Is a Steinway M 5'7" Big Enough for Teaching/Performance/Rebuilding?

[cherub]

Colleagues, do you think a Steinway M 5'7" baby grand is enough of a piano to teach advanced students (college prep)? Do any of you use one for this purpose? 

Mine is a very good 1922 M but needs rebuilding as it has a crack in the sounding board, so I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it.  I ask you because some piano dealers have told me they don't want to take in an M on trade as there are so many around, and they prefer the Steinway L/O (5'10"), A (6'4"?) or the traditional B (6'11").

 If money is no object, of course the bigger Steinway grands are better, but my finances are very slim right now. I have located a master rebuilder in Tampa FL about an hour away from us in Sarasota FL, He  can shim the sounding board, restring it, put in a new pinblock etc. But I'm not sure an M is worth it. I wonder if a Yamaha C3 6'1" would be better for a studio? or would students prefer the smaller Steinway? I'm not too crazy about Yamahas, but maybe it could be voiced properly to get rid of the tinnyness. Or a cheap Steinway A or B that needs a rebuild, but hard to find.

So, what do you think about a Steinway M baby grand? Thank you very much.

Sarasota (FL) pianist

[anacrusis]

I don't see an issue with teaching advanced students on a smaller grand. I assume you will be teaching in a studio and not a concert hall? I don't think you'd gain many benefits from having a bigger grand unless you have a bigger room What do you think the drawbacks would be with this instrument? Considering you are saying it's "very good"?

[pianostreet_hanover]

The first piano teacher of my kids taught them on a Kawai K300 in her house and allowed them to try on a baby grand when the recitals approached. It worked very well for them. The second teacher has an old Kawai RX (<5.10 by size), and a Steinway M or O that still has the ivory key tops. She teaches her students on the Kawai RX. This setting also worked also very well with the kids.

So I guess the size of a baby grand doesn't matter that much in our case. If your students are mostly from an upper-class area, a Steinway M or above,  or other equivalent top brands, may offer a little vanity benefit to your business. These students may have Steinway M/L/O/B/D in their houses already for practice.

Personal opinion only.

[transitional]

Any piano works for teaching, as long as it's not an electric piano.

[ialaban]

Any piano works for teaching, as long as it's not an electric piano.

Whoa!!!! I've heard that a lot of digital pianos have in-built hammer systems meant to recreate the feel of an actual acoustic piano (I actually have one at home) There's little to no maintenance and no tuning necessary. Plus, you can use them with headphones!