Greetings!

Happy New Year!  If you or your child are learning piano, or if you are just curious, join us at a Saturday workshop!  

Vladimir Horowitz and his Steinway

 Is Steinway really the world's finest piano, or just clever marketing?  Join us and learn some fascinating "inside" information and history of the most famous piano brand since the invention of the piano!

We've heard this, too, but once you've seen (and heard) the difference, you'll know that it's not just branding.  Imagine visiting at a guitar shop and seeing these two guitars sitting next to each other:    

If you didn't play, and had never studied guitars or guitar-making, could you guess the difference in price, or understand why one cost more than the other?  (The guitar on the left sells for $100, and the one on the right sold for $17,500.)

Pianos are no different, except in that far fewer pianos are built than guitars, and they require much more in raw materials, machinery, and manpower to make.
On the subject of how much musical instruments cost, if you think pianos are expensive, you can make a comparison:

Upright piano
Junk:  $900  Student:  $3,000-$6,000  Pro:  $10,000-$30,000 
Collectable:  $2,100,000 (John Lennon's Steinway upright)
Cello
Junk: $400  Student: $4,000-$10,000  Pro: $40,000-$60,000 
Collectable:  $20,000,000 (Stradivarius)
Alto Saxophone
Junk: $300  Student:  $850-$1200  Pro: $5,500+ 
Collectable:  $60,000 (Played by jazz legend Charlie Parker)

Here are some of the materials that go into pianos:

Sprucewood (soundboard, keys)
Maple (action, rim, pinblock, bridges, moving parts)
Birch (Legs, solid wood components)
Mahogany (rim, veneers)
Beechwood (pinblock)
Poplar (flat cabinetry such as sides and lid)
Walnut (facings and veneers)
Iron (frame/plate)
Steel (strings, tuning pins, casters)
Copper (bass strings)
Solid brass (hardware, pedals, hinges, wheels)
Brass plate (hardware, pedals, hinges,wheels)
Nickel plate (hardware, pedals, hingeswheels)
MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) (case parts)
Plywood (soundboard, case parts)
Particle Board (case parts)
Plastic (action, moving parts)
Furniture lacquer (finish)
Polyester resin (finish)



  For every one of 12,000 components in a grand piano, for instance, an engineer is faced with decisions about how much to spend on a part or assembly.  The highest-quality material is usually not considered, because the buyer won't pay so much extra for it!  Most piano designers and engineers are juggling to balance the final selling price of the piano and the margin of profit for the salesperson, the retailer, the distributor, and finally the manufacturer.  The remaining dollars that are left to actually fabricate and assemble a piano determine what grade of materials are used.  For example, solid wood, plywood, MDF, and particle board all look identical from the outside once they're painted or veneered, but could affect the final price by thousands of dollars.
  Additionally, to save money, many manufacturers send out for parts, whole assemblies, or sometimes even entire pianos from sub-contractors.  Today it is a very good idea to ask "Who really built this?" when evaluating a piano.
  So many of the parts of a piano are hidden from view that a pretty, polished piece of furniture can be concealing some very low-grade components; resulting in piano that looks nice but has poor tone and touch, requires many more tunings, is more unstable when the weather changes, makes annoying mechanical noises or vibrations, and has a much shorter useable lifespan.
  So how do you know what grade of quality is reasonable to purchase?  A good rule of thumb is to take a look at the room the piano will reside in, and ask yourself, "What is the grade of quality I find acceptable?" for things like flooring, tables, chairs, bookcases, etc.  In other words, your piano should be made at least as well as your coffee table!

Questions?  Call us!  (858)586-7000 or send us a note.

 

 We're on YouTube!     

In the Spotlight:  

http://www.nsdmtac.com/teachers.php