as you can see, it is a working studio--not a showplace. No drapes/curtains intentionally and again only the piano benches and the sofa. Not as large and convenient as the room I had built in Beaufort, but it works!
The action of the M&H is a bit 'stiffer' than the action of the Estonia so technical work on the M&H develops the hands. Each piano has characteristics that make it desirable to play. The Horugel was a gift and not nearly equal to the other two but a very good teaching/studio instrument and, in its own way, a nice piano--new hammers too!

It sounds like a lovely property!

Thank you for sharing! I'm sure all three pianos are excellent. Do forgive my ignorance, but what is a Horugel? Is it a European stencil? Or something else? I really don't know.

Great to see other's digs.

I get to practice/play on mine and hers...Mine is an unmolested 1917 O, hers is the Blüthner 4 - very different animals, that is for sure.

Here's an accompanying audio clip from last night's warm-up on the O, mistakes and all! It is a joy to play and hear.

Op 43 No 1

Glen

This is one of the most interesting threads I've seen here. Thanks everyone for posting.

My piano won't be established for another couple months; I doubt the thread will run that long.


-Jason

H. . . .:

The Horugel was originally a German brand and highly respected. A friend bought this one (made in Korea from the design of the German original)and took lessons for a while. If you've read Ogden Nash's poem, 'The Seven Spiritual Ages of Mrs. Marmaduke Moore,'then my friend, in her choices of hobbies might come somewhat close to that description as she moved from singing, to pottery, to crocheting, to writing, etc., and her husband indulged all of her whims. Anyway, she called me one day to offer me the piano. All I had to pay was moving it! $68 was what it cost me to move it. I had a little work--regulation/tuning done, and that was it!
Beautiful piece of furniture and a nice basic piano. Lucky me!

Ralph

Thanks for the info! Sounds like a heck of a deal, for $68 plus some service. The wood grain is lovely.

I love the seat right in front of the window!

Yes--visitors are taken with the rosewood finish. It is a beautiful piece of furniture and a decent piano--with the new hammers the tone is very nice (Ronsen Wurzen)and Jerry regulated the action and it is a nice playing instrument. The bass is a bit 'thuddy' for me so I prefer the depth of the M&H and the Estonia. Some ask me what the difference is and so I play the M&H and then the Estonia and then the Horugel--same thing of course. Then they hear the difference--same person, same piece, three different instruments. I had two doctors--dentist and psychiatrist--who after hearing my M&H decided to get one tho one had a Steinway (psychiatrist) and the other went to various cities checking out brands and in Chicago he played a Steinway and M&H side by side. He chose the M&H. Anyway, the Horugel is a nice piano but not quite up to M&H or Estonia.

Ralph

Oh wow, I didn't know this thread would balloon to 8+ pages by now. I was busy at rehearsal with the orchestra yesterday and I didn't check this forum at all and much to my delight so many people posted wonderful pictures of their practice spaces (BruceD, yours is gorgeous).

Surprised, no one else has a Bosendorfer?

(BTW thanks for the votes, I won the online portion, concerts are tonight, Sat, & Mon) www.sdco.org

This is practice room, Bedroom, etc...
It's basement apartment notice the low ceiling heights. Everything I need fits including the piano. This is my first real piano I bought two months ago. Pryor to this purchase, I suffered with digital keyboard for 7 years. The mover speculates its from the 1940's still, its tone is great and is in great shape for its age. It might be an old rebuilt not sure though. Cost me only 350 dollars and 375 to move it. Was in a baptist church all these years. The churchs music staff finally caved in to cultural trends and went digital piano in its stead. For me? I'm going the other way. If I ever pastor a church someday, while its ok to have a digital keyboard, I'll see to it that a real piano remains in the sanctuary too.

Depending on how you edit your preferences (under "My Stuff" go to "Edit Preferences"), this thread needn't be 8 pages long; on my computer, I'm on page three of this thread now.

I'm not surprised that there aren't other Bösendorfer users here; most of us don't have the kind of money that buying a Bösendorfer usually demands. However, I'm somewhat distressed to read that yours is out of tune and has broken strings. A piano like that really deserves to be kept in the best possible shape, don't you think?

Regards,

I have a Boesendorfer!



A Boesendorfer MUG, of course.

In seriousness, I took a picture of my practice area, too. My Hardman is in the front and the Rieger-Kloss can be seen in the back left. Unfortunately I don't have a proper camera so I took this using my laptop. It's a little staged, since I usually don't have the music desk on the piano, and I usually have a dust cover over the strings, often even when I play. I have the original bench but it's out of the picture since I've been having breakfast on it. Instead of using it I tend to carry a second bench that I have, from piano to piano.

The light is coming from a sliding glass patio door out of the picture. Unfortunately, my kitchen is just out of the picture to the left, so there is some chance of grease getting onto the bass strings over time.

BruceD, I practice on my piano 3 hours every day after work.

I break, on average, 1 string every 1.5 months and I'm seriously considering getting my piano tuned EVERY MONTH. The new replacement strings go out of tune in 1 week. Before I had it tuned every 3 months and my tuner's coming next Tuesday. Another $150/mo expense I gotta add to the books =\.

I seen some Steinways and they're comparable in cost.

pianogal37: I have a mirror to watch my hands so they don't do funny/awkward motions -- the hands must look beautiful and graceful like the music its playing

I, too, have a mirror next to the piano to check position/movements as the view from above isn't quite the same.

I have a mirror next to the piano because I'm very vain.

I find it concerning that your strings are breaking so often. How old are they? I think you should consider having your piano inspected and completely restrung. Are you using a tuner or a piano technician? You should go with the latter. New strings will stretch for quite a while so why not get it over with all at once?

Ah, so that explains it!



No mirrors in my music room. There are already enough reflective surfaces in there.