Fazioli piano

[jnlje]

Hi everyone here. I would like to know the quality of a Fazioli piano compared to Steinway and also the price difference.

[eddie92099]

They are both great pianos - the Fazioli is clearer than the Steinway but this is not always what is preferred. Also, the Fazioli F308 is bigger than the Model D (it has four pedals and three sticks for the lid). The bass on the Fazioli is also incredibly strong and less mellow than the Steinway. As for price, a new Model D will cost you around 60 000 pounds, whereas the Fazioli F308 will be more like 80 000 (I did play one once in Hong Kong which was selling for the equivalent of 135 000 pounds!),
Ed

[allchopin]

Four pedals? explain...

[dinosaurtales]

Boy Ed!  You are one lucky dude to be shopping for 9+ foot pianos!  I got a 7 footer, and I thought I blew the bucks deluxe!  

I ended up with a Fazioli, but that was in  part due to the pianos that were available to me at the time:  I played LOTS of Steinways, all the B's , Grotrians, Masons, Steingraeber, and the Faz was the ONLY one I played that was perfect for everything I wanted.  If you were looking for something different, you'd likely pick a different piano.

Also, the Faz was more expensive than the equivalent B's - so depending on your local market and dealers, there might not be a price difference worth arguing over.

It'll all boil down to your personal taste.

Why the hell, Ed, would anybody want 4 pedals?  I don't even use the extra 2 I have now!

[dinosaurtales]

Correction:  The Faz was LESS expensive than the equivalent B's. Gee whiz!

not that it matters much.  They are all expensive, but wonderful!

[wynnbear]

The fourth pedal is a "soft" pedal like an upright that reduces the length of the hammer stroke.  It is an addition to the standard "una corda" pedal.  The other two are standard sostenuto and damper.

[eddie92099]

For clarity's sake, I wasn't planning to buy the Fazioli F308!
Ed

[Piano-Job]

As far concerning the diffrences between a Fazioli and a Steinway. The action af a Fazioli is almost perfect, many Pianists think it's  wonderfull to play on a Fazioli. To regulate it is much easier and solid than a Steinway Action. Both actions by the way are manufactured by Renner. The esthetics of a Fazioli are much better then a Steinway. Ever tried to look inside or underneath one of these two?
The old model F308 had three sticks to hold the lid. Nowadays the lid is made out of a lighter material so now the lid is hold by one, like any other grand piano.
The fourth pedal is better than the unacorda pedal in my opinion. Because the unacorda pedel chnges lightly the tonal colour, while the fourth pedal of the fazioli Concertgrand makes you able to play softer but the colour doesn't changes.

[dinosaurtales]

As far concerning the diffrences between a Fazioli and a Steinway. The action af a Fazioli is almost perfect, many Pianists think it's  wonderfull to play on a Fazioli. To regulate it is much easier and solid than a Steinway Action. Both actions by the way are manufactured by Renner. The esthetics of a Fazioli are much better then a Steinway. Ever tried to look inside or underneath one of these two?
The old model F308 had three sticks to hold the lid. Nowadays the lid is made out of a lighter material so now the lid is hold by one, like any other grand piano.
The fourth pedal is better than the unacorda pedal in my opinion. Because the unacorda pedel chnges lightly the tonal colour, while the fourth pedal of the fazioli Concertgrand makes you able to play softer but the colour doesn't changes.

I thought Steinway manufactured their own actions.  Didn't know they used Renner?

[Axtremus]

Hamburg Steinway uses Renner; NY Steinway uses their own patented "Accelerated Action." Fazioli also uses Renner, I believe. But Renner makes many different actions based on different specifications to cater different price points. Even some of the cheaper Korean and Chinese pianos have Renner action now. As long as your fingers feel its good and you don't hear piano technicians complaining about a particular action being problematic or hard to maintain, it's good. Renner or no Renner is not that important.

[Piano-Job]

The Fazioli action is designed by fazioli but renner makes the parts as they do for Steinway. Ofcourse I didn't see a lot of NY Steinway actions in my life until now so I can't say a lot about them, but have worked on Hamburg Steinway actions and Fazioli actions.

The choice between a Steinway or a Fazioli is very personal.

[allchopin]

Despite Steinway being more popular, are Faziolis ever used in competitions or often in concert?  If so, who has used them in the past?

[dinosaurtales]

I think Faziolis are being requested more and more - for instance, Angela Hewitt requested a Faz when she did her Bach concert out here last year, and they used Faz for the Oregon Bach Festival when Jeff Kahane did all the Beethoven concertos.  Alexander Paley uses Bluthners because he's on contract with them.  - I just think most concert halls happen to own Steinways, which makes it easy to use unless the artists specifically requests something.  

[Piano-Job]

In classicall music the Fazioli is used by Aldo Ciccolini a lot. He did a small tour in Holland and has specially asked for a 308. As did Herbie Hancock. Mr Hancock bought a Fazioli Concert Grand last year.

It's true what Dinosaurtales says: In most concert halls over the world, you will find a Steinway. But in the approx. 30 years that the Fazioli factory exist, Fazioli has achieved a lot and in some concert halls you will start to find a Fazioli. In holland I know that Fazioli is used for the Prinses Christina Concours. At Umbria Jazz in Italy they use them as well and at SaasFe,in Switzerland, for the yearly convention.

[classicarts]

I have found Fazioli's to be somewhat shallow or light in sound compared to Steinway's.  I just didn't feel the well crafted weight and the depth (balanced) like a Steinway's.  If I had a choice, I'll go for Steinway.

[dinosaurtales]

I have found Fazioli's to be somewhat shallow or light in sound compared to Steinway's.  I just didn't feel the well crafted weight and the depth (balanced) like a Steinway's.  If I had a choice, I'll go for Steinway.

Hm.. Whether you like the sound or not is a personal kind of thing - you get used to particular sounds, or you just plain like a certain sound.  But I will argue with the "well crafted" comment.  I am not sure there are many pianos on the planet crafted as well as Fazioli.  Certainly NOT Steinway.  For a surface indicator, crawl underneath one of each and check out how they are constructed and finished.  Steinways are notorious for leaving many of the final QA checks up to the dealers, which is why the dealers are trying to get you to buy (for all practical purposes) an unfinished piano, with the promise of "making it what you want later."  It's really just a way of dealing with the manufacturing issues as late in the game as possible.