Worst brand of piano

[practice]

What do you guys think of Samicks? (I have a Samick).

[weissenberg2]

I have played on a Kimball Spinnet for about 6 years now, and OH MY GOSH it is so awful that words can barely describe it.

anyway, I like Kawai baby grands (have not played any concert grands or uprights).

[keys60]

I'm seeing some pretty decent brands getting trashed here. Especially for reasons, like sticking keys, they should not be trashed for. Steinway keys stick too. Ever consider a dehumifier? Pearl River is actually a pretty good buy. Not great, but good for its price. Kawai? C'mon. I think what's happening here is the players tastes get in the way of what is quality.

One word for the worst. LESTER.

[perfect_pitch]

Beale has to be one of the worst pianos I've ever played - their weak and too-soft sounding and really blow...

[Barbosa-piano]

   Interesting- I go to the local community college and practice on a newer Young Chang grand- Surprisingly pleasant sound, better than any Kawaii of the same size I've ever played. I had a discussion with the piano salesman and he told me they have indeed been making better pianos.
   The worst piano prize though goes to an older Young Chang upright I had to use to accompany a choir. It was flimsy, very weak bass, no resistance in action... Almost like a toy piano; very plastic-like.

[angierc]

Samick is the worst!!!
 

[richard black]

I've been playing these last few days on a 'Petersberg' upright for some opera rehearsals. I've no idea who Petersberg are (were, most likely) - possibly something East European but there's no information I can find in the piano or elsewhere. Anyway, all the notes work but it's a pretty ghastly piece of junk. Apart from anything else, I'm pretty sure the action was intended for a bigger piano as many of the hammers strike the strings at the wrong angle. The keybed is hanging too low, the dampers interfere with each other, the tone is so soft and lacking impact that the singers have trouble hearing (in a very small rehearsal space!) where the beat is, and it's absolutely exhausting to play.

In the USSR, the brand of piano that everyone laughed at was called 'Red October' (can't remember original Russian for that) and they are indeed unspecial, but they're robust at least - there are a few in the UK and they still seem to be intact.

[pianoman666]

i would have to say yamaha for acoustic and electric. Their acoustics are practically machine made and i have not played a clavinova that i liked. i would probably agree with some of you guys if i had played as many different brands. (the steinways where i live own)

[rob_the_dude]

UPDATE: My previous comment about the Grotrian Steinweg/meg was, in my opinion, justified. However, they appear to be good enough for the Royal Academy in London :S

[richard black]

they appear to be good enough for the Royal Academy in London

Assuming you mean Royal Academy of Music, they have what seems to me a sensible policy of deliberately buying pianos of a few different makes to put in the rooms. Of course they have a heck of a lot of Yamahas  but there are examples of quite a few other makes especially among the grands. At least it gives students the idea that there are other makes than Steinway and Yamaha, all with different things to offer.

[slobone]

Worst piano? Anything that has to be plugged in before you can play it.

[richard black]

Anything that has to be plugged in before you can play it.

Good point! Though of course such things shouldn't really be called 'piano' at all - they have a perfectly good and accurate name already, 'synthesiser'.

[learner of liszt]

I despise Yamaha pianos with a fierce passion. I was once in a church with two pianos right next to each other: A Yamaha 9 foot, and.. I believe it was a Grotrian brand... regardless, it was an upright. The upright far surpassed the Yamaha in every aspect except for sheer loudness. Funny enough, I find Yamaha's electric keyboards to be the best in that line.

[seymourtom]

I have a 30 year old Zender upright which has served me well.  I am an aging, keen but untalented amateur (follow the dots) player and would like to replace it with something better.  Would love a grand but no room and suitable budget.  Am therefore considering a Clavinova or better tall upright.

As most posters sound to be professionals and far more experienced would greatly value any guidance.

[richard black]

I certainly wouldn't replace a Zender with any kind of Clavinova. Zender pianos are hardly the be-all and end-all of pianos but they're pretty decent. I'd look for a bigger upright from a decent brand, depending on what's around which in turn depends on which country you're in.

[pantonality]

I haven't been on this forum for many months and threads like this are the reason. So maybe I shouldn't have returned, but I have to respond to the sheer lameness of this thread.

There are so many reasons for a piano to be bad that blaming the brand is stupid about 95% of the time. If a piano is out of tune should you blame the piano or the owner who doesn't bother to maintain their instrument? It's only when a piano will no longer hold a tuning that you can blame the instrument. Only the owner will know for sure. My piano hasn't been tuned in at least a year and a half, but it still sounds amazingly good. Still it's due for some maintenance soon (once heating season really kicks in).

