The annual Steinway Society of Massachusetts Piano Competition attracts talented young artists ages 8 to 17 from all over New England. This year, one of the winners is Liam Chou, who is both a pianist and a violist and whose mother, Estelle Lin, is a gifted teacher.
In this video, Liam discusses what inspired him to start playing piano, shares his thoughts on the Steinway & Sons Spirio, and talks about what continues to inspire him as his piano journey continues.
For more information on the Steinway Society of Massachusetts Piano Competition visit steinwaysocietymass.org
The Tings were ready to move beyond the upright piano they started with. We spoke to the family recently about their experience with M. Steinert & Sons, Steinway, the Spirio, and life as a musical parent. We hope you enjoy this wonderful addition to our new Steinway Story series.
The Tings selected a new Steinway & Sons Spirio Model B piano.
by Stephen N. Reed
To be sure, the rich, warm sound of a Steinway & Sons piano has several factors. However, the use of the Hard Rock Maple in their grand pianos is one of the most important components used to create the legendary Steinway sound.
The rigidity of the Hard Rock Maple rim contains the huge sound of Steinway grand’s Diaphragmatic Soundboard, made of Sitka Spruce, the most resonant of woods.
In short, Steinway pianos combine the resonance of Sitka Spruce with the rigidity of Hard Rock Maple to intensify the richness of the sound.
At M. Steinert & Sons, we have sold tens of thousands of pianos to satisfied customers with an eye towards helping them find the best piano for their needs.
In this article, we will examine Steinway’s use of Hard Rock Maple and its contribution to the unique Steinway sound. We hope you’ll come away with an appreciation for the materials and level of craftsmanship that Steinway puts into its handcrafted grand pianos.
So what’s the difference between Hard Rock Maple (also called Sugar Maple) and soft maples? As its name suggests, Hard Rock Maple is a considerably harder wood. The Janka Hardness Index is about 700 for soft maple and about 1400 for hard maple. But Hard Rock Maples are not only harder than soft maples but are heavier and more straight-grained.
Because of its rigidity, Hard Rock Maple has traditionally been seen as more challenging to work with, though it has maintained popularity not only in piano making but also in furniture and flooring, including bowling alleys. It is resistant to scratches and polishes well, plus it ages more slowly than other woods, like cherry.
To make their wide-tail rims, Steinway uses between 12 to 18 Hard Rock Maple and Mahogany laminates, depending on the model. These laminates are then glued together and bent into the rim shape, creating a single, powerful piece of wood.
The process of gluing and bending is a favorite one to watch by visitors to the Steinway & Sons Astoria, New York factory. Each Hard Rock Maple laminate is placed by hand.
Then the work involves heavy-duty wrenches and the collective strength of six strong men. Once the layers of laminates are bent, the rim is fixed in place by a large clamp. Hard Rock Maple can withstand pressure well and project sound
Why is Hard Rock Maple the wood of choice for Steinway rims? First, the rim of a concert grand piano needs to withstand up to 45,000 pounds of pressure created by the grand’s strings tightened to the piano’s pin block.
Second, Hard Rock Maple is indeed a huge factor in the sound quality of the instrument. A softer wood in the rim would absorb sound, but Hard Rock Maple laminates project sound much more effectively. Hard Rock Maple is simply the best wood to project sound out of a piano without affecting harmonic richness or absorbing the sound.
All Steinway grand piano rims are laminated in this way. Each laminate piece is inspected by hand, insuring that only the very best of hardwoods are used. Steinway’s smaller grands use fewer layers of laminates since there is less pressure coming from the strings.
“Hard Rock Maple is resistant to fluctuations and temperature and humidity,” explains Patrick Elisha, a piano consultant for M. Steinert & Sons.
“It is put in places of the instrument that require that kind of stability including the rim and the bridges,” explains Elisha. “Those are key structural points that respectively reflect the sound back into and through the soundboard, and also transfer the sound for the bridges from the strings most effectively into the soundboard itself. Hard Rock Maple is strong enough not to succumb to the immense pressures that are put on it.”
So why is a 100% Hard Rock Maple inner and outer rim better than the mixed wood, Luan/Mahogany frames used by Yamaha or the frames the Matoa/Calophyllum wood used in Kawai grands?
Simply put, the hardness of the wood adds to the projection of the piano’s sound and adds greater sustain. How? A rim made of Hard Rock Maple throws most of that vibrational energy back onto the soundboard thereby producing longer-lasting sustaining tones.
Hard Rock Maple is almost 3 times the hardness of Luan and Matoa /Calophyllum. That means that the Hard Rock Maple rim can both contain the sound produced by the Steinway Diaphragmatic Soundboard while projecting it further into the audience than other pianos.
So why doesn’t every piano company draw upon Hard Rock Maple for their rims? It’s a function of cost. Hard Rock Maple is expensive and can’t be found in the rainforests where Luan and Matoa woods are found for use in Japanese pianos.
One of the great innovations Steinway developed over the years for its grand pianos was its wide-tail rim, producing more sound than other pianos.
The combination of the width of the rim and the Sitka Spruce soundboard creates such an enormous amount of energy that a hardwood was needed to balance it out: to first contain that powerful sound and then to project it well into the audience.
