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Hello Everyone

Have been wanting to get a small/baby grand for a while now and also get my first brand new piano after over 20 years of playing some very nice pianos, but never a brand new one of my very own.

Went to the piano store (local store, pretty small, only option) and they have Hallet Davis products...of which is a small grand for around 9k.

Did my best to do an accurate search of our website here and turned up the latest info/threads mostly from 2012 and ALOT from around the 2005-2010 era. Time flies! That is a decade ago!

Anyhow...hate to beta a dead horse as I see a lot has already been discussed on these products but I wanted to see what the impression/reputation was for new products in our present time, 2015. Quality improved, gotten worse, changed, etc.?

Thanks!

Greg

Hate to bump my own thread...but just wanted to give it one more shot...anyone have any experience with these pianos? I don't think I have been able to find a brand with LESS information online (other than the historical company).

By the way...why do these companies use old names? This is just personal preference, but to me, it seems a little cheesy, right? All these companies using old names and producing new instruments overseas with absolutely zero connection to the company?

Anyhow...back to the topic, funny name aside, is this a decent piano?

I bought a G-186A several months ago and have been pleased with it. It may have been older stock and therefore built in Dongbei and not by Beijing Hsinghai where Hallet-Davis has moved their production. Anyway though the HD price was lower I felt the touch and tone was comparable to other Chinese models I played - exceptions were the Baldwin BP178 which was exceptional and a Perzina which had a warmer tone.

The tuning has been stable and I have had no issues. The piano was a bit bright\metallic sounding and I had it voiced which made it sound much better. The piano projects very well.

This is the 2nd piano I've owned so I don't have tons of experience with pianos but I did play many before making the purchase. I must also say the size of the piano, about 6'1", may make up for shortcomings found in a smaller model.

Yes, re-using old names and listening to the boring, non-relevant history lessons from salespeople are cheesy and generally ineffective due to the online resources available. It just means more homework for the buyer to wade through it all.

Thanks for the reply!

No matter what hobby or interest you have...if it is a serious passion then you are presented with a bit of a problem.

Unless you are a professional pianist or university/conservatory student (enroute to professional performance or scholarship) then unless you are wealthy you really don't NEED a crazy high end piano.

If you really don't care about your playing and just putter around with it then you can probably get away with literally the cheapest piano you can find that is nice and suits what you are looking for and it will sound and play just fine.

Then there are those of us stuck in the middle. Serious players but not folks who need a superior piano. But we also don't want to get a junky product either.

It is difficult ground to tread and you see it in many different areas. I paint as well...you can either get cheap crap to use...HIGH end stuff that really only Pro's need or you need to really do your homework to find something that is good, inexpensive, but not the junk for "hobbyists."

Hope that rambling made sense...basically I want to make sure a Hallet Davis is suitable for a serious amateur...I know I don't need a "professional" instrument but I also don't want to accidentally purchase something meant for the true "hobbyist."

If you've been poking around the Internet for information on modern Hallet pianos, you're probably aware that the Hallet & Davis brand name is owned by a U.S. distributor, North American Music, that does not manufacture any pianos at all. In such cases where the old brand name is owned by as distributor, the historical information is really marketing fluff. Perhaps some shoppers assume an unbroken chain of excellence in piano manufacture, whereas in reality there is none.

If you really want specific information on a specific Hallet model, at a minimum you need to provide the model number. If it's current production, it comes from one of two factories in China, one of which is generally considered to manufacture better pianos for the export market. Either way though, with economy brands, the emphasis should be on the individual sample and how well it has been prepped and maintained prior to sale.

Thanks for the reply! I need to head back to the store...perhaps today...and get the exact model information. However, I can say that it is a small grand.

As I noted above, I am really trying to get a feel for if this brand is simply for "hobby" type players, which, I guess is a term I am using for folks who really don't play daily and mainly want a piece of furniture or if it is suitable for "amateurs" who do not need a professional instrument but nonetheless play every day intermediate to advanced material.

There is scant information from recent years on this brand. Haven't seen anything horrible, and nothing really good either...

This would be to replace my OLD Baldwin Acrosonic spinet.

Based on the latest ratings in the Piano Buyer, this brand is at the bottom of the consumer-grade scale in the "economy" section.

Now, if you are only an occasional player, and assuming the piano is setup and tuned properly, you will find this instrument quite a step up from what you currently have.

I kind of hate to see this however, as once acquiring a small grand you may find yourself more attracted to it, and begin to use it more seriously. If this happens, you may regret buying an economy brand.

For about 25% more than your current budget, you may be able to upgrade to a better brand, even one that is at the top of the consumer-grade ratings.

Better yet, you may be able to find a used instrument in the 10-20 year old range, that if in very good shape and properly prepared, could get you to intermediate-grade in some cases.

Or, you could completely ignore what I just said and go ahead with the Hallet Davis and live happily ever after.

Actually, North American Music's Hallet page:

http://halletdavispiano.com/

is pretty detailed if you get beyond the historical banter and click on any of the three series currently offered: Heritage, Signature, and Imperial. If I understand your reference to "small" correctly, 'small' would probably mean one of three models: 142, 148, or 152. The page provides some specs for each.

Segmenting pianos according to 'hobbyist' or 'serious' is probably not all that useful. In reality, a good many talented serious pianists own low-priced pianos because that is what they can afford. And a good many hobbyists play premium brand pianos because they can afford them. A really good pianist playing an economy brand of piano will almost always produce something better then a casual hobbyist on a far superior piano.

The thing with all the economy brands is that they are basically unfinished products at the time of import. It's usually up to the retailer to optimize the raw container piano. Most retailers don't really do that, and those that do will probably expect to recoup the cost of doing it in the sales price.

You mentioned finding a lot of info in the archives here from 2005 to 2010. At that time, Hallet was selling a lot of DongBei grand pianos from China sized 165 cm and 185 cm. Since the same DongBei production was available under a variety of different brand names at the time, it was easier to make comparisons among those different brands in terms of how well finished off and how well prepped they were. The 185 cm. model was a good example of a low-cost piano that could be brought to a high standard of play. Generally, the Hallet & Davis version did not shine.

Since you don't have many choices in your area, it's good to find out everything you can about the piano you're looking at. That would include the actual date of manufacture, the factory warranty, where it has been in its life, and what the retailer has done to prepare it for sale.

Ah yes...the Halletanddavisbostonfinegermancraftsmanshipmadeinchina piano-oid.

I have several customers who bought these pianos...one of them, a long time teacher, should have known better..but didn't. I put these on the list of the worst Chinese pianos I attempt to tune. My biggest complaint is that the way the string terminations have been worked out makes them impossible to tune with stability.

I take much longer to tune these pianos than I spend on other pianos, and charge accordingly. The tuning is always short lived.

The tonal possibilities of the 6ft one are awful, despite the fact that I can prep a piano quite well. The 5 ft'er has some tonal possibilities, but the tuning issues make that point absolutely moot.

I am overcome with a cynicism attack every time I consent to put these things in tune.

Sorry about that. My advice would be to look elsewhere.

Tell us how you REALLY feel about it, Jim!