Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum NAMM 2017 Thread

I thought it would be nice to consolidate photos, videos, etc. on one thread for NAMM this year.

In anticipation of the show, are there any questions from members for those of us in the industry who are going? Principals from the smaller manufacturers (and sometimes the larger ones) are often present so this is a good opportunity to get news "from the horse's mouth".

This show looks to be a bigger piano spread than it has been recently so I am looking forward to the visit.

Cheers!

Hi Rich,
You could ask all of them why the V-bars on their grands and uprights have obviously different specifications?

You forgot to ask Rich to ask them why their hammers are all way too heavy and hard!

Oh no..... Sometimes it is too easy, Keith. My apologies to PW.

Keith,
I left room for you to bring that subject up.

See how generous I am. Who else is that generous? I mean everybody is always thanking me for my generosity. I must be the most generous person God ever created! But I have also learned it is more important to be the most humble person in the world! So that is what I have become. Humble!

You are bigly generous and even biglier humble. You should enter some kind of Zen Buddhism competition. You would kick ass.

Yes Keith,
Buddhism is the best training ground for Mixed Martial Arts fighting! I am off to be a master today. May the farce be with you!

Hi Rich, years ago Charles Walter was going to release a 50 inch piano, always wondered what happened with that, are there still plans to do that?? Maybe you could ask??

Hi WaltW,

I am happy to do that. As a Walter dealer I can tell you that is has not been a priority for them, but it bears talking about.

Thanks,

So, some fun stuff has happened over the last couple of days. Some piano technician friends are going that I did not expect to see. That should be fun!

Additionally, a member of my staff will be evaluating some pianos for PianoBuyer, so we will get in before the actual convention begins. This means "behind the scenes" photos!

Cheers,

I guess a big subject this year won't be pianos but Trump.
As was on the recent Chicago Auto show.

Norbert

Cool. Can you tell us which pianos your staff will be evaluating?

Enjoy yourself at NAMM, Rich.

A small warning to those coming to NAMM: bring your umbrella! It has been a wet year, and we are expecting plenty of rain through Sunday.

Come see the special Kawai 90th anniversary 6 1/2 foot Plexiglass piano!

Link to a photo and video:

The Day Before NAMM

See you later today Don.

A few things I saw today....




A ContraBass Trumpet!




A hotrod Seiler.




A visit to Kim's Pianos, the Los Angeles dealer for The Matchless Cunningham pianos.


Also a cool new app. for the Disklavier ... that the general public won't see until the spring.

That app is indeed cool! That essentially solved quite a few technical challenges a non-pro would face trying to do a video with decent audio.

Hi, y'all.

Thanks to my friendly local Kawai dealer who arranged badges for Yvonne and me (Hi! Bozkurt @ San Mateo Piano) we had the pleasure of spending the last day of NAMM, roaming around, looking at everything piano.
It was my first visit to NAMM, and it was fun. Not only was it interesting to see the pianos, it was also interesting to note the camaraderie among the participants.

Here are some of my notes.

Kawai:

We visited the Kawai room the first thing in the morning. I got to try the SK-EX on display to my heart's content before the crowd arrived. I think it was a better instrument than those which I saw on Omotesando last year, and better represented the quality of the piano. They obviously took much care in preparing the piano, even for the last day. I got to thank the staff for the badges they provided for us.

Yamaha/Bösendorfer

I was able to spend some time at the "premium" piano room away from the main room. They had their new "SX" series which were an improvement on the older S series, but was a little disappointing compared to the excellent CF6 in the corner of the room. But on the other side of the room was a Bösendorfer 280VC, 214VC and a 200. The 280VC felt like a modern instrument, not like the 225, 275, 290 which are perhaps more nostalgic.