That is where Hard Rock Maple comes in, an American hardwood well-regarded for centuries as a favorite wood for flooring and furniture that not only could withstand pressure but also avoid abrasions and even polish well. Hard Rock Maple must have seemed like a godsend to the Steinway engineers who were looking for just that kind of durable hardwood.
We welcome you to come into either our Boston or Newton showroom and examine some Steinway grand pianos with their Hard Rock Maple rims yourself. Experience the tone, the Steinway sound that the Hard Rock Maple contributes to significantly.
Meantime, read more about the qualities that go into the Steinway sound.
by Stephen N. Reed
The used Steinway market is a huge one, with a quite broad array of instruments: some good, some bad. Anyone going into the used Steinway market needs to come armed with solid information in order to ensure that their choice is a sound one.
After all, what could be worse than to pay a large sum of money for a used Steinway that looked good on the surface but disappoints once it is installed in your home?
At M. Steinert & Sons, we have sold tens of thousands of new and used Steinways for over 150 years. Our credo is that we want each customer to purchase the best piano for them. It can’t be the best used Steinway piano for you unless you obtain a solid instrument with many years of musical quality left in it.
In this article, we will examine the different types of used Steinways and the best ways to guarantee that you will be buying a genuinely good one, not just one that looks good. You’ll learn how obtaining the services of a seasoned Steinway piano technician can be critical to know that you’re getting a solid used Steinway, rather than one with some parts that are not genuine Steinway.
Such a technician can be on the lookout for a quality used Steinway for you, working to inspect potential pianos for problems.
Shells: At the low end are shells of used Steinways that have not been serviced nor restored. These pianos have significant signs of damage and are not usually in playing condition. They are called shells inside the piano industry because only the ‘shell’ (the rim/cabinet) has value as a candidate for rebuilding.
Repaired: Next is a repaired used Steinway, one that is in playable condition. Some parts have been repaired, with or without Steinway parts, and the major, original components are still in place. More repairs may be needed.
Rebuilt: This kind of Steinway is rebuilt to its original condition. The bridges, action, and soundboard may have all been replaced. The better rebuilt Steinways are those using genuine Steinway parts.
Original: An original used Steinway has all of its original parts. The piano has only been serviced and original parts repaired. Used Steinways of this quality typically are 20 years of age or less.
Factory-restored: A factory-restored Steinway was serviced by the Steinway Restoration Center in Iowa. Only genuine Steinway parts have been used for repairs and restoration.
Heirloom Collection: These pianos are completely refurbished with genuine Steinway parts and labor, usually at the Steinway facilities. These pianos have a certificate of authenticity and the same 5-year warranty as a new Steinway & Sons piano.
The used Steinway market has pianos of a broad array of different ages. For purposes of this article, it will help to think of them in three basic age ranges:
“Like new” instruments, 1-25 years old, are in great condition and need only regular tuning and action adjustments. With good care, this kind of used Steinway may even remain “like new” for more than 25 years.
Reconditioned Steinways, 25-50 years old, typically required new strings, tuning pins, damper felts, hammer reshaping, and action regulation. The amount of work depends on how the instrument was maintained and stored over the years.
Fully restored Steinways, 50-130+ years old, usually required extensive work to get them back to “like new” condition. Many such pianos get entirely new parts. Their overall condition is based largely on how they have been cared for by one or more owners.
Having the guidance of a seasoned Steinway piano technician is key to navigating one’s way through the used Steinway world. Such a technician is your guide to buying a quality used Steinway. For example, a seasoned Steinway piano consultant knows can determine if a used Steinway has been repaired with only authentic Steinway parts.
Steinway pianos are designed to use only genuine Steinway parts. As a result, Steinways that have been repaired or restored with non-Steinway parts has thus been called “Steinwas,” meaning that the different kind of parts in the instrument makes it less of a Steinway.
Non-Steinway parts alter the piano’s sound, performance, and most assuredly its investment value. If you want maximum quality and pieces that are designed specifically for Steinway pianos, you’ll want to make sure that the piano repairer or rebuilder has used authentic Steinway parts.
Buying a Certified Pre-owned Steinway from an Authorized Steinway Dealer like M. Steinert & Sons is the only way to guarantee this, as only such authorized dealers have access to Steinway parts.
M. Steinert piano consultant Patrick Elisha notes that buying a Certified Pre-owned Steinway gives the buyer peace of mind that a certain quality benchmark has been reached. “Certified Pre-owned used Steinways have made the grade, the quality one expects from Steinway & Sons,” says Elisha.
Non-Steinway replacement parts are less expensive and can be made differently. This can negatively impact the used Steinway’s sound and, sometimes, its overall performance.
Many resellers will not say whether a used Steinway they’re selling has all genuine parts or not. To be safe, you should request to see available repair logs.
We often tell people in these articles to “come in and try some of our pianos.” But when it comes to the used Steinway market, it’s just as important for you to get acquainted with a true expert on used Steinways: an Authorized Steinway Dealer piano technician.
Such technicians have typically helped many different piano buyers find the right piano for them. In the case of a used Steinway buyer, a whole other layer of expertise comes into play, depending on whether one wants a true Steinway, with all Steinway parts, or whether a model with some non-Steinway parts is sufficient for your needs.
If you see your used Steinway purchase from the angles of musical quality and making a sound investment, we think you’ll want to purchase a used Steinway with all-Steinway parts.
Of course, if you have the financial ability to purchase a new Steinway model, that is your best bet for musical quality and making a lasting investment in what could easily be a family heirloom, passed down generation to generation. A new Steinway is always the best alternative, as compared to a used Steinway.
But for those who want a Steinway but are unable to buy a new one, carefully navigating your way through the underbrush of the used Steinway market, can yield positive results. Just have your Authorized Steinway Dealer’s piano technician handy to help you understand the subtle nuances between an excellent used Steinway and one whose musical quality is evaporating.
So as you prepare for your meeting with a Steinway piano consultant and technician, learn more about the kind of easy self-assessment you can do before your time together. Understanding your desire to own a piano on the front end of your used Steinway piano journey can only help you as you move towards your ultimate purchase.
While you await your visit with a Steinway consultant and technician, read more about whether certain years of used Steinway need to be avoided. You may have heard this from others, and this article will help give clarity to this issue.
by Stephen N. Reed
Buying a luxury piano is not easy, as each brand promotes something that differentiates it. This is particularly true when comparing the piano models of Steinway & Sons, which have been continually improved since the company’s beginnings in 1853, with the piano models of relative newcomer Fazioli, which began making pianos in 1981.
A luxury piano is a significant investment. You’ll want to study information about the different piano models and then play them for yourself. After all, what could be worse than paying serious money for a piano, only to find that it’s not satisfying nor as durable as expected.
At M. Steinert & Sons, we have kept current about the latest Steinway & Sons models as well as those from other luxury piano companies like Fazioli. After 160 years in the piano business, we can help you understand your luxury piano options.
Steinway & Sons has manufactured pianos longer than most piano brands existing in the world today. Steinway features a robust artists program with some of the world’s top pianists.
Steinway & Sons is known for its commitment to handcrafted pianos, as well as its presence in most symphony orchestras, top music schools, and now state-of-the-art Spirio player pianos.
Fazioli is a lesser-known brand, as it’s only been in existence for just over four decades. Paolo Fazioli founded his piano factory in Sacile, Italy in 1981.
Like Steinway & Sons, all Fazioli pianos are handcrafted, going through months of refinement, testing, regulation, and woodworking.
Fazioli is a much smaller operation than Steinway and each piano takes around 2 to 3 years to complete, compared with Steinways, which take just under a year. Fazioli makes about 140 pianos every year, whereas Steinway makes about 2,500 each year in its two factories in Astoria, New York and Hamburg, Germany.
The company began with just a few models, the F-183 and F-228. By 1982 there were four grand models offered. This includes the F-156 and F-228 along with the other two. As of today, Fazioli has 6 concert grand models with the F-278 and F-308 being their biggest.
As a first-generation manufacturer, Paolo Fazioli, like Henry Steinway in 1853, has approached the piano from a quality perspective. Whether the Fazioli brand will continue to evolve into the future is a reasonable question to consider.
Steinway & Sons have 6 grand models, starting with the smallest, the Model S, the Model M, the Model O, the Model A, and their concert grand, the Model D. Steinway has evolved its quality and design over generations of transitions.
Steinway’s top-shelf reputation for quality, craftsmanship, and design have held to the original vision of its founder for over 160 years – a unique accomplishment in American manufacturing.
There are some subtleties in the types of woods used in Fazioli and Steinway.
Fazioli’s soundboard is made with Red Spruce wood, sourced in Italy. Steinway & Sons uses solid Sitka Spruce from the Pacific Northwest, which is known for its tight grain and resonance.
Steinway & Sons pianos are also built with 17 laminations of Hard Rock Maple. They also use the same wood on their piano bridges. Fazioli pianos use several maple laminations on the inner and outer rim, too, and their bridges use a combination of maple and other wood.
Fazioli pianos are seen as consistent, brighter and balanced in tone. In particular, the bass range has a lot of power. Overall the tone of a Fazioli can be best described as clear.
In contrast, Steinway pianos produce more warmth, notably in the bass section. Frequently, Steinways produce a more well-rounded and malleable sound. The wide and subtle range of color allows a pianist to better express a breadth of emotions.
Revealingly, Fazioli uses the Renner actions and Kluge keys for their pianos–both of these companies are owned by Steinway. Steinway & Sons actions parts go through additional quality control processes and are measured to an exactness of 1/32,000th of an inch.
A proprietary measurement tool takes multi-dimensional photographs to ensure that each part meets Steinway & Sons specifications. Steinway’s 2019 purchase of Renner is the latest in a number of strategic acquisitions that have taken place to ensure continuity in vendor business as well as to ensure that the Steinway–caliber quality of key components is preserved and continuously improved upon.
Fazioli pianos, like the F-156 and F-183 baby grands, is $128,000 to $233,000. Steinway’s baby grand, their Model S, costs $80,100.
Fazioli’s largest, the 10’ F-308 prices about $234,000, whereas Steinway & Sons’ largest grand, the nearly 9’ Model D, starts at $198,400.
While Fazioli pianos are attempting to establish themselves in the luxury piano market, Steinway has been around for much longer, and enjoys the luxury of a long-term reputation for excellence. Steinway which has a 169-year-old reputation that continues to be the choice of 95% of pianists playing with symphonies today.
But the best way for you to decide which you prefer is to try some models of both luxury brands for yourself. Go to a Fazioli store, try some of their models, then come visit us at M. Steinert & Sons to play some Steinway models.
We want you to make an informed choice and to go home knowing that you have selected the best piano for you.
As you await your showroom visits, you can learn more about buying the right piano for you. Read the column below for some of our tips for buying a piano:
How do I choose the best piano for me?
by Stephen N. Reed
When choosing a piano, you’re also choosing the piano store that sells it to you. For many years, M. Steinert & Sons has offered a Trade-Up policy that adds significant value to your purchase, allowing payments to be applied to a new piano later.
Most piano companies offer some kind of Trade-Up policy. But unless a company is sound and will be around later to honor their Trade-Up policy, your policy won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on.
M. Steinert’s track record over 160 years makes our Trade-Up policy meaningful, as we are a piano company that will be around to help you convert your first piano payments to a second, better piano of greater value.
Having sold pianos from the Steinway Family of pianos for over 150 years, we know that piano needs can change for an individual customer or a family. Perhaps the ideal piano model is out of reach financially but could be obtainable in a few years?
We want you to secure–whether now or ultimately–the right piano for you. That’s what our Trade-Up policy is all about. This article will explain the two Trade-Up policies M. Steinert offers and when to use them.
This policy provides that any Steinway & Sons piano, new or used, acoustic or digital, purchased from M. Steinert & Sons receives 100% of the original purchase price for the life of the original purchaser towards any new, larger Steinway & Sons piano of greater value.
The piano must be in reasonable, age-appropriate condition. Original purchase price honored excludes taxes and delivery.
Example 1: You purchased a Steinway Model S in 2017 for $67,600 – get that amount towards a new Steinway & Sons Model B.
Example 2: You purchased a Boston upright, Model UP-118E EP 46″ for $13,900–you’ll get that amount if you later decide to buy a Steinway Model S baby grand at any point in your life.
Receive 100% of your purchase price as trade towards any piano bought from M. Steinert & Sons (including Boston, Essex, and Roland lines) of double value for up to 5 years.
Example: You purchased a Roland Digital piano for $4,000 on 12/1/2020, you will get that full amount towards any piano costing $8,000 or more until 12/1/25.
The reasons for Trading Up to a better piano are numerous. M. Steinert & Sons piano consultants give these examples:
Of course, a major factor as to the right time to use the Trade-Up Policy/Promise is when the time is right financially for you. However, part of that financial equation, especially for the other brands included in the M. Steinert & Sons’ Full Value Trade-Up Promise, is to not lose your initial piano investment by waiting after the five-year limit.
Trading up within 5 years is akin to trading up to a larger home when the housing market is at its highest. The larger home is made much more affordable by recovering the full value of the first home.
A new piano, purchased after the first one, will be far more obtainable with the help of that initial piano investment and without having to deal with the hassles of a private sale.
That is the real value of the M. Steinert Trade-Up Policy/Promise: a customer can be in a much more advantageous position towards obtaining the piano of their dreams, even as they purchase the right first piano for their needs right now.
As with all matters pertaining to a final decision towards purchasing a piano, a trip to the showroom to discuss any questions you have with one of our seasoned piano consultants can give you peace of mind. M. Steinert & Sons has based its reputation through customers who not only like their piano selection on the day of purchase but longterm in their home.
One of our piano consultants can answer any further questions you may have regarding the Trade-Up Policy/Promise or financing the piano that is right for you. Make an appointment today to begin that important, ongoing discussion.
Meantime, learn more about the financing options available by reading this article from our Expert Advice section of our website:
by Stephen N. Reed
Henry E. Steinway famously said that his company’s vision was to build the best piano possible. As a result, Steinway pianos have been handcrafted for 169 years.
Only the handcrafted process, with its combination of high craftsmanship and special materials, can create the kind of high-quality instrument that Henry Steinway first envisioned. Steinway & Sons pianos have earned their stellar reputation thanks to continued dedication to excellence.
The Steinway-designed Boston line of pianos, created by Steinway in 1992, is the culmination of Steinway & Sons’ decision to develop a new line of instruments that was imbued with much of Steinway’s design into a manufactured piano.
Through its adherence to Steinway design principles, Boston has distinguished itself within its price range. After all, only Boston and the other Steinway brand, Essex, can lay claim to having Steinway’s design and 169 years of piano building experience behind it.
However, significant differences remain between the handcrafted Steinway & Sons and its younger sister brand, the manufactured Boston. Understanding these differences, weighing the importance to you, is important, as you wouldn’t want to go home with a piano that doesn’t meet your expectations.
At M. Steinert & Sons, we’ve been helping piano customers make an informed decision regarding the best piano for their needs since 1860. We have kept current with every new model of Steinway & Sons and Boston pianos and explain the similarities and differences between them on a daily basis.
By the end of this article, you will understand the differences and similarities between these two popular American piano companies. This will enable you to decide which aspects of both piano lines mean the most to you.
The Boston Piano Company was created in 1991 by Steinway in response to the growing mid-level piano market. Steinway had a clear understanding that many buyers would love to own a handcrafted Steinway but simply couldn’t afford it yet.
Steinway leadership made a bold move. They decided to enter the world of manufactured pianos, allowing for Boston pianos to be sold at a more affordable price than a handcrafted Steinway & Sons.
They contracted with a well-regarded piano manufacturer with the understanding that as many Steinway-designed features as possible would be included in their production process.