Any piano in an academic setting (school of any type) has probably been badly maintained. Even music schools simply don't have the budget to keep all their instruments in top shape. Usually only the concert instrument gets regular attention, then the instruments in teacher studios, finally the practice instruments get the least maintenance.

Any less expensive piano has probably not received the dealer preparation that usually makes all the difference. That's how the dealers get you to spend more. It simply doesn't pay off to invest tech time in an instrument that won't bring in big bucks. However, if you buy a less expensive instrument and hire a tech to do the prep that should have been done, you can come away with a fine musical instrument.

Finally, it is useless to complain about any instrument that's more than 50 years old. Any instrument that old that hasn't been refurbished will be a dog. It's just the nature of the beast, even if it's never been played. Time affects the downbearing of the sound board (which will affect the efficiency of its ability to generate sound and dynamics) and dust gets into the action. Add in playing the thing and others things happen as well, the hammers and felts in the action get compressed, the tuning block wears out, the damper action develops problems. It doesn't take a lot going wrong for a piano to be perceived as a POS.

So next time you play an instrument that's a suboptimal experience keep some of this in mind. If a piano is out of tune, ask when was it last tuned? If it sound thuddy and klunky, ask how old it is? If the action is heavy or just hard to manage, ask when it was last regulated? Put the onus on the owner to explain why they're asking you to play on a crappy instrument. Acoustic pianos need maintenance and too often don't get it.

[indianajo]

I played a "Winter" spinnet at a friend's house that made a USO quality Kimball look good.  It was about 30" tall,  less resonance than a kid's toy, keys were stuck, some of the hammers were visibly bent to the side, almost no use.  US made in the 50's.  USO Kimball's, if they weren't beat to death, the notes would at least last 5 seconds before dying.  We moved the Winter to a kid's house: he had to chop it up when he lost interest, the garbage men wouldn't take it whole.  The upright at my Grandma's house was even worse, a lot of real junk was made about 1900.  This one was made in Cincinnatti.  I have played other 1900 upright's that were wonderful, particularly a Baldwin at a junque store that I didn't have room to buy. 

[hoj76]

I think the fact that Young Chang's pianos are very good vs. price .. We sell their pianos and they remain as good if not better in tuning as Yamaha's U1. And a third of the price (here in Norway)
Any questions about whether the worst pianos are made, we are in some cheap Russian pianos that are not worth anything technically.

[keys60]

If we can go back a few years, a Lester is one of the worst pianos I've ever had the horrors to work on.

[keys60]

I'd also like to commend pantonality on his most recent post. He speaks truth. I can tell that most posters are players, not technicians, that are kind of clueless on brands vs. maintainence.
Yamahas and Kawais the worst?? Absolutely not. You can have your preferences, but if you don't care for it, doesn't mean its not of any quality.

[hoj76]

I'd also like to commend pantonality on his most recent post. He speaks truth. I can tell that most posters are players, not technicians, that are kind of clueless on brands vs. maintainence.
Yamahas and Kawais the worst?? Absolutely not. You can have your preferences, but if you don't care for it, doesn't mean its not of any quality.

I have never heard of Lester before, it is probably a brand that has not been in Norway. But we have a brand called Brothers Halls, every time I need to repair or tune they are with an almost creepy sense, they are really not good.

[prongated]

I haven't been on this forum for many months and threads like this are the reason. So maybe I shouldn't have returned, but I have to respond to the sheer lameness of this thread.

There are so many reasons for a piano to be bad that blaming the brand is stupid about 95% of the time.

...for sure undermaintenance is a main reason why you get crappy Steinways, Kawais, Faziolis...but otherwise the only lame thing about this thread is the fact that the question has been asked SO much.

Sorry, but there are lots of pianomakers out there that should stop chopping down trees to make absolutly s**t pianos. I've had the misfortune of practising on an Alex Steinbach for 3 years or so. Absolute rubbish, avoid at all cost. S**t sound, s**t action, s**t depreciation (unless you goad someone into buying it as something nice). Actually, the same goes with most Chinese and Korean pianos (yeah, as it turns out, Alex Steinbach is Korean-owned and made). About the only one from those countries that I found acceptable is Samick (the latest NSG-series grands in particular).