BUYER'S GUIDE AFFORDABLE BABYGRANDS ,T he piano market is not like the automobile market. With cars there is a fairly common perception of the pros and cons of each model, which a potential buyer would most likely be aware of before making the purchase. When it comes to choosing pianos, however, the market is a minefield, especially for those new to instrument purchasing or to music in general' This is a summary of an important pOint made at Forsyth music shop in Manchester by Simon Loat, for whom piano expertise runs in the family For the concert pianist accustomed to turning up at a venue and playing whatever is on offer - sometimes great, often mediocre, occasionally wretched - a certain amount of inside knowledge is par for the course. For the average customer preparing to buy their first instrument, however, it might be worth reading on because making sure all angles.are covered is essential to making an informed purchase. Loal's words are echoed by Simon Markson of London's Markson Pianos: 'Nothing kills the fragile enthusiasm of a child for the piano like Sitting him or her in front of a creaky old grand or a shoddy electronic keyboard. A better option for a total beginner might be to start with a small modern upright and work up to a grand. A bigger decision may come when the child is attaining the middle grades and the parents start to think about the longer term.' Indeed, if you are looking for a piano with strength and tone that can fit into a Hmited space and are considering buying a 19aby grand, making the right purchase becomes Christopher White offers a guide to choosing a baby grand piano and assesses current models with a price tag of under £ 12,000 even more imperative. Markson pOints out some of the advantages of a grand piano over an upright: 'Nothing quite compares to the feel of the grand piano keys under the fingers, where the natural gravitational pull of the hammer coming away from the strings comes into play.' The complicated upright action is, to a certain extent, about overcoming gravity, and the feeling is indeed entirely different. The difference in touch and weighting can be immense - the muscle groups involved are surprisingly different. Anyone wishing to take piano playing remotely seriously would be well advised to have at least occasional contact with a grand piano. There is in reality almost no such thing as a 'budget grand piano'; a grand piano is an investment not worth cutting corners on, and these days it is scarcely necessary to do so. 'The piano industry is a rather traditional one: the product is a result of slow evolution. Although manufacturers are constantly looking for improvements to make around the edges, the basic product remains more or less the same,' says Markson. 'I believe that each piano has a soul, even in the low-price ranges. It is surprising how much hand-production goes into every instrument, even those that come out of the factories.' This is what makes a piano worth paying for - the fact that it cannot be produced by computer design and manufacture alone. Yet with manufacture becoming ever more sophisticated, even at the lowest prices there are good instruments to be found. Asked how • MARCH/APRIL 2009 INTERNATIONAL PIANO 33 ·.M@.· • they felt about reconditioned or second-hand grand pianos in the £6-12k price range, the Jjresponse from both Markson and Loat was ambivalent. 'We almost never get nearly new grands back into the shop after a couple of years' use,' explains Loat, 'so more often than not we are reconditioning much older pianos.' I did see a 1936 Bhithner in Forsyth's for around £12,000, but this is an individual piano and there is no telling how long it will last. In Marksons view, 'restoring pianos is an upmarket art' - meaning it is only worth reconditioning an instrument from one of the great houses. 'We have seen many pianos which, had they come in 20 years ago, could have had a good restoration Job done on them, but it is too late for them now.' However, older pianos do make nicer pieces of furniture. Loat observes that at the cheaper end of the grand piano market, black is virtually the only choice, with pared down, simple design values. Older pianos are far more likely to come in mahogany or walnut, or have decorative music desks and 'designed'legs. But if durability and playability are what you are looking for, there's no need to trawl the shops and dealers in search of a 70-yearold European piano. There is plenty of technology in the newer models, no matter where they are made. At London's Jaques Samuel dealership, managing director Terry 34 INTERNATIONAL PIANO MARCH/APRIL2009 MWN!!ihMuM Lewis showed me a mock-up of the Kawai action, which uses ABS Carbon material rather than the traditional wood deSign. This material will not soak up moisture in the room, so the action lasts far longer, but nor does it become hardened or brittle as regular plastiC would. Another deSign benefit of a surprising number of baby grand pianos isa playback system. A CD is inserted into a CD deck under the keyboard and the piano plays itself using a system whereby the hammers are pushed up at the back of the action rather than rising when the pianist depresses a key. This is a wonderful 'insurance policy' against children giving up the instrument after a few months, and it does not increase the price as much as one might think. THE INSTRUMENTS To the pianos themselves then, all costing under £12,000 and measuring from around 4' 6" to 5' 3" in length. I played all of them if I could not find a particular instrument on my travels, I have not written about it. A couple of words of warning before we begin: always look for sale prices, which often differ from retail prices. Also, the larger dealerships are able to offer buy-back or 'upgrade' options, as well as the option to sell privately, so you needn't be stuck with an inadequate piano for life. Talk to the dealer for details, and always J try before you buy. Finally, value for money is a subjective concept when it comes to pianos, but whatever you're looking for, don't be tempted to go for the straight bargain. By far the least expenSive new instrument is one that I have mentioned in a previous Buyer's Guide - the S. Ritter baby grand sold by Jaques Samuel, which has an entire section on its website dedicated to 'starter pianos'. This piano retails at £3,999 and can be purchased through the buy-back scheme after starting on a Ritter upright. I am not hel to comment on the business aspects of such; plan, but suffice to say that as a pianist I was not expecting much for this money. Yet it is 3 perfectly acceptable starter instrument, or or playable at the middle-grade level of attainment by a child who has made good progres: through the early stages. As with all pianos this size, limited string length began to tell il the lower registers, and the overall 'budget' feel is unmistakable in key touch, but the design is really rather elegant. The match of price and quality is highly impressive. Halle & Voight, another instrument to come out of the piano-producing behemoth at Pearl River, China, was also a surprise. ThE model I played in Markson's was elegantly styled, currently retails at £4,500, and was attached to a playback mechanism. Again, th sound deteriorated towards the bass, and Mr USEFUL LINKS STOCKISTS Forsyth, Manchester www.forsyths.co.uk (Hamlyn Klein, Kawai, May Berlin - selected by Schimmel, Reid Sohn, Yamaha) Jaques Samuel Pianos, London www.jspianos.com (Kawai, S. Ritter) Markson Pianos, London www.marksonpianos.com (Halle & Voight, Yamaha) MAKERS Kawai www.kawaLco.uk S'chimmel www.schimmel-piano.de Yamaha www.yamaha.com For infomation about other brands mentioned, contact the above stockists Markson assured me that the rather muffled tone of that particular piano was not necessarily typical of the range: further incentive to always try before you buy The Korean-based Reid Sohn also garnered a favourable review. It is available at Forsyth for £9,999 with a playback system attached, and the tone achieved by the electronic system working with the piano mechanism was impressive. Also at Forsyth, a brand new Hamlyn Klein was available for under £10,000. It was so new that the action had only just been untied, and was completely unregulated and unprepared. Therefore I cannot comment on it as an instrument - except to say that it came in a rare walnut casing - but I can repeat that going to a large dealership has its advantages: the instrument would be worked on and prepared before sale, and the price would still be low. (Forsyth also stocks the May Berlin selected by Schimmel range of baby grands.) So to the market leaders, and it is a straight contest between the Yamaha GB/GC range Uust below the popular C range in terms of quality and price) and the Kawai GM/GE range (the budget version of the RX grands). I must say how disappointed I was by the Yamaha GBl. Retailing at £9,699, it is not the cheapest of the bunch, but it felt every inch the budget piano. One does not expect this from Yamaha. The piano desk doesn't move in and out, the styling is minimalist and the keys feel tacky under the fingers. The sound fails to compensate: a glassy top and a weak bass. The GO fared slightly better, although at 04,569 this is stretching our 'budget' remit slightly This is much more a piano one can do things with, in terms of sound, and which gives something back to the fingers in terms of touch and action. None of the instruments I tested, however, compared to my experiences of the Kawai entry-level models, which I played both in London and in Manchester. I was beginning to think that a poor bass was a necessary drawback of a baby grand, but it isn't. The bass notes actually grew after playing, in the manner of a much larger grand piano. There was genuine key depth, again as one would expect, and quality of sound across the board. The keys felt good to play, too. The GMIO made the first favourable impression - and it retails at £8,499. The £10,999 GE30 was a living instrument, probably the only one about which I could use this description. Perhaps there can be no higher praise. In my view there is a clear winner here, but it is vital that you do not take my word for it. If you are considering a first grand piano purchase, the best thing to do is to go and try some out. Happy hunting! \YI PRICES The models listed here represent some of the baby grand pianos currently available. However, this is a fast-changing market and new models are continually being released. Prices were correct at the time of going to press. HALLE & VOIGHT 155 RRP £4,500 HAMLYN KLEIN (walnut) RRP £7,999 KAWAI GM I0 RRP £8,499 GE30 RRP £ I0,999 MAY BERLIN - SELECTED BY SCHIMMEL 163 RRP £7,990 187 RRP ~9,990 REIDSOHN (with playback system) RRP £9,999 S.RITTER Grand RRP £3,999 YAMAHA GB I RRP (polished ebony) RRP £9,699 GC I (polished ebony) RRP £ 14,569 MARCH/APRIL2009INTERNATIONALPIANO 35