Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Charles Walter grand piano opinions

After a long process of playing and listening to many different grands, I am inclined to purchase a Charles Walter grand. I am not sure about which of the two sizes I prefer. When searching the forum, I do not see many posts regarding the grands from Walter. Are there any members who may like to comment on their experiences with Walter grands? Thank you.

The Walter family is delightful, there pianos are great. They are not inexpensive as they are built in the U.S.

One of the least known, good quality pianos out there. Most people don't know about them because their production is small and their dealer network is small, too.

I got to try a 175 recently, and thought it was one of the nicer sub 6-footers I've played. Although it doesn't sound like a Mason, Steinway, or Baldwin, it still had a distinctly "American" sound. I would like to try a 190 but have not had the chance yet.

The CW 190 is an amazing grand piano. I love its sound and feel. I think the CW instruments are worth the money.

I like them, I like them alot

I have a friend who purchased a new Walter 190 2 or 3 years ago. Very, very nice piano.

Oh! That's good. It isn't supposed to sound like a M&H, a Steinway or a Baldwin. It is supposed to sound a lot like a Walter piano.

ddf

The Walter 190 (6’ 3”) is a moderately powerful mid-sized piano designed for a mid-sized to larger living room or music room. It should be well balanced across the compass with good timbral dynamics.

The Walter 175 is shorter (5’ 9”) and one inch narrower. It has a lower-tensioned scale, a lighter, more flexible soundboard and softer hammers. Both in size and voice it is designed for a somewhat smaller room. It has a warmer voice with a slightly broader dynamic range.

Both were designed to have, for their size, a clean and articulate bass.

Both are built to the same, very high, quality standard. Your choice should be determined by your preference in voice and the size and acoustic character of room in which the piano is to be placed.

ddf

I think Del Fandrich, who posted above, actually designed these pianos. Needless to say, 'experience with Walter grands' is an understatment in that case.

I've never tried one out, but I've read many, many forum posts from members on all piano makes, and every time the Walter grands come up in a thread they get great praise.

I tried both pianos side by side last week, and they are very nice pianos!

The 175 has a warmer and softer tone, like Del mentioned, the 190 has a bolder tone.



I also find the Walter sounds very American, but definitely different than a Steinway and Baldwin (never tried M&H yet). All have a full bodied sound, but I found the Steinway sounds sweeter. To me, the Charles Walter is like dark chocolate, while the Steinway is like candies (maybe like Skittles)

Good evening everyone,

Thank you for responding to my question. Mr. Fandrich, I appreciate your input, especially in light of your contribution to the Walter design.

I have learned a lot on this forum. I am impressed by the collective wisdom of the group.

Thanks again.

Bill

I will just second and third the consensus here. Lovely American sounding pianos that have their own sound are well built and if you decide it's the piano don't worry at all about your choice.

The clarity of the bass which the Walter grands designer mentioned results from their bass wires having a longer-than-normal backscale. (The rep can show that to you.) This causes the Walter grands to play larger than their size. These pianos also use a bass cutoff. (Again, the rep can show that to you.) This should increase the clarity of the mids.

Based only on posts, the smaller piano may sound a little livelier.

Re Del's point about matching piano to room, pianos can be voiced, rooms can be voiced. If you should prefer the 190 but think that it might be too powerful for the room, its volume can be reduced. I have a detailed post about how to do that. If you should want advice about reducing volume, I should be able to dig it up.

In any case please try to audition these pianos on full stick. That's the way, IMO, that grands should be played.

Room acoustics matter. If you audition pianos in the typical crowded, carpeted showroom which has a high ceiling, all pianos will sound louder in the typical home.

Del, what is considered a mid-size room? My living room is 22" X 15" X 9", hardwood floor, with openings to the dining room and upstairs. Do you think the 190 will be too powerful for the room without voicing down the volume?

I enjoy the Walter grands immensely. They're great pianos, and you're helping a small American business by buying one! One day, I hope Walter builds something between 7'-9'.

Aside from their quality, I think it's pretty darn cool to have a Charles Walter grand rather than a Yamaha or Kawai. Sorry, no offense, Yamaha and Kawai grand owners. However, people will look at your grand and will say "Charles Who...? I only knew of Yamaha and Steinway. Didn't know that there are other pianos out there." But wait until they try that piano! They will then remember that name for sure.

If I had to compare the CW to M&H and S&S, I'd say it is probably closer to M&H as it has more of a silver tone. The S&S is more of a golden tone. Of course, the Walter grands sound their own. It's clear that they don't copy another make.

And of course in that exact price range--you could try out the Estonia L168 and L190! And no, I am not an Estonia dealer--I only play one on TV.

Russ

Had the pleasure of playing a Walter 175 side by side with an Estonia 168. Both have their points but for me it was easily the 175. Love that tight bass. The Walter 190 though is a piano that has it all. Tight bass, singing treble, and brooding tenor. You can't go wrong.

gutenberg: As you probably have seen, there have been several recent discussions of the meaning of different words to describe piano tone. Don't want to hijack this thread too far in that direction--but what do you mean by a "tight" bass? Thanks in advance.

Also, Charles Walter was one of the short list of 3 pianos I wanted to try before buying the Estonia (Estonia, Walter, and M&H--although the latter was out of my price range)--but we couldn't find any near enough to try out.

Russ