Nordiska 215 or Pearl River 213

[iumonito]

Anyone familiar with these Chinese pianos?  What do they sell for?  What wood are they made of?  Any used ones out there for sale?  Opinions about the merits of one against the other?

[mamma2my3sons]

https://www.bluebookofpianos.com/listprices/index.html
will give you some idea of manufacturers suggested retail price. However, buyers typically get 15-25% or even more off these suggested retail prices so be aware & don't pay full price.
Might also want to check out pianoworld.com site as well for info.

I've heard that both brands are decent budget grand pianos. However have not played either (but did play a 5'5" Story & Clark which many say is the exact piano to Nordiska) The Story & Clark was nice for the money ($7k)

I actually went with an Indonesian made Kohler & Campbell 5'9" grand, which sounded better to me (warmer tonally) but is also more money. I love it. Good luck & happy shopping!

[iumonito]

Well, this subject never picked up.  Mamma, thanks for the lone reply.  This must mean these pianos are not making a dent in the market, at least among you guys. 

Too bad, because in this environment of really overpriced Steinways, Faziolis and Bosendorfers (and even more overpriced Bostons, Luaun-made Kawais, and the I-can't-get-over-how-dull-this-piano-is Yamahas) I think there is a lot of room for quality low-price instruments, even if they are not made of Beech or Maple.

I got a promising post in another thread about modified Dongbeis (Nordiskas).  I will go check them out and keep y'all posted.

Also, does anyone know whether August Hoffman pianos are Dongbeis?  I played one (not very preped at all) a few weeks ago and was very favorably impressed (a baby grand, though, so not my size).

We will see.  It would be cool to have a fallboard with Chinese characters.  Never seen one.

[Axtremus]

I have yet to see any Chinese-made 9' concert grand for real. I look forward to playing a Chinese-made 9' concert grand one day.

Any one knows how many 9' concert grands per year the Chinese makes recently? How many got exported to North America?

iumunito wrote:

"I think there is a lot of room for quality low-price instruments, even if they are not made of Beech or Maple."

Now that you mention it, I'm quite curious -- what sort of wood do most Chinese pianos use in their rims these days?

[iumonito]

Precisely my question.

My unreliable and (I have no idea what I am talking about) understanding is that mostly they are made of soft woods, such as Luaun and Matoa.  If somebody knows, please, I need to be flamed on this.  I don't know what Dongbeis and Pearl Rivers are made of.

Again unconfirmed, I have heard new Kawais (is it possible that the higher-end models are made of hard wood and the rest are made of softwoods?) follow this trend.  I have no idea what Yamahas are made of.  Bostons I understand are made of Philipine mahogany.  Anybody care to flame me when I say that is soft wood in my book?

The clue here, of course, is that the soft wood likely has less density than hard wood.  Hard wood is the only thing you will find in a high quality piano the likes of an Overs or a Bluthner or my beloved and so out of my reach Steingraeber.  The rim of my Irmler is made of Beech and I think this is one of the reasons it sings so well.

 I think that the lesser the density, the more the sound will not bounce off the wood, diminishing sustain and sound projection.  I suspect also that the denser wood itself is a better resonator, but this is merely theory and I know too little about piano construction to know.

I wonder if this could be cured by engrossing the rim or peppering it with something dense, like brass.

And where are Yundi Li, Lang Lang and Deng Xiaoang to champion these instruments?  there is a marketing opportunity lost here.