Comparing Pianos Martha Beth Lewis, Ph. D. My technician make sure you deal with a Registered Piano Technician, not a tuner told me that in the last 2. As you read my comments on piano brands, below, you will note that many are American. I do not list American brands out of patriotic preference but because in the hundred year period between 1. America. Many of those 1. American. This explosion was scarcely interrupted by the Civil War. The economy of the North had been strong throughout the conflict and continued to grow after it. Smartwatches have long felt like a gadget in search of a purpose. However, it seems the Boston Red Sox have finally discovered one thing they are actually good at. Annapolis and Anne Arundel County real estate listings and news from Capital Gazette. Starting in the Northeast Boston, upstate New York, and especially New York City, piano manufacturing moved westward through Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio toward Chicago. About the time it reached the mid West ca. Chicago and transportation of materials further west would drive up the price beyond what the economy of the area could bear. For those living in far flung areas of the U. S., however, help was coming, wearing a white hat. To the traditional shopping expeditions to Chicago or back East was added the mail order catalog. Boston Piano Serial Number Age' title='Boston Piano Serial Number Age' />The first documented mail order operation was in 1. Italy books, followed by seed England, 1. U. S., 1. 77. 1 catalogs. The ever enterprising Benjamin Franklin offered a catalog in 1. After the Civil War, the population began to move west once more, swelled greatly by the refugee families from the South and unemployed soldiers from both sides of the conflict. For these people, traveling salesmen satisfied though barely shopping needs. Hollywoods finest films adapted into old time radio shows with many of their original stars reprising their roles Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instrumentstraditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Shell be your Dixie Chick Bizarre video shows patriotic peckers stunning rendