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@Markarian - Thanks for the advice!

See the below tube at 0:01/14:01 to see how "too small" the room where Brendel put 2 Steinway D into it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYrAf4YqpAw

=> meaning you can buy and put 3 Steinway D in your room without any problem, whatsoever

I would invite anyone to come to my shop and also visit the local Steinway dealer to compare what a great rebuild can produce. There are great rebuilders, so don't judge all rebuilders by the mediocre ones. Not all the Steinways rebuilt by the factory come out great. The best rebuilders produce high quality tone and touch much more predictably then the factory.

And, as Ed says, there are definitely good rebuilders and bellymen out there. Buying a rebuilt Steinway is certainly an option, especially if you are after a certain style or character of the instrument.

Hello Kjherlong

The Blüthner is simply one of my favourite sounding pianos of all time, that's why I like them. I mean, I love Bösendorfer and Steinway too, and Yamaha, and Kawai, etc, provided they are all in optimal condition.

The voicing has to suit the piano, of course, and has to suit the room, and the pianist. It's a combination of the three things really, and a good technician will understand how to make the piano sound its best in the location it is in. Sometimes mellow isn't quieter, it just has less 'bite' in the tone, but it can be very loud. If you try to make a Yamaha sound like a Blüthner, it sounds dull, if you try to make a Blüthner sound like a Yamaha, it sounds like a military assault. (simplification, of course).

Someone else here had spoken about rebuilds. There are rebuilds and there are rebuilds, and I think it's good to approach them with caution, in the same way that I approach a new instrument with caution! From a good rebuilder, a rebuilt piano is magical, will last as long as a new one and will give you everything you could need. So can a new piano. Assuming that we are only talking about good rebuilders here (because let's face it, bad rebuilders always produce pianos which are not worth playing, not really), it comes down to preference on the individual piano.

I happen to love the tone of the early 20th Century Blüthner and Bechstein, (there are beautiful new ones too, I'm generalising), and I seem to prefer new Steinways to older ones. Bösendorfer, I've played some that I've found very responsive and beautiful, but on the whole I haven't warmed to them as much as other make. Purely personal.

If you find a new Steinway that you absolutely love, and you can afford it, and you feel that it's definitely the piano for you, there's no reason not to buy it.

It's very exciting buying a new piano, let us know how you get on!

I do have a 6.1' piano in a living room with cathedral ceilings and a "somehow" open space all the way to the kitchen... as soon as I will be able to afford it I'd get a european 7 to 8' piano because I want that purity of bass that comes from the longer strings.
IF money is not an issue I'd get a S&S Hamburg C. forget the A and the B.
I personally think that the D is a little overkill and would have it only if I was a performer, just to keep my hand on the same weapon to be used in battle.

One think to consider is to deaden the wall close to the piano to remove annoying echoes.

Greetings,
It should be said that the new pianos can vary wildly, too. I rarely see a new piano that is as responsive as a carefully restored one. New soundboard is a requirement on virtually all Steinways over 70 years old, and the actions after 1955 or so can be full of odd problems. I have a number of teachers with pairs of STeinways, and all of them have an older restored piano,(most of which I restored in the 1980's), and a newer piano. Over half of them prefer the older piano in their studios.

If you do decide to buy a new one, you will want an experienced tech, unaffiliated with the factory, to examine it. It would be nice if we had brands we could simply trust, unconditionally, but with pianos, particularly 'hand-built" ones, that is not always the case.
Regards

- which is one of the main reasons I went for a rebuilt piano.

In my case I went directly to the workshop, got a real feel for what they did, played all of the pianos they had finished for other customers, saw the work in progress, and then we went ahead with starting the piano for me.

I went down at several stages to see the work being performed, and I was sent pictures of the piano in progress.

Also, when going for a rebuilt piano, you have to wait for the piano to develop. It's almost like the actual rebuilding of the piano is only the first stage of the work. The next stage is building a relationship with the piano where you both grow in to each other, and that can produce some real magic, which doesn't really happen in the same way with a new instrument.

kjherlong,
Very rarely, some newer Steinway grands have a V-bar that has been case hardened. (The V-bar is the termination point for the treble strings.) If you buy one like this the treble will never be great sounding and the strings will weaken more rapidly than if the V-bar is soft gray iron. You should have a technician inspect any Steinway, including brand new to be sure it doesn't have this defect. The tech can test for it by using a small metal file to work the V-bar where it passes under the plate struts and listen for the sound. If it sounds like two files rubbing together-it is hard.

Friends:

I'd like to weigh-in to support Ed's thoughts. My experience sustains his position, again and again and again. Absolutely no question about it.

About the A vs. B thing: it's true that the B has been the pianist's choice for as long as I can remember; at home, in the studio and in the practise room. Having said this, there is no question that the A, the model that not everyone seems to care for, is a wonderful piano, not to mention the rarely-seen vintage A-IIIs, who exemplify the brute force side of things. They have a BIG sound, but with a tenor that is so thick that it can create problems for the Viennese-classical repertoire. Quite recently, Rich G. @ Cunningham's had a remarkable one, now sold, that was superbly rebuilt and addressed, successfully, the excessive thickness thing.

I think that the point made earlier about the longer key-sticks of the B is very important, esp. for pianists with active careers who are going to be playing Ds, publicly, for the most part. It's certainly better to be doing one's work with that feel. In fact, John Browning had a Hamburg C for that purpose, amongst others.

However, for most of us, a nice A should get the job done, and VERY nicely.

Just my opinion and not intended to get anyone's knickers in a twist.

Karl Watson,
Staten Island, NY

Karl,

To me, A-III sounds very balance. The only issue with A-III is the fact that is so rare.

Indeed, Scott, I have those recordings, they're wonderful. I'll grant you those two examples, and a handful more...and a few handfuls more. Overall, though, these would prove to be exceptions. It could be proven simply by tallying up every recording every made on a Steinway, but of course that's too strenuous a task. It's particularly controversial to think that the majority of concerto soloists, for example, would ask for (or at least expect) a 10-year-old-or-less Steinway. Put it another way: it would give pause to a pianist if they were told they were about to play Tchaik 1 on a 100-year-old, totally rebuilt Steinway. They could play on that instrument, but they would be somewhat taken aback.

Likewise, I've played great rebuilds too: those from Steinway, those rebuilt by Stanwood's method, and those built by private techs. Simply because one has a preference doesn't mean the alternative is automatically maligned. Simply put: if I had 90k, I'd prefer a new B. Speaking of which, off to play my new(ish) D.