I'm satisfied with the sound of my upright. What could cause me to want a grand?

[billym]

I know that the sound quality and projection of grands is far superior. But if I'm satisfied with the sound quality of my upright as it is (it's a nice Mason & Hamlin)- so what else could lead me to consider to want to upgrade? I've been wondering if there ever comes a point when owning and practicing primarily on an upright becomes inhibiting in some way.. (I don't see many professionals playing on them) Even though I've played numerous grands in my life, I don't have much knowledge of grands other than what I listed above, the pedal differences, and (obviously) the structural differences of the instrument. Any thoughts?

[lelle]

The biggest difference between a grand and an upright is the "feel" of the keys because the underlying mechanics work differently. On a grand, it's a lever that sends the hammer flying straight up, and then it falls back down thanks to gravity, whereas in an upright it's more complex since the vertical movement of the keys needs to be translated to a hammer that moves horizontally and bounces back without the same assistance from gravity. Overall, the grand's mechanics tend to feel more responsive and exact. The difference is most noticeable when you play repeated notes, it's easier on grands, but it's there even in other cases. I also think you can work more finely on tone production on a grand vs an upright.

If you are satsified with your upright, I see no reason to switch. It's mostly if you want to get to a really proffessional level that practising on a grand may become important.

[perfect_pitch]

My upright piano was almost 25 years old before I HAD to upgrade. The poor technician who tried to service it told me that it was on its last legs. Felts couldn't be shaved any further, multiple parts were beginning to fail.

Ended up selling it cheaply for $1100 to someone who just wanted a piano to get their son started.

The dynamic range, the touch and repeated playing of notes is so much easier on a grand piano - and like BillyM said, if you do need to take your playing to the next level - a grand is needed.

[lostinidlewonder]

Many people buy baby grands just for the asthetics even though it hardly is any improvement in sound over a quality upright. I feel you'd want a grand at least 6ft or longer to get the benefits of longer strings and stronger sound otherwise a concert upright will give you much more bang for your $. Grands are much more difficult to keep clean though, I rarely open up my grand pianos when I play them (except the one I have at a church) it is usually too noisy (even in one of our rooms which is 9x5 meters) and I just don't want to have to clean the insides of the grand. If I have a party or people coming over I might open up the grand so it looks nice but otherwise it is almost always closed.

Honestly I cannot tell the difference in touch between one brand upright vs the same brand grand piano, the difference is arbitrary. The sound is difference but the actual feel is not that different.

[billym]

Thank you for all of your insight, your perspectives are very helpful. I'll just have to see how it goes, maybe in a future year I might want to switch to the grand- I'll just have to weigh the pros and cons.

I have to say, even though I've only been this site for a few months, I am very impressed with the forum! Everyone here maintains so much civility and respect, which is something that I feel is gradually disappearing in the world today. I also love how many of you answer people's questions genuinely, no matter how trivial or novice they may seem. I am grateful for it and I hope you all have a superb week

[jcazador]

I had a Yamaha U3, very nice.  I sold it when I bought a Yamaha C3, much nicer.  There is a huge difference in the feel, especially when repeating the same note quickly.
I claim no expertise, just a beginner/hacker.