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Has anyone attempted replacing the hammers and shanks in a Nordiska 7-footer to get that extra power out of the instrument?

Doing this is expensive tech work but still quite a bit less than the price difference between a Nordiska and a high-end American or European brand.

So here's an interesting turn of thought...Baldwin goes into the Dongbei factory, takes this 7-footer, and tweaks some more "umph" into it. They put the Baldwin decal on the fallboard, and ship it out to the dealers.

Your local dealer puts it out on the floor for 20K, asking.

Things that make you go hmmm.....

I know it's about double the price, but if you really want the power, their 9-footer likely has a little more bang to it. And still not a bad deal for a piano that size. I've never seen one yet myself but a friend's been looking at one so I might get the chance.

Howard

Well not quite 7' but at 6'2" the Hamilton H401 is just that a Chinese sourced piano by Baldwin. The only issue I had with the H401 is the dealer tried to retained too much of the current "Chinese" value at least at the start to compete with Brodmann. Also Brodmanns include "named" branded components such as; Strunz soundboard, Abel Hammers, Langer action, Burkel turn block, etc. That and coupled with a difference philosophy of when and where to do inspection, Baldwin does not send their master piano technicians to China they send the piano to AR, while Brodmann send it's master technicians to their Chinese partners plant to ensure all stages of mfg. Result fewer issues out the box? That is what this thread is about.

I own a Perzina GP129, and I still think it is one of the nicest sounding pianos I've ever heard. Like Margaret, I love the bass. No problems with my piano so far, but I did have a defective bench. The store I bought it from replaced it with a new bench. The defective bench broke where the height adjustment mechanism is. Some how it got bent. No problems with the new bench.

My wife and I recently purchased a new Steigerman Premium 178 (5'-10") in polished ebony. We are impatiently waiting for the first tuning and adjustment. Aside from being currently somewhat out of tune, a couple of keys sound louder or quieter than they should.

I haven't had any quality issues yet. the fit and finish seem quite good. A couple of minor things - When I look *very* closely at the seams between the pieces of wood, the finish is somewhat uneven and not polished. When I lie down under the piano, the bottom of the laminated rim has not been planed or polished. I have never done this with another piano, so I don't know how much one needs to pay for that kind of attention to detail. I also realize that pressing one's nose against a piano to see into the crevices and lying underneath a piano are not normal pastimes

Our piano has the optional Renner action which my wife claims to be as good as anything she tried. It was really the touch that sold her on the piano. I am pretty much a raw beginner, so I my comments on touch wouldn't mean much.

A friend came to town from Seattle last weekend. She is an accomplished pianist (as is my wife). Our friend has an old upright at home. It was really fun to watch her react to the grand as she played it. She practically jumped of the bench with delight playing the louder bits - it was a great cure for buyer's remorse (for what it's worth, I also experienced buyer's remorse as a kid when I bought a clock radio at a sidewalk sale :rolleyes: ).

Our piano is certainly not the best piano on the planet, but it is good enough that I have taken up lessons and I have played every day since it was delivered, except when I've been out of town.

Just my contribution to this thread. I bought my Wendl & Lung 178 in October last year. After spending a summer on searching, I chose my grand mainly for value reasons. I could not (and did not want to) extend my budget. I'm an adult beginner who enjoys playing the piano with no intentions ever to become a professional.

