I am wondering if anyone out there would please give me their thoughts on upgrading from an upright Knabe WKV121 to another upright???

I would like to get the best bang for my buck.

looks mean nothing to me at all.

any thoughts greatly appreciated.

went to play a new Steinway K-52 yesterday. was unable to play it, as it had already sold. am actually glad. that is way way out of the price range that I'm looking to spend in.
thanks for any replies,
Charlie

We bought our wkv121 a few years ago and then found a Yamaha GC1 used for a very good price. Now the Knabe sits there without being played week after week so I'm thinking I'll just sell it. Do yourself a favor and get a grand. The GC1 is considered near the bottom of acceptable grands and it's still vastly better than the Knabe.

thank you for the excellent reply. that is so cool that you build guitars. I play guitar alot. am just getting back into piano.
I wish I had the room for a grand. I so wish I did. but I do not.

do you think its a lost cause to try to find an upright that would be super significantly better than what I have and not cost a fortune??

There are many people here vastly more qualified than I am to answer your question. What is it you feel needs improvement in your Knabe? Maybe a little work by a good tech would make it more to your liking.

thank you for your reply.

yeah good idea.

the guy who last tuned it is coming back in a couple days. I'll see how I like it after he retunes it.

it sounds muddy and not loud enough.

the notes don't have enough separation. it could just be me. I don't know. I should go play some other pianos.
what do you think of this: I have had a heavy lamp on top of my piano for years. last night, for an experiment, I took the lamp off of the top of the piano. and I opened the top.
I think that the weight of the lamp was absorbing some of the sound. does that seem logical??
I think my knabe sounds better and louder with the heavy lamp off of it.

any comments welcome.

Save up to get a grand???

not enough space for a grand.

Depends on your priorities...

Rick

Grands only need a foot or two more. Or maybe three.

You should talk to your technician about what is troubling you about your piano. It may be possible to do something about it. If necessary, get a second opinion. That is the cheapest option by far.

you guys all rock. thank you for taking the time to reply. Rick, am checking out your country roads tutorial. it is really good.
you're right about priorities.
Dave I wish I had the extra 2 or 3 feet.
BDB, my tech will be here tomorrow. I'll have a good talk with him. thanks for the excellent advice.

tech was just here. he tuned my knabe.

it sounds good now. will play some and update my thoughts.

Did the tech do any hammer voicing or just tuning?

Rick

only tuning.

do you have any thoughts about my idea regarding putting a heavy lamp on top of the piano is not a good thing??

Put it back and decide for yourself. Your results may be different from others, after all.

thank you for your excellent reply.

I do trust my own opinion.

there is no question in my mind that putting the heavy lamp on top of the piano has a negative effect on the sound.

I will have to find a different lamp. any suggestions for a light light???? hahahahahahahahahahaha

I use the Mighty Bright Duet LED music light. It weighs a few ounces, clips to the music stand, and the lights are on flexible shafts. Practical, cheap, and effective. $20 on Amazon.

thank you for your excellent suggestion. am on my way to amazon to check it out.

edit: just ordered one. thanks so much!!

finally just checked this out a little. it was $27.

it is possibly the best $27 I have ever spent.

it is absolutely fantastic.

thank you very much.

just used this for the first time on piano.

it is sublime beyond words.

it works so good. it is positively indispensable.

thank you again for telling me about it.

Minstrelman,

I just saw this post for the first time when you reactivated it. Reading through the history, I really doubt it was the lamp, but the fact that the lid was open that made a difference.

Has your tuner/tech made any improvements in the last two months? Also, something which can make a difference is to pull it a little further away from the wall. Even an inch can make a big difference in the sound that you are hearing.