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We're moving and unfortunately my 2005 Estonia Studio Grand won't fit in the new place. I'm considering a preowned 4 year old Schimmel T130 for $8500 from a private seller. Would I be happy with a Schimmel after an Estonia? Any other ideas? I like a rich, romantic sound and tend towards the easy (versus stiff) end of the action spectrum.

Thanks!
Mary

One thing is for sure: No matter what kind of grand you have, you will never be happy with an upright again. Is there no way you can sacrifice some furniture to make room for the grand? I live myself in a house that measures 925 square feet if I count the closets and the cat box, and the Estonia 168 fits in beautifully. Measure again.

I've got to agree with ChatNoir here. I'd try whatever it took to keep the piano. Not knowing your circumstances, I can't really make any recommendations about possible rearranging, but if you absolutely MUST downsize, prepare yourself for some disappointment.

This is a tricky question.

If you step out from a grand of tier group 2, you might consider replacing it with an upright of tier group 1

There are some high end German uprights out there that would perhaps not quite equal the touch but at least offer the tone you have become used to.

Schimmel being generally on the brighter side of things, may or may not be the ideal replacement.

As Sauter dealers we have some of their 50" Competence upights in close proximity to some of our grands leaving many of our visitors baffled.

Same could be expected involving other top makers of tier group one.

Wishing you the best in your search!

Norbert

If you like the piano, force it in and sell some of your other furniture.

Absolutely, a piano is much more important than a couch or dinner table

The big Schimmel is quite nice and a good alternative if you get boxed in. I'd add to Norbert's post that the Schimmel is versatile enough to be bright or mellow. Often downsizing has budget considerations, but that top group of uprights is very impressive.

That price for a 4-year old 130T is depressing-- I would never sell mine for that little money, and I bought it 4 1/2 years ago.

Anyway, I am happy to practice on my upright at home after spending the day teaching on the grands. Of course, neither of the grands are in optimal condition. My 130's action is more controllable than the worn-out one on my Baldwin and its low bass blows away the Steinway M.

Admiitedly, it may be more difficult to enjoy the upright coming from a good-quality, good-sized grand kept in tip-top shape...

Mary D,

If space is indeed the only issue I would, in agreement with others, recommend not to overrush your decision of selling your grand.

I always thought myself I did not have the room for a grand till I found the perfect spot for it. Now I would even no longer want - from a space view - put in an upright. Although a grand is more of a 3 dimensional object than a vertical, an upright needs quite some free wall space and that may not always be easy to find either.

Play around a bit with a space planner programm as I did for nearly 6 months and most likely you will find the right place for your 5'6".

Example:

3D Floor Planning

schwammerl.

That depends on one's expectations and what kind of grand one has. If it is old grand in need of a lot of work or low quality grand, a vertical could clearly be far superior. Even if one has a good grand like Estonia, one could be very happy with a vertical if it is very high quality and if one's expectations for the vertical are reasonable.

Sell furniture.

Thank you all for your comments. I'm going to try out a few uprights and see how they sound/feel and how I feel about them. I appreciate the idea of getting rid of other furniture to keep the Estonia. Keep those comments coming in! I'll let you know what I decide. This could take a while.

Mary,

One more voice saying, "Mary, get rid of the couch!"

I wish you well in your decision and please keep us posted as you try other upright pianos.

Enjoy the opportunity. Even if you keep your present instrument, you will gain a perspective that you would otherwise not have.

Where do you live and what do you want for your Estonia? People are always asking me for used grands and I would love to point someone to a used Estonia.

Mary, and one more voice from me! I am living in a relatively small apartment. At first I was like "a real piano? no way, that's impossible". That went into "alright, an upright SHOULD fit somehow". Another few months of thinking, measuring and calculating pushed me to "well, a small grand will fit too after all".

It is rarely what it seems to be when we are talking about space - you might as well be surprised when you think carefully whether you could put your Estonia there or really, really not.

Having such a nice grand and downgrading into an upright is a tough decision to make, I would be very hesitating and would check all the possibilities beforehand.

However, if you decide to go with the upright anyway, the Schimmels I have played were on the bright/brilliant side, more so than I know of Estonia (which, unfortunately, I have never played by myself).

You might want to try the Sauters, these are truly remarkable pianos. I never really enjoyed high end Bechsteins... not that they are not wonderful pianos, but they seemed - for me at least - grossly overpriced for what they offered.

It might be controversial what I will say now, but I was really surprised by how mellow a Yamaha YUS5 can be - I must say this piano blew me away. It might have been a good prep though, not many other Yammies had this kind of grand warm sound as this particular one I have played once.


Best wishes! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your Estonia

M.

Why do you say the grand won't fit? Grand pianos are in 8x10 practice rooms all the time. Some people have pianos in very small rooms. It might not fit as a designer would like, but I'll bet it will fit somewhere.

Okay, I've decided to keep my Estonia. In the end, I just can't part with it.

Thank you all for your thoughtful counsel!

Great decision!

Fabulous!

That's great news! Congratulations on your decision

One in love with her piano.

YES!