Best piano

[liszmaninopin]

When I am old enough to live on my own, I intend to buy a grand piano for my home.  I am looking for a new large grand piano that would have very rich, deep sound (I dislike pianos with thin sound), and a fast, accurate actio .  What brands and models might offer the absolute best that money can buy in a piano?

[rachfan]

If you like a rich rather than a thin sound, then you want an American made piano which offers a full-bodied sound.  American piano scale designs emphasize the harmonic overtones, whereas European pianos instead emphasize the fundamental, which results in that "thin" sound you refer to.  Also, many Asian pianos have a tinny treble like Yamaha's.  Your best bet, in my opinion, would be the New York built (not Hamburg built) Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, and Baldwin.  Also, the longer the grand (i.e., the strings) the richer the sound.   So you should be looking at grands in excess of six feet in length.  If you have the room and budget, go for a seven footer such as the Steinway B, Baldwin SF10E, or the Mason & Hamlin BB.  In these larger models, I believe Steinway offers its own action, while Baldwin and Mason & Hamlin use Renner actions.  Hope this helps.

[dj]

hey y don't u check out the "which grand is best" post in this forum. u'll find arguments for and against just about every piano imaginable. have fun

[dinosaurtales]

Hm.  I dunno, RachFan.  Seems to me Liszmaninopin needs to define what he means by *thin*.  According to the Steinway folks, anything European is *thin* sounding, because of the focus on the fundamental rather than higher harmonics.  But from what I could tell, Faziolis, Grotrians, and Bluthners have fundamental sounds that are very *pure* but by no means *thin*, whereas (to me) the Bechsteins and Bosendorfers had a pure, but also thin sound, which may be what is being objected to.  SO.......  Oh Liszmaninopin!  What do you mean by *thin* sounding?

[tosca1]

I agree with you DinosaurTales about the difficulty of defining piano tone.  What do we mean by "thin" sound? The early pianos of the 19th century would certainly have a "thin" sound if we compared them to the sound of the modern Steinway D but a number of artists  who play the fortepiano and  the early Erard grand pianos ( eg Emanuel Ax) give us sounds which may be "thinner" but not necessarily less beautiful than those of the modern instruments. Preferences in piano tone are highly subjective and and we should  be open minded and enjoy any piano sound that delights the ear and our sense of musicality.

Regards,
Robert.