I have to admit that I bought this grand almost out of the box, with very little dealer prep. From the first moment it arrived at my place I was very much disappointed. OMG what did I buy! It sounded woodier than I remembered and the notes in the higher octaves did not sing, they sounded "plienk-plienk". I can tell you the first month it sat in my room I suffered from buyers remorse every time I played it. After a month I called the dealer to do the first free tuning. He came, "did" the tuning in less than half an hour and left me even more unhappy than I already was. By the end of December I told him that I was very unhappy with it and that I intended to have it taken back. Then he suggested to have a colleague tuner/tech to do another tuning. She came and it took her 4 hours to do all necessary things: tuning, lubrication, pedal adjustment, better pitch (in my ears it was too low, which she admitted). And honestly, she did a very good job. The touch is light and the sound is more to my likings except the f an actave above middle C, which still sounds a bit harsh and out of tune. As we had a very warm and dry April I think it's wise to have it tuned again within a few weeks.
So far I'm happy with my grand. I now can feel the benefits of a grand (action, sound, sustain) even though I still like my old upright. I like to play classical pieces, as well as Einaudi stuff, no jazz. Not sure that I will keep it for ever, I'm dreaming of having a Bluthner grand some day. I never played an Estonia, although Mr. Venno Laul invited me to come over to his factory. But in the meantime I'd better improve my skills.

The Pearl River UP117 is a nice instrument. Looks good, plays nice, and has a great value. There are many better pianos on earth for much more money, but there's nothing wrong with pearl river pianos. They are well built.

What does this thread absolutely scream out?

For me, it's the thirteen owners who responded to the initial thread starter.

Guys, I know more than 13 Nordiska grand owners that were/are members here.

Over the years I've been here, there have probably been hundreds of Chinese pianos bought through member questions and research. Apparently, those folks are no longer here.

So, what practical use is this observation? What I believe, is that a small cadre of dedicated enthuisiasts for ANY one brand, be it W&L, Estonia, M&H, Nordiska, etc...can make that brand appear more popular than it is.

People who join this board do not stay, not for the vast majority. It's an information hub, the piano purchase is made, and folks don't wander back.

I don't think the board moves a ton of pianos...but if you can somehow make your piano the hot piano on the board, you can affect sales, especially in the smaller, boutique-type pianos.

Earlier I wrote

As promised, I now report the outcome: the squeaks are well and truly gone. The thing that fixed it was lubricating the key bushing for the balance rail guide pin felts. (The theory was it might be dampers, but the sqeaking occurred before the damper was even engaged.)

After watching the work & talking to people about it, I think it's pretty clear that this qualifies as a normal new-piano problem, not some problem with the quality of this Chinese-made piano (a Perzina GP 129). According to the tech, they wash all of the lanolin out of the wool in new pianos (to prevent moth damage) and if felts squeak, they need lubrication (and there seem to be a lot of places where this can happen.)

So, now all is well, my piano is perfect, and I love it even more. Not trying to influence sales one way or another, but for my needs this piano was just the ticket. .

Update on my Chinese piano - I moved house last week, so the piano is in a new home now. The new room is quite different - smaller, lower ceiling. BUt the piano sounds great - yes it sounds louder, but not overpowering.

The best thing is that weak octave I mentioned seems to have been been cured - I'm not quite sure how but perhaps the different accoustics and resonances just mean the notes sing out a bit more. Don't really care - just happy! I would post pictures but my house is still full of boxes...

Man, look at all the "little things" that need work on these suckers, someone is making some $$$. I guess you get what you pay for!

What a thoughtful, elegant and informative remarkk this is! From someone who in another thread claims: Anyone who does a search on this forum or the tuners-technicians forum for "little things" on any "Tier1,2,3........." will find tons of remarks similar to the ones made by the owners in this thread.

Or should all owners have claimed their piano is supreme without any faults or weaknesses? What would they then be accused off?

Good point, Schwammerl.

Here's a post on the tuners forum about quite a few "little things" on a new Steinway grand.

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/3/2699.html

Rickster

I posted this on the first page of this thread, but it seems relevant here again. Kenny, I think that MOST new pianos, if not all of them, will have issues that have to be worked through. My M&H had sticky dampers and a buzz here and there during its first year. Does that make it a piece of &$*#& or bad purchase? I don't think so.

What we really need are data on whether Chinese pianos have more of these little issues than higher tier pianos. I sure don't know the answer to that question; maybe some of the techs do.

I bought a 52" George Steck one year ago, its my third piano, I think its about the best value for the $. I recently went back to the dealer and played a 1978 52" from a well known maker, I was really glad I didn't pay 2000.00 more for that piano. Mine has a much more consistant touch with a deeper richer tone. I did however play the new model of that piano and was very impressed. Its better then mine, but not that much better.

Or, you could buy a Steinway, and have many of the same issues (probably with the exception of the tight centers) to deal with.

But one could sleep much better knowing they paid premium money for a premium product.

I agree, all pianos, new, used, rebuilt, whatever, will always have small things that need attention. It's a production world and THINGS just aren't perfect. Even high end commodities that are hand built will have problems...The real truth will be in 50 years...will they just throw them away or rebuild them. The test of time!!! jm$0.2

I own a Nordiska 6'1" baby grand. Had it about 16 months now and am very happy with it. Upon delivery I sensed the high-end was a little piercing and so, had my technician make some minor adjustments. Also, I did have one key which tended to stay down upon release but that too was easily remedied by the tech. I keep a dehumidifier in the room and humidity averages 40%. No problems with the tuning. The two times I've had it tuned the technician commented on how little adjusting was required.

I brought back this thread to update my own piano's history. I also changed the title. It seemed the old thread title was seen by some as an attempt to unite owners of Chinese pianos. That was not the intent. I hope the new title is neutral enough to not give that impression.

I also thought bringing back the thread might encourage others to participate. I'm sure there have been member purchases in the intervening months. (Vince in Vegas comes to mind.) So if you have bought a Chinese piano recently, or had yours serviced for any issues, please report. Ground rules are in the opening post.


Nordiska 126 vertical, six months old, fairly heavy use.

Services just performed: tuning, voicing, replacement of the felt strips on the rail engaged by the practice pedal.

Previous service: two store-provided tunings.

I had been itching to get my hammers voiced for months, but wanted to wait until the piano settled in after it was delivered. I had gotten some referrals here on the tech forum, but when I contacted the referrals they were either too busy (long wait) or declined to work on a low-end piano. So I went with a tech I had used often in the past for my old piano, John Pasterczyk. I’d like to give a plug for John. His prices are moderate, he never hurries, and he’s very attentive to his customer’s requests. www.southbaypiano.com in the L.A. area.


Tuning: minimal work was required.

Regulation: none required. I had no complaints. John’s playing up and down the keyboard confirmed that everything was okay.

Voicing: John needled the shoulders a bit. He showed me tiny tracks that were already present on the shoulders of the hammers. I really couldn’t see them well (eyes not the best). He said that Abel (among other hammer makers) is using needling machines to pre-needle their hammers.

First he needled a few hammers and asked me to try those keys.. I could hear the difference and liked the change, so he needled the rest of the hammers accordingly. After I checked that, he offered to do more, but I want to go slowly with the hammers.

Practice rail felt strips: They were easily replaced. They had curled at the corners, causing the hammers adjacent to the scale breaks to strike without damping when the practice pedal was engaged.

Comments: John felt the pinblock was a good one to work with,: secure, but not overly tight. The voicing removed most of the brassy tone that the piano had always had. I’m sure more can be done to fine-tune the sound, but I don’t want to rush.

I’ve always felt my piano is best described as ‘serviceable’. Even among Chinese pianos, its price is low. A few days ago, I read a post by Rich Galassini where he stated that most Chinese pianos to this point have been ‘passable’, while some have been surprising. I think 'passable' is an even better description of my piano than ‘serviceable’. What I hope to do through careful attention is to bring it up a notch or two from being passable. Time will tell. So far, so good.

I’ve included a sound file here. Should you choose to listen, bear in mind:

1.) It’s Mp3 on a Microtrack with a single T-mike over the open cabinet top.
(raw sound)
2.) This is a very inexpensive piano
3.) The playing is a bit sloppy.
4.) The composer is of ill repute.
5.) The ringing phone you hear is not your own.
It’s on the recording.

sound file: http://www.box.net/shared/yu40zukafh