The 280VC was unmistakably a Bösendorfer with a xylophone-like wood-on-wood sound in the treble, but with a very long sustain. Its action regulation wasn't quite up to par, but it was singularity the most enjoyable Bösendorfer I've ever played. It may be the best piano Yamaha has ever sold. It sings and would be great not only for Schubert, Berg, Beethoven, but also for Ravel, Skryabin, etc...

I got to try the CFX and the "Klimt" Bösendorfer 214 in the main rom, amidst all the cacophony. I have never encountered a CFX I loved, and this one didn't seduce me either.

Ravenscroft:

I had heard of this builder who builds pianos on Sauter 275 and 220 case, but I had never encountered it. While its tone was clear, it lacked warm singing quality that I seek. I'd imagine some jazz pianists would like its sparkle, but it was not as lyrical as I would have loved.

However, its action was absolutely the best I've ever experienced. It uses the usual Renner actions, hammers, and Kluge keys, but it was the most frictionless action I've ever experienced. The upweight felt quite high, leaving Yvonne to think of it being too heavy, but the down weight felt normal.

When playing fast tremolo, the keys often don't come up as fast as my fingers do: Not with this piano. I've always thought there should be as little friction as possible in the actions, while maintaining the alignment of parts. I think I may have found nirvana here. Too bad it's tone wasn't terribly interesting to my ears.

Fazioli:

I got to see Paolo, Luca, Rick Baldassin (hi!) as well as Pierre whose surname I have forgotten and who represents Fazioli in the LA area.

The new F278-26xx was a rocket ship. It is utterly responsive, and still has among the smoothest actions I've ever experienced, almost equal to the aforementioned Ravenscroft 275. The set up was well done: the aftertouch not too much, and not too obtrusive. Voicing was superb, as always, giving the incomparably wide gamut of colors. But playing the newest Fazioli is like driving a race car, not that I have driven one. It requires utmost finesse, and relaxation. Any flaws in my playing are amply magnified, so I find it necessary to take a deep breath, relax, and perhaps play a little slower. However, when everything works, I'm rewarded with the most beautiful cantabile. I think I'd prefer the new Faziolis if I'm playing a big concerto, but I really like our 11-year old F308 that occupies a significant part of the living room. It's mellower and less on the hair-trigger.

Others:

Bluthner, Steingraeber, Grotrian, and Bechstrin were there in the big piano room as well. The Stringraeber E272 came with the "Mozart" lever that reduces the key drop to 8mm, and a mute that made it sound like a NY Steinway straight out of the factory. The effect was not too drastic and was interesting, but I cannot see it being a must-get feature. The "Mozart" lever as well as Fazioli's 4th pedal are far more useful.

I was hoping to see, but they didn't have the carbon fiber soundboard or the Bridge-Agraffe pianos.

The Blüthner was out of tune. Never liked Grotrian very much, and Bechstein only showed their smaller models.

Actually, I don't think I touched a piano less than 7' at the show, the smallest being the Fazioli F212, followed by the Bosendorfer 214 "Klimt". I'm from the "bigger the better" school of pianos, I'm afraid, although I have never tried a Rubenstein, though.

I said hello to the three reps from SAP who had a booth behind Fazioli, showing a gorgeous looking Blüthner concert grand. Too bad it's regulation was not up to what I expected.

However, after a brief conversation, I began to wonder if I could make a business shipping old Steinways one container at a time (I should be able to pack 13-15 in a 40' container, and be it would be cheaper to ship them together than shipping two pianos) then selling them to wherever there may be a demand. I'd have to sell several containers of pianos if I quit my software engineering job in Silicon Valley, though.

There were lots of Chinese manufacturers. The folks from Yantai (Kingsburg) looked sad across the aisle from Fazioli, and my ears literally hurt when one of the reps started to play BÄ…darzewska- Baranowska's "Maiden's Prayer" badly. I guess it is popular in China as it was in Japan when I was growing up there.

I am beginning to think I am in the wrong industry.

Ken:

Thanks for at least one post pertaining to something new from NAMM....

Norbert