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Good Morning you guys. It's me again. Believe it or not. We haven't decide. Suddenly real pianos are back in the game. We're talking strictly vertical. Not used one. The catch is it must not be upright. Yup. Spinets. Studios. Consoles. Please suggest some you guys. The ones around 69 Hundred. If you could get as low as 39 that would be magical.

Also. May I know why spinets and studios and consoles are not as popular as upright? Especially studios? Studios are cheaper and they look quite identical to Uprights. Thanks Guys

Spinets are not made anymore, and their design is compromised on many levels (tone, action, serviceability), so they are generally not recommended.

Studios and consoles are shorter than "full" uprights, and they don't tend to have the same fullness of tone in the bass due to their shorter size. Tall vertical pianos seem to be more popular in Europe and Asia than America, probably due to differences in the size of the average home. The most popular segment in the new acoustic piano market in America is small grand pianos.

The Piano Buyer site has a useful acoustic piano database tool, where you can plug in size, cost, and desired furniture styles/colors, and it will spit out a list of what's available. You can even enter a % discount from SMP pricing and see what they might cost after negotiation.

They just don't sound good enough. If you need something short, you'd be far better off with a good quality digital than a spinet.

i.m.o., once you get up to the studio size (45-47 in.), quality and tone can prevail over the amplitude of a taller but ordinary piano. and some studio pianos will equal or surpass mediocre full height pianos in amplitude as well. the popularity of small grands in america can work to the advantage for buyers of used uprights, if the shopper is patient and willing to log in travel and time.

So spinets are extinct. So. We still have consoles and studios. Been to two piano places. When it comes to acoustics. Only Full Grands And Baby Grandd And Uprights. I can understand no spinets. BUT. Why no consoles and no studios?

Like you said. Some high - end studios are better than some entry - level uprights.

Can you guys suggest some brands and models. Piano Buyer splits into two main sections. Verticals and Grands. After that. Furniture selections. I don't know which selection belongs to upright and vertical and studio and console and so on. Please help you guys.

quick tip -- studio size verticals in centimeters are in the 114-118 cm. range, and many model numbers from different makers use those numbers in the model designation. if you have read any of the uniformly favorable reviews of the Charles Walter model 1500, those are studio height. many other premium makers build pianos in studio heights, including grotrian, bluethner, forster, bechstein et. al., but they're not easy to find in the u.s.

this was once a very popular size due to its versatility in practice and rehearsal settings -- a director, kapellmeister, dance teacher can watch students/performers over the top of the piano. once upon a time practice rooms all over the u.s., schools at every level relied on the Baldwin Hamilton studio upright. played on more than a few myself ; like any mass produced product under huge variations of condition and upkeep, quality was all over the place, but many were good to very good. not long ago a participant here found one in very good condition at a great price and was quite happy with it, but you've ruled out used instruments.

as far as the commercially available, non premium brands, most asian makers make studio uprights including yamaha (the P22 has had some favorable reviews) or kawai (the UST9 is intended to be a workhorse studio piano in the similar vein to the baldwin hamilton, and their k series are usually well regarded). piano dealers simply have to make choices on their inventory, and depending on your market your dealers declined to put studio uprights in their showrooms if you haven't seen any. granted, the Charles Walters aren't in as many dealers as the asian brands.

Regarding the acoustic piano database for uprights, just select "all styles" to make sure you don't accidentally leave anything out. "Ebony or ebonized" will always be the least expensive color, in terms of trying to create an inclusive list of similar pianos. Mostly, narrowing down the desired size and price range is important to getting a useful result from the database tool.

Thanks you guys. Spinets are extincts. Consoles are practicality gone too. Studios make up just to a niche market. So again. I think I have to start all over again.

So far. A Full Grand is a no - no because too expensive and too big.

Baby Grand still out of the question because still pricey.

Upright is still not part of the race because still out of the budget albeit being cheaper and since we only want a brand new machine.

Spinets are impossible because they are extinct.

Console. You know how it is.

Studios are out of the race because they are rarer than kryptonite stones.


Electric Piano. Nope. Extinct. Bad Sound.

Electronic Piano. They Sucked Harder.


Mini Keyboard is an insult to the love of my life.

Portable Keyboard still an insult.

Keytars? Really?

MiDi Controller? What's the point?

Keyboard Bass? We already have a real bass instrument.

...........Synthesizers........... Not into that fake synth NES sound.

Arrangers. Most have not good enough qualities to be taken seriously.




Now the real battle is between KeyBoard WorkStation versus Digital
Piano versus Hybrid Piano.

Studios aren't rare. They're in practically every school in the western world.

I thought that that were uprights???.

Typically 45-46" institutional studios. Very basic, uglier furniture with more useful music desks than typical vertical pianos.
Baldwin Hamiltons, Yamaha P22 (and older P2, Kawai UST-9 (and older, lower numbers), Boston 118S, Charles Walter 1500, Steinway 1098, likely some similarly sized other brands in Europe.

Would help to know where you live.