OK guys, see what you can do with this.

Do any of you know of a good small grand, and when I say small, I'm talking 5' - 5'4". The only very small piano that I've played and found acceptable is a Kawai GM-12, made in Indonesia I think. It was surprisingly good.

Are any of you aware of a piano that small that is rewarding and musical ?

Please help.

Karl Watson,
Staten Island, NY

The 150cm Weber/Young Chang that Del Fandrich designed comes to my mind. I was very pleasantly surprised, considering the thing's just under 5 feet long and rather inexpensive. (to be fair, I haven't played the GM-12, only the more entry level GM-10 and larger GE-30)

I can't say I've ever played a grand shorter than 5'7" that I would characterize as "great", though.

Steinway "S" is a very nice model.

The Kawai GE-20 is a nice 5 footer if you can find one. And a properly prepared Hardman 5 footer can be really nice. Yamaha C1s are really nice, too.

Heck, there are a bunch of them, start shopping!

I second the Weber W150. Actually the Pearl River 5'1"? and its Ritmuller cousin weren't bad either.

I am fond of my 5'2" Baldwin M, but it was built in 1949 and they aren't like that anymore. Pretty soon mine won't be like that anymore either, because it is moving toward needing major rebuilding.... Anyway, if a person is looking for or willing to try an older instrument, the Baldwins from that era were quite nice, and you might find one that is in good shape. I played one made in 1947 that was even better than mine, but while shopping for mine I came across some others of the same model that were a mess.

My piano has a dark, rich sound even though it is small. And I certainly don't need it to be any louder for the space I've got.

Elene

I recall playing a very nice Boston GP156 once. Was secondhand and played hard, but still sounded decent.

New, the Hailun 151 and 161 sound very nice. When prepped well, both the Yamaha GB1 and Kawai GM10 have potential.

Speaking of Del Fandrich and his design influence, the community college where I work has a late 80’s/early90’s Chickering model 410 (4’10”) baby grand made by Baldwin at the time. The tone of that little piano will surprise you, particularly the bass. The touch is nice too.

I think Del had some influence in designing that piano when he worked at Baldwin.

When I play that piano and think about the comments I’ve read here about small baby grands not sounding good, I scratch my head and wonder…

Rick

Here's the Fall 2010 article from Piano Buyer that reviewed smaller Chinese grands:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/fall10/92.html

Some nice small grands have been mentioned on this thread. I'd also suggest checking out the Ritmuller R9 - http://www.ritmullerusa.com/Ritmuller_Update/Grand_Style_Sheets/Grands/Ritmuller-R9.pdf.

Good luck,
Mike

There are many in this forum that would dismiss a grand piano in this diminutive range as not a proper instrument for a serious player. A fig to them. I enjoy our Baldwin M1 in tone and action, and don't miss the volume in our home. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.