Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum NAMM 2008 - Your impressions

Those of you who attended NAMM, what were some of your impressions?

Here are some questions, but don't limit your responses to just these.

1) What brands of pianos were your favorite to play?
2) Was there any brand or model that caught you by surprise, either in a good or bad way?
3) Did you notice any changes from last year?
4) Did you attend any of the special events/marketing/training seminars, and did you take anything away from them?

1) I played many pianos, perhaps more intently than usual, the standard higher end pianos impressed me (Schimmel, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Seiler, Mason Hamlin, Grotiran, Estonia, etc..).

The new 230 by Schimmel was a VERY interesting animal. It was a little uncharacteristic of the typical Schimmel sound/feel. It was a little lighter feeling, warmer in tone without sacrificing brightness. They certainly did something right there.

Petrof has got something going on with the Passat and the Storm. I never really took to that brand much as a player, but I was very impressed with these.

I didn't bother to sit and play the Yamaha grands, as they haven't changed any models, also due to having a store full of these and limited time. However, the new Cable Nelson baby grands (4'11" and 5'3") are really nice playing & sounding pianos.

2) I was pretty surprised by the continued increase in quality with the various Chinese pianos available. Hailun was, in my opinion, the most remarkable of the bunch. When I look at these, and ask myself 'would I buy this for my own use'?, I was surprised at my own answer.

Baldwin's weren't my cup of tea as an instrument, but they are doing some pretty cool cabinets; Particularly that heavy metal design.

The new bösendorfer 280 is something to behold. No words can describe my appreciation for the creation of such a wonderful piano.

3) This is more of a self serving question, because the last couple years I was at NAMM I was rushed and spent little time there. I noticed There were some absences, and booth changes.

Petrof no longer with Geneva (they had their own room). Steigerman was a no show. Couldn't find Steingraeber. There was a more consolidated showing of private label pianos (or so it seemed). I didn't find the Geneva booth (I didn't specifically look for it, but I walked through a very large portion of the show).

4) I did not attend any of these because I didn't budget any time for it.

Looking forward to reading the impressions from others.

1.We played them all. I think the consensus from our crew is

1. Fazioli
2. Shigeru Kawai EX (Full Disclosure: we sell Shigeru Kawai)
3. Bose

2. Baldwin was better than expected. CW did not live up to expectations.
3. The mood from piano dealers seemed more optimistic
4. We always do training seminars... very good as usual.

Geneva, from what I heard was at a nearby hotel. Not sure which one. They could of done a much better job of getting the word out. Doesn't look good.

I really liked the Mason & Hamlin instruments, they were better or equal to every piano at the show.

I also think that the Shigeru and the Fazioli are very close in touch and feel, I prefer the aesthetic of the Italian though.

I don't feel qualified to compare pianos because:
1. I can't play that well
2. I only have a digital piano at home, so any real piano sounds/feels good to me :-)

I did notice there weren't as many displays in the bigger 3rd floor room as last year, and there didn't seem to be as much traffic.

The manufacturers I spoke with all indicated they felt they were having a good show (Kawai, Bosendorfer, Mason & Hamlin / Piano Disc, Estonia, Grotrian, Schimmel).

On the flip side, the accessory vendors I spoke with indicated it was an off year.

I had a chat with Kyle Kirkland and Dana Messina of Steinway. Nice to know they like our forums (feel it helps the business by getting more people involved in music).

I used the opportunity to talk to Kyle about our experience with their factory tour, he promised we would have a better experience next time, and could bring more people.

Lloyd Meyer of Renner USA showed me the new web site they are working on. They've done a really nice job with it, clean and easy to use. Has some nice interactive displays, and lots of information.
I believe he said it was going to launch in about a week.

Thanks to Pique' (of Grand Obsession fame) I had a nice long interview with Swati Pandey, a reporter for the LA Times.
She also interviewed Pique', and came to our SoCA party at Steve Miller\'s house.

I tried to convince her she should play piano, she had the perfect fingers for it (long and slender).

I'm hoping she is going to write a nice positive article about our piano community, and the piano business in general. Hopefully will see article in next Sundays' LA Times.

At one point she asked about piano for people who don't really play. I mentioned Piano Disc (because we'd just walked by the display to get out to the sunny deck where we interviewed).

So... when we went back in we stopped at the Piano Disc display, and who should be playing in the big HD display? Our own Jeffrey Biegel...



Speaking of pictures, if you have some to share, I know our members would love to see what goes on inside the NAMM show. Please Upload them to our server, so they don't disappear later.

I didn't talk to the MI exhibitors, but they seem to have the usual sea of people crowding the aisles.

Thanks to the new PWPF polo shirts I wore during the show, a lot of people spotted me and came up to say hello. I always enjoy meeting members I've not met before, and running into members I've already met.

All in all I had a good show, making some new contacts for advertising on PW, playing with the toys, and just generally enjoying myself.

The weather was perfect (it was 12 degrees when I got back to CT late Sunday night), it was nice to be around real people (I usually work alone from a home-office), and the party Saturday night was the perfect way to end the week.

Did anybody get a sense of how the new M&H B model is doing?

I'm glad to hear that the Steinway people said nice things about PW... er, especially after we've given them ample reasons NOT to like us.

Yes, more pics, please!

See, I told you not to worry!

I know there were some bad storms recently, but I had a feeling they would clear out by the time NAMM happened.

I'm glad you got a chance to shake some of those New England icicles off!

There were a lot of things I missed, simply because I didn't have the time (or in some cases energy).

I didn't play any Mason & Hamlins this year, however in the past I have always been impressed with their pianos.

Stephen, what did you think of that artcase Fazioli? Crazy! Looked like something Superman landed in when he came to earth. When I was at the Fazioli booth, Eldar Djangerov - I enjoyed listening to him play the 9'.

I went as well.

Being my first time, I really don't have a basis of comparison. I really enjoyed having an opportunity to view and lightly play a Faz. The art case was too way out for my taste but am sure would find a good home.

I posted a couple small clips of Bram Wignand performing stride on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6K8nPSU8jQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H58y4h5bJo

I thought the pianodisc display was really cool. Although I have a problem with player systems from a philosophic standpoint, another side me believes that anything that gets people involved in music is a very good thing.

Excellent experience overall. My teeth are still aching from all the piano candy!

Thanks for posting the clips.

I watched him playing while I was there, amazing!
His technique is flawless, and he makes it look easy.

Sorry having missed all of this: couldn't go this year!

One question for those who may have had a chance:

1] some comments on the Grotrian grands, especially the 'Charis' model, a piano which had impressed many who tried it last year, including Larry Fine

2] did Sauter have their 9' concert grand on display again? [last year's model was apparently used by one pianist at Carnegie Hall later]

Curious.

Thank you,

Norbert

Norbert, I didn't notice the Grotrian, although they were right next to Sauter.

The Sauter 275 (9') was there and was the same one performed on at Carnegie Hall by Gil Sullivan. It was actually shuffled between the NAMM hall and the hotel for receptions at night.

It was prepped by Peter Clark and Gene Nelson. It was simply amazing to play and listen to. It is the one in the Youtube clip I posted. I agree with Frank, Bram made it look extremely easy (sorry I missed you). I think I finally understand what my piano teacher keeps saying about tension or more importantly, the lack thereof for great playing.

norbert, unfortunately grotrian didn't have the charis there. i was very disappointed, as i've never played one. i think burkhard said it was sold and that is why it was missing.

my impressions of NAMM--a candy store, wonderful to hear so much piano music all at once. also overwhelmingly noisy at times. i spent most of my time on the third floor where the european pianos were--grotrian, sauter, estonia, fazioli, etc. it was a good space for them because it was quiet enough to hear yourself playing, most of the time.

also, the ptg booth was there and it was fun hanging out with them.

You mean to say... the person who <font size=4>operates</font> the most well-known <font size=4>Piano</font> <font size=3>Forum</font> website in the <font size=3>world</font> <font size=4>ONLY</font> owns a <font size=6>DIGITAL</font> piano???

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Yup,

Owning and hosting Piano World is very rewarding, just not with money

My piano (and the PW office)...

Could you direct me to the Youtube link?

Maybe some of you dealers should start a fund to get Frank an acoustic piano, especially considering how much he does for you.

(this is a sincere comment)

PS and since we want the "relationship" to be healthy, don't pick it out for him....

In defense of Frank:

We happen to have the almost identical set up in our garage, both for my kids and myself.

Blues lovers have a few tricks up their sleeve that many others in this world might not quite understand....

[Thankfully, it doesn't take away for playing our upright Sauter family piano, a piano which is being stroked on a daily equally as well.]

Norbert

wzkit, I sent you a PM.

pique, ejsauter:

Thank you very much, I'm amazed that Grotrian didn't have the Charis there!

Maybe their production for that piano is running hot enough.....

Norbert