Over the past three decades, we at M. Steinert & Sons have studied the new Boston models as they have been released. Obviously, we believe in all of our Steinway-designed pianos, including Bostons. However, we still strive for objectivity when describing them to you.
Having said that, it is simply a fact that Bostons have grown so popular with their Steinway-design elements and lower price that today many customers prefer a new Boston to a used Steinway. But the discerning buyer still wants to know about the particular differences between these two sister pianos, as well as their similarities.
In the end, people want to know: Can a manufactured piano, built with Steinway design, rival the venerable handcrafted Steinway & Sons? Just how far has modern piano engineering come?
Obviously, the challenge for Steinway engineers Susan Kenagy and John Patton when designing the Boston was to discern which elements of the Steinway design could be transferred to a manufacturing process.
Here are some of the key Steinway design elements placed into Bostons:
In addition, one of the most important Steinway-design aspects infused into every Boston is the famed “Steinway sound.” This has often been described as an even, well-rounded tone.
The presence of the Steinway sound in Boston pianos is a pleasant surprise to many. While concert pianists likely can hear a broader range of color offered by a Steinway & Sons grand piano, for Boston buyers the Steinway sound is still there. No other manufactured piano comes so close to the Steinway touch and tone.
In short, Boston’s warm, even tone confirms it as a fully-credentialed member of the Steinway family of pianos.
The most obvious difference between a Boston piano and a Steinway & Sons piano is the way they are made. Having many skilled Steinway craftspeople working on every design nuance naturally creates the following differences between Steinways and Boston:
Ultimately, when it comes to a choice between two or more piano brands, the choice comes down to each individual’s needs and priorities. People who can afford a Steinway & Sons piano typically select one of their models.
However, the Boston is a very popular model for those who want many of the same features as a Steinway at a lower price, and want the option to trade up to a Steinway & Sons piano at some point in the future.
Steinway & Sons moved in a bold and unprecedented way when they decided to create a mid-level, production piano that still had as much of the Steinway design as the manufacturing process permitted.
Sharing much of Steinway’s design recipe, 16 decades in the making, in order to make a less expensive yet high-quality piano, was a bet that has paid off for Steinway & Sons. Each year, thousands of satisfied Boston customers come away from Steinway dealers, choosing a new Boston over their other options.
Come into one of M. Steinert’s two showrooms in Boston and Nexton to sample some Steinways and Bostons for yourself. Trying out such models will certainly inform your thinking as you determine your own priorities.
If you have an interest in a Boston piano, click on this article for more information:
Boston Pianos Review: How good are Boston pianos?
And if you are interested in learning more about the Steinway sound, read this article:
What is special about the Steinway sound?
by Stephen N. Reed
The used Steinway market is a maze of options and opinions. With each passing decade, new myths evolve and fade. After more than 160 years as the world’s leading piano brand – this was bound to happen!
In addition, Steinway, like other piano manufacturers, make changes to their various models for various reasons. These are worth investigating, as well. Some changes may impact the overall performance of the instrument, while others may not.
In Steinway & Sons pianos, changes are made to improve the performance of the instrument, rather than for purely economic and cost-saving measures.
One issue related to how Steinways were made in the period of 1961-82 involve the Teflon bushings the company used in their pianos. At M. Steinert & Sons, we strive to be transparent regarding the bushings issue, having examined it carefully for customers for several years.
It bears noting that pianos of this vintage may have other significant issues due to their overall age. It is almost universally agreed that pianos over 30 years old will need significant work.
By the end of this article, you will understand what went on during the years that bushings were made and whether they are years to avoid in selecting a used Steinway. Additionally, you’ll learn how to safeguard against older Steinway issues by using programs like the M. Steinert CPP program for certified used pianos.
It all began with a legitimate interest in lessening the servicing needed from one season (or climate) to another. In 1962, the Permafree action was introduced by Steinway. This new action replaced the wool cloth that had lined (i.e. “bushed”) the tiny holes in the wooden flanges into which the center pins were inserted and upon which the action’s moving parts pivot.
Because the wool bushings can swell in damp weather and shrink in drier conditions, the action’s moving parts they are attached to can start to slow or loosen. Steinway has always emphasized improving every aspect of their pianos, so the new Permafree action had new bushings, with Teflon replacing the traditional wool cloth.
This seemed like a good fix, as Dupont had made Teflon tough plastic that would not change during temperature and humidity variations. In addition to changing out the bushing material, a new center pin was created, which required new tools and additional training for Steinway piano technicians.
The new Teflon bushings had a mixed review. Sometimes the wood around the bushings still swelled and shrunk, even though the Teflon did not. This caused some of the Teflon bushings to loosen in more humid seasons, causing a clicking noise when affected keys were played.
Action parts could also put additional pressure on the bushings during drier weather, causing those parts to move a little slower.
Fortunately, a Teflon bushing could be replaced without difficulty. However, with over 900 bushings in a single piano’s action, the engineers eventually went back to wool bushings in 1981.
Obviously, prospective used Steinway buyers want to know if it is wise to buy a used Steinway during the “Teflon bushing years” from 1962 to 1981.
The good news is that, for average piano use in the home, the used Steinways from this era have shown themselves to work well. Piano technicians with long experience in these instruments note that, after any Teflon bushings are replaced during the piano’s first few seasonal changes, generally few problems occur.
As long as the piano technician takes special note of the humidity conditions during the servicing, a used Steinway from this era should work fine for home use.
A piano that must endure heavy use, like those in schools or concert halls, should consider returning to cloth bushings. This would require replacing not only the bushings but the entire action, as well.
As the world’s oldest Steinway dealer, M. Steinert developed solid experience with the Teflon bushing years, starting in 1961.
“Our conclusion was that once the ‘clicks’ were discovered and remedied, the pianos worked very well,” says Paul Murphy, President emeritus of M. Steinert & Sons. “The main problem seems to have been a prior generation’s limited ability to service them, which is not an issue now. Today those pianos probably have more age-related reasons to avoid them, like cracked soundboards, loose tuning pins, and worn actions.”
One way to ensure that the piano you are buying has good quality is to buy through programs like M. Steinert’s Certified Pre-owned Piano (CPP) program. A used piano that passes M. Steinert’s 88-point inspection is going to be in solid musical condition. We delve deeper into the CPP program in a prior article.
Steinert gets trade-ins frequently and understands that not everyone is in a position to buy a new Steinway. That is why the company created this CPP program.
“It comes down to this,” says company president Brendan Murphy. “You know what you’re getting with a Certified Pre-owned Piano from M. Steinert & Sons.”
While almost any piano can be serviced, as a piano ages beyond 30 years it becomes harder to keep it musical without significant work. For this reason, we suggest the following guidelines for Steinway piano selection:
To learn more about M. Steinert’s Certified Pre-owned pianos view the current ones in stock in our Used Piano section. Select the “Certified” option in the Status filter.
Also, learn more about used Steinways by reading the following articles:
by Stephen N. Reed
As you tour the Astoria, New York Steinway factory, the fact that a Steinway piano takes nearly an entire year to complete begins to make sense.
The painstaking attention given by the many factory craftspeople, the time involved in preparing and drying the woods involved point to this handcrafted process being one that simply cannot be rushed.
Without the knowledge of all that goes into a Steinway piano, buyers would not be able to appreciate fully what they have purchased. As the oldest Steinway dealer in the world, M. Steinert & Sons has been tracking the various Steinway models for over 150 years.
Knowing the Steinway handcrafted process and its improvements over the years is a key part of our business.
The entire process of creating a Steinway piano actually takes longer than the actual factory process. By the end of this article, you will understand how a piano made of specialty woods and by highly-skilled craftspeople is made, beginning with the materials involved. As we’ll see, some of those materials go back a very long way.
Here is a look at the different stages involved and the duration of each in this handcrafted process will explain why it takes 11 months to make a Steinway.
Steinway carefully dries all the wood brought to the factory to build their pianos. Some wood is dried for up to two years before being used in the assembly process, first air-dried, then kiln-dried to prevent warping.
Only the best of the woods brought to the factory are used by Steinway. One wood is particularly special for conducting sound: the Sitka Spruce.
In the quest to build “the best piano possible,” Steinway evolved to use the Sitka Spruce from the Pacific Northwest for their patented Diaphragmatic Soundboard, which we will discuss further later in this article. This tightly-grained wood is exceptional for conducting sound.
Sitka Spruce is known for its high strength-to-weight ratio. Its excellent flexibility is essential for a piano soundboard that is meant to amplify sound and resonate with the vibration of a steel wire.
Steinway became convinced that no tree was better than the Sitka Spruce for their soundboards. Each of these trees is at least 200 years old when cut for use by Steinway.
As a result, there is another answer to the question, “How long does it take to build a Steinway?” In truth, this complex process begins at least 200 years before work starts for a year at the Astoria, NY factory.
Once the wood is dried, the building of a new Steinway can begin.
The Steinway Bent Rim is a key innovation that sets Steinway apart from other luxury pianos. Having a one-piece continuous Bent Rim, 2¾” thick, is one of the most significant technical innovations in piano building.
The rim provides the foundation for the stability of each Steinway grand piano and provides the structural integrity that enables a Steinway piano to endure for generations.
The rim of the Steinway Model B is comprised of 16 layers of Hard Rock Maple glued together, with both inner and outer rims being pressed together in a single operation. Five Steinway craftspeople bend the wood on a rim-bending press. They have to shape the rim within the time that the glue begins to dry, about twenty minutes.
After that, the rim is conditioned for two months.
An additional design feature involving the rim bears mentioning. To increase the surface square inch volume of the soundboard and thereby increase the overall resonance of the grand piano, Steinway widens the rear or “tail” of its larger grands.
To increase the surface square inch volume of the soundboard and thereby increase the overall resonance of the grand piano, Steinway widens the rear or “tail” of its larger grand pianos to accommodate more of a vibrating surface area composed of the resonant spruce wood.
Once the labor-intensive rim building is completed, the rim, soundboard and cast-iron plate can be placed into the piano’s case. After this, the Steinway piano is beginning to take shape.
Now work turns to the Steinway craftspeople responsible for building the piano’s braces, which undergird the piano and all of its intricate parts. This takes about a week to complete.
The braces beneath the grand piano establish the structural foundation of the piano, much like the cement foundation of a house and will, in tandem with the cast iron plate above them, perform the primary function of withstanding the 40,000 pounds of string tension within a piano.
Spruce provides tensile strength with less weight. Maple dowels fasten braces to the rim producing a single homogenous foundation upon which is built the entire tonal component.
A Steinway piano is built in the Astoria, NY factory from the inside out. Steinway’s assembly begins with skilled craftspeople creating and tapering Steinway’s patented “Diaphragmatic Soundboard” from the best planks of Sitka Spruce.
Steinway is particular about both the selection of the wood and the soundboard’s design. To meet the highest quality standards, Steinway uses only superior Sitka spruce with a close grain and a prescribed number of annual growth rings.
The result is a quarter-sawn Sitka Spruce soundboard, which has exceptional stability and vibrance under stress and vibration.
Steinway’s Diaphragmatic Soundboard is based on a 1936 patent to achieve optimum performance in dynamic range and maximum sustain. Under this patent, the soundboard is gradually tapered from the center to the edge, permitting freedom of movement and creating a sound of unparalleled richness and sustain.
Created like the soundboard of violins to give a free and even response throughout the entire scale, the Steinway design permits complete freedom of movement while displacing a greater amount of air, creating a richer and more lasting tonal response.
An essential aspect of Steinway’s overall design is to precision cut the soundboard to fit the rim of the piano. Since small variations exist between rims, a precision laser-guided saw is employed to yield a perfect final fit on a per-piano basis.
Great care is taken during the process of creating the soundboard. If it is damaged, the experience for both the player and the listener is altered. A soundboard can be cracked or have a fallen crown. Such repairs can be quite costly.
All told, Steinway’s soundboard takes about a month to make, with the last week being in a specialized conditioning room before installation. This is performed by a skilled artisan called a “bellyman” over the course of a full day.
The assembly process next moves to the bridge. Steinway’s popular B and D models feature a single-piece bridge. This is sometimes called the “shepherd’s crook” bridge, a continuous bridge from the highest treble to the deepest bass.
This continuous bridge enables the instantaneous transfer of the vibrations of some 233 strings throughout the bridge and the soundboard, creating more color, more resonance, and more sustain.
Steinway constructs its soundboard bridges exclusively from vertically laminated hardwood with a horizontal grain, capped with solid maple.
Each bridge is notched by hand for precise, individual string-bearing–just one advantage of a handcrafted piano. This design ensures optimal sound transmission from the strings to the soundboard, resulting in a sustained, resonant tone—creating the unique “Steinway sound.”
Bridge work takes a couple of weeks to complete.
Next in the production sequence is stringing the instrument. A particular part, patented by Steinway, is a key reason that Steinways hold tune well.
In 1963, Steinway introduced the Hexagrip Pin block, which is engineered to enable pianos to hold their tuning longer and with great precision. This comes from 7 carefully selected and arranged layers of quarter-sawn rock maple.
The exclusive design provides end grain of the wood surrounding the tuning pin and allows smoother movement under torque, a more uniform retaining action, and a piano that holds its tuning longer. Between wood selection, laminating, curing, fitting and drilling the Hexagrip Pin block takes approximately one month or more to finish.
Another part of the production process involves the piano’s action. Steinway’s hammers are made at the Steinway factory in Astoria, NY. Craftspeople ensure the action’s uniformity in terms of a piano’s keys striking the newly-placed strings.
The Tone Regulation Department at the Astoria NY factory is where a Steinway develops into a musical instrument. Here, each of the piano’s keys is adjusted by hand to ensure an even tone for the piano overall.
The action’s hammers are either made harder by applying lacquer to the hammer’s felt or softer by pricking the felt with a needle. The right tone for a Steinway is bell-like, even, and well-rounded. This process of installing the piano’s action and subsequent tone regulation takes 2 weeks.
The Steinway piano is now assembled. Steinway’s yearlong process is almost complete.
The final step in this elaborate handcrafted process is the exterior finish. Six coats of paint are applied with a precise amount of time between each coat.
After Steinway craftspeople have completed the painting, the case stands for a week, allowing the paint to harden, thereby protecting the piano’s finish. This finishing process takes 3 months.
Depending upon the finish of the piano, including whether it’s ebony polished, ebony satin, or a crown-jewel wood veneer, this step can vary in duration and order in the production process
Testing of the Steinway piano can now commence through a series of double-checking, fine-tuning, adjustments, and breaking in the keyboard.
For example, the Astoria, NY factory has a Pounding Room where each of the piano’s 88 keys is played over 3,000 times. All of these tests and adjustments are aimed at perfecting each piano’s sound before heading to market and take about a week to complete.
After 11 months, the world has a new Steinway that’s ready to be played.
The nearly yearlong Steinway building process is the work of scores of the Astoria, NY factory’s craftspeople in each stage of the piano’s creation.
Once this process is completed, the new Steinway model is shipped to one of Steinway’s dealers in the Western Hemisphere. The company’s Hamburg, Germany factory ships their new Steinways across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
With the current, industry-wide piano shortage, this year’s Steinways may have less time than usual on the showroom floors.
However, Steinway is working to produce more of their renowned handcrafted pianos so that more people can enjoy the Steinway touch and tone, perfected by the team at the Astoria and Hamburg factories.
For more information about the Steinway factory process, click below for a helpful article:
What is a Steinway factory tour like?
Stephen N. Reed
Asking what piano is the best is like asking someone who the best writer or painter is; the answer depends on the person asked. If you ask 100 automobile enthusiasts what the best automobile is, you will receive a variety of answers and for many different reasons.
Certain facts and statistics can work to establish a credible claim of being the best. This article will provide such facts and statistics to determine which brand is the best piano.
Judging the best of any category or product is often associated with being the most expensive. But many brands competing for top recognition are not the most expensive piano.
So what does “best” mean? To some, best could mean most durable, best looking, or best value. But for an instrument like the piano, ultimately its musical quality is the main consideration.
M. Steinert & Sons has studied the musical quality of each generation of top-of-the-line pianos, including each new Steinway model, since 1869, before Steinway had earned its current reputation. We know new and used Steinways.
In addition, we are also intimately familiar with other top brands, which we have sold as used models for many years. Indeed, some of our piano consultants have worked for other brands before coming to work for us. So we appreciate the value in other brands.
We’re an Authorized Steinway Dealer and, as such, you would be within your rights to wonder if we’re bringing some bias into an article like this. Our goal is not to bring a biased view but to help you understand how the general public evaluates Steinway pianos so you can make that decision for yourself.
Not only do pianos create art, but they are also a work of art themselves.
The question of which piano is the best cannot be answered exclusively by objective technical or scientific criteria. Many piano companies use excellent materials, and a few continue to use a handcrafted approach to piano building, generally viewed as superior to a manufactured process.
Three brands that still employ the handcrafted method of piano building include Steinway, Bosendorfer, and Yamaha but just for the Japanese company’s CF concert piano series.
Another way to answer the “best piano” question is to weigh the subjective opinions of people qualified enough to offer opinions that carry additional weight. In the piano industry, this would mean examining the opinions held by the best pianists about their piano preferences.
The best pianists are professional concert pianists who have managed to build successful performing careers. They are the rare few who have risen to the top and whose playing amazes, awes, and inspires, resulting in recording contracts with the world’s leading labels.
Obviously, if you know of one or more particular musical artists whose work you admire, their endorsement of a given piano brand will weigh more heavily.
Major piano brands each have their supporters. Here is a sampling of those endorsements for three piano brands that are used by top concert pianists. You can also click on the brand name to take you to each brand’s Artists’ page online to peruse different artists’ endorsements.
“Yamaha has always been my piano of choice and it is a status I am very proud of. Performing on a CFX is always a memorable experience, only with the CFX do I find a complete affinity between myself and the instrument.”
–Nicholas McCarthy, Concert Pianist and Yamaha Artist
“For me, Bösendorfer best represents the Central European music tradition: history, tradition and a connection to the past.”
–Sir Andras Schiff, Concert Pianist and Bosendorfer Artist
“This instrument has not only the beauty, but also the sound, the emotions, the whole feeling. No matter how you play, you always have these wonderful qualities.”
–Lang Lang, Concert Pianist and Steinway Artist
Again, every competitive piano brand like these will have their supporters. Some will have more endorsements than others, but each brand hopes that if they have one of your favorite performers endorsing their pianos, you’ll give them special notice.
So how else might one grade one of these top piano brands as the best?
Concert pianists perform all around the world with symphony orchestras. Steinway & Sons released a symphony survey that shows over 97 percent of piano soloists performing with orchestras during the 2018-2019 season played on Steinway pianos.
According to Steinway & Sons, this survey includes data from 794 performances with 100 orchestras around the world.
Which piano do most conservatories prefer?
Another way to evaluate which of these piano brands ranks first is to inquire into the piano inventory of leading music conservatories worldwide.
These music schools train professional pianists all around the world and mostly use Steinway pianos.
Conservatories training with Steinway pianos includes the Top 3 in the U.S.–Julliard School, Curtis, and Oberlin–as well as Yale and New England Conservatory. A complete list of All-Steinway Schools can be found here.
Professional musicians would not risk their performing careers on pianos that did not do the best possible justice to their art. They count on the reliability and musicality that Steinway pianos provide during their most intense moments of performance.
As noted in a prior article, Yamaha’s brighter sound scores points with some jazz and contemporary pianists, sharing that market with Steinway and others.
But among classical concert pianists, symphony orchestras, and music conservatories, Steinway is the overwhelming choice.
That being said, plenty of people choose other pianos, for all sorts of reasons.
For example, some jazz and contemporary pianists prefer the brighter tone of a Yamaha over the well-rounded tone of Steinway. While some jazz and contemporary artists prefer Steinway, taking different pianists’ opinions into account can be informative when evaluating which piano is best for you.
Additionally, you may discover that you prefer Steinway but simply don’t have the budget for it right now. If you want to get as much of the Steinway tone and touch as possible in a more affordable piano, Steinway’s manufactured production lines, Boston and Essex, may be for you.
You wouldn’t buy a luxury car like a Maserati or Porsche without taking it out for a test ride. Reading about any expensive item helps prepare you for your encounter with it. But spending real time with it is essential to a satisfactory purchase.
The next step for anyone trying to ascertain whether Steinway is the best piano for you is to play a variety of models, including Steinway and other top brands like Bosendorfer and Yamaha. Only by comparing and contrasting such brands can you discern which piano make and model is best for you.
Naturally, we hope you’ll look into our Steinway lines of pianos at M. Steinert & Sons. Come into one of our two showrooms in Boston and Newton to explore the Steinway family of pianos–Steinway, Boston, and Essex–for yourself.
In the meantime, learn more about why a handcrafted piano is more expensive in the following article:
Why are Steinway pianos so expensive?
