Hmm, the charm of an old grand piano vs a new upright ? You have to love the piano, the one that you sit at and feel as though you could just play it and play it is your piano. Put the cost out of the equation just for the time being and decide that much. Then get realistic after !
That said, you are correct in that older pianos will require more tlc. Actually both grands in your recordings had a fair amount of ring to them. Something to keep in mind when playing a grand with pedal is that it is not a digital at all. Learning pedal all over again will be part of ownership. With Acoustic Piano's and perhaps more so yet, grands, you need to learn to go very lightly on pedal generally by comparison with digital. It's as though you can't get enough pedal with digital and with the grand/acoustic it's just a light feathering of pedal. I just went back on my grand after quite some time working with my digital ( new to me this year) and ran into this right away. With my digital I'm always trying to get a touch more pedal it seems, my grand requires so little. By the same token, much depends on the pedal adjustment as well.
Beyond that with acoustic, there is in tune and then there is finely in tune. Big difference ! None of your examples sounded finely in tune to me but that could be the recording as well. A piano starting to fall out of tune can well ring and then some other sounds too. With my grand I have a couple of notes that take some very fine persuasion to get them to sound really nice, middle C being one.If you think you want to own one of those grands, do have an independent technician check it out before purchase. You want to know just exactly as well as is within reason what condition piano you are buying into.
The Bechstein is likely the more mellow piano but I suspect there is also good potential in the Danemann. As acoustics get larger the bass gets stronger but that's a good thing !! You need to learn to adjust and it may need voicing as well. Also the top down is way different sounding than with the top up on grands. Again, dependent on condition. On a final note, there must be wiggle room if that is a dealer sale on used pianos and perhaps so on the upright as well ? I'm sorry to say that via internet connection there is no way to know exactly the condition of any of these pianos and that is a must know in order to recommend one. So read over what I said again ! maybe someone else can add something more to my thoughts for you.
I didn’t watch the videos, because it does not matter what I think; what matters is what you think.Purchase the instrument you like the tone of after you have had your favorite local technician inspect for present mechanical condition and then local market value.
Well trus, I don't know how much help I really was but hopefully some at least !Regarding key pressure or down weight, it should feel fairly even from one key to the next but over the 88 keys the lower bass will feel heavier than the upper treble. Talk with the people at the store about your concerns, where they rebuild pianos anyway I'm sure they could more finely regulate the piano of your choice. However, I would expect the older grand, if from the 1800's, to have a bit slower action than a later one.RE tuning. One can tune a piano, it will meter out fine on a digital read out and still not quite be there. When you break down the unisons you then find a string here and there that are not quite in tune ( regardless of where you started in pitch, concert or otherwise). That's what I meant in my comment above, not so much if the piano is up to A440 standard or not but harmonizing well and tuned with perfect unisons. That will help bring out clarity, tone within a given voicing etc. Most likely if both pianos are rebuilt they have not had final massaging yet anyway. Again talk with the dealer about the piano of most interest to you.
As mentioned before, you should choose what -you- like. Spend a lot of time playing your favourite pieces on them and try to determine which touche and sound you like the most. Every pianist has his own preferences so there's not much point in saying what you should buy according to our own taste.
Well if you land a piano be sure to fill us in !
Didn't think I could call myself a pianist yet, ha ha. I have never had to buy/ choose myself a piano, an acoustic one, so it is kind of a new thing to me and I don't want to miss something I do not know .. whether it is about specific makes or ages of pianos. I know deep inside which one I like most now, and talking to you all made me realize that... it is really all up to me! I thought it was useful checking on the makes too, I am only familiar with some German and Easter European pianos, no experience with old, English, etc pianos. Thanks a lot for all of your answers anyway.
Topic: Help with dilemma - which piano!? 