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Topic: Steinway B  (Read 3447 times)

Offline rmc7777

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Steinway B
on: March 18, 2002, 12:47:28 AM
I am seriously considering buying a Steinway grand for home use and am narrowing it down to the Steinway Model B.  Does anyone have personal experience with this model that you could share?  I practice several hours every day, all genres and composers of classical piano music, and occasionally give recitals locally.  I really need a good instrument and have the funds to buy a used piano.

Offline martin_s

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #1 on: March 18, 2002, 11:21:28 AM
Oh, Steinway B is the best Steinway model, beaten by model D only!! Buy two!

Offline rich_galassini

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #2 on: April 18, 2002, 12:57:29 AM
While the S&S B is certainly a very good piano, I personally would rather own a Mason & Hamlin, Bosendorfer, or perhaps a Bechstein.

If you haven't played any of these pianos, you owe it to yourself to play a few of them. You still may wind up with an S&S piano, but you just may fall in love with something else as wonderful.

BTW, in a survey of professional piano technicians (published in Larry Fine'sPiano Book) all three of the pianos I mentioned above were rated higher than new S&S pianos.

Food for thought :)

Good Luck in your decision and happy piano!
Rich Galassini
Cunningham Piano Co.
Philadelphia, Pa.
215 991-0834
rich@cunninghampiano.com

Offline tony

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #3 on: April 18, 2002, 07:21:37 AM
Have recently bought a 1975 Steinway B, and could not possibly be happier with the piano.  Spent a good deal of time looking at other things thinking the Steinway was just too expensive.  Found this one for 32K, no small investment, but in every way worth the money.  Looked at a number of German pianos and many of them are glorious -- Sauter, Bluthner, Beckstein, and the American Mason and Hamlin -- but for Americans the Steinway is more readily available and holds its value very well.  I've owned a 6' Yamaha and a 9' Broadwood.  They are both splendid pianos, but the Steinway is the difference between a Cadillac and a Jaguar.  Take a little time and look around.  There are so many beautiful pianos in the world and you can't go wrong with a good Steinway.

Offline STS

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #4 on: June 27, 2002, 06:23:02 PM
To put this into perspective, while Steinway has the largest Concert and Artist network and its easier to endorse a Steinway due to the numerous pianos available compared to Bosendorfer, or Bechstein.  Artists prefer the Steinway overwhelmingly(including myself) and thats why concert halls are flooded with Steinways worldwide.  There are there due to artist demand.  But each Steinway differs, so make sure you play many of them and choose to your liking.  Personally if you like a rich, booming sound, a Mason, Bosie, or Bechstein is nto a suitable option.  But thats just my opinion.


Offline classicarts

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #5 on: October 20, 2005, 09:42:15 PM
Steinway's factorys of New York and Hamburg together makes approximately four thousand pianos combined a year.  This is the latest number I have found.  Whereas, prior to this mass production, the number was about 900 pianos for each factory.  So, the numbers has gone up extravagantly for the demands for these pianos.  I suggest if you are going to get a Steinway B, spend some time and pick and choose from great deal of selection.  Steinway's are the best, no matter what people say about other brands out there.  I have heard people mentioning and appraising Bosie's, Mason's, and Fazioli's, and they may come close to the aural sound of a Steinway, but to me, they usually end up short.   ;D  Good luck.

Offline violinist

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #6 on: October 21, 2005, 02:48:23 AM
I have a Steinway B.  It's only been in my house for a few weeks.  I did a search and played all sorts of different pianos and settled on the B.  I love the sound and haven't had any problems with it.  I mainly play violin, but I love piano.  Feel free to ask me any questions you want about my purchase adventures and my new piano.
Practice!

Offline classicarts

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #7 on: October 21, 2005, 02:52:14 AM
Violinist, I admire you my friend.  You own a thirty thousand dollar violin, and now you own a sixtyfive thousand dollar piano.    ;) Someday I hope I'll get to be a lucky as you.

Offline thalberg

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #8 on: October 21, 2005, 02:53:24 AM
I just bought a Steinway B and I hate it.  I'm returning it.  They haven't picked it up yet but I'm waiting. 

The new Mason and Hamlins are marvelous.  don't buy a Steinway B until you've played one.
I wish it was what I had bought.

Offline classicarts

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #9 on: October 21, 2005, 02:55:34 AM
thalberg, take some time out!!  Slow down and smell the roses.  Pianos will always be there for you to buy.   So, take your time and enjoy the ride.  You get me?? ;)

Offline violinist

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #10 on: October 21, 2005, 05:22:41 PM
Violinist, I admire you my friend.  You own a thirty thousand dollar violin, and now you own a sixtyfive thousand dollar piano.    ;) Someday I hope I'll get to be a lucky as you.

Thanks classicarts.  I am fortunate.  I don't know if I gave out figures for the violin, but you're pretty close, add 20 thousand to the violin and you're right there.  If I gave out the figures before, I might have forgot the numbers.  Or I was comparing the violin to a Steinway D???

I'm still looking for another violin...  I do have a few violins. :P

Practice!

Offline prokomozart man

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #11 on: October 22, 2005, 12:51:13 AM
Hey, this is all so intersting guys. My folks actually own a Steinway. It's an M. SAD thing is that it sits as a piece of furniture in the living room, with picture frames and a couple of plants on it. Only very recently did I discover the value of the piano. I'm new into the piano performance world, and my teacher owns a Steinway. It's a 7 foot, the next step down from the full size. I don't know what size the B is, but whatever he has, it's a great instrument. When I go visit my folks now, I respect that piano so much more now that I understand the value of it, and appreciate that I've been spoiled with an expensive piano. I only used it to play scales, high school jazz tunes, and of course more serious practice for my freshman audition, but being a novice pianist, I didn't know much about piano companys.  I think Steinway is the way to go. I hear great reviews of it!

Offline chickering9

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #12 on: October 22, 2005, 07:09:44 AM
Steinway's factorys of New York and Hamburg together makes approximately four thousand pianos combined a year.  This is the latest number I have found.  Whereas, prior to this mass production, the number was about 900 pianos for each factory.  So, the numbers has gone up extravagantly for the demands for these pianos.  I suggest if you are going to get a Steinway B, spend some time and pick and choose from great deal of selection.  Steinway's are the best, no matter what people say about other brands out there.  I have heard people mentioning and appraising Bosie's, Mason's, and Fazioli's, and they may come close to the aural sound of a Steinway, but to me, they usually end up short.   ;D  Good luck.

I can't find the table I was actually looking for which covered the span from manufacturer origin to present, but the one from Schaffer Pianos website covers enough of a period of time to make the point I wanted to make--namely that your numbers for production of Steinways in their earlier history is a bit low.  If anything, I think they're probably making and selling slightly fewer than they were during the "Golden Era" when more people depended on making music in their homes, prior to the introduction of all our mechanical and electronic storage and retrieval methods including radio, phonograph and now CD.  I see no numbers that have "gone up extravagantly for these pianos".  I think most in the industry figure they do well to simply hold their own in a changing world and market. 



(https://www.shafferpianos.com/history.html)



Offline classicarts

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Re: Steinway B
Reply #13 on: October 22, 2005, 08:05:43 AM
IN fact, you sound like a spoiled brat. ;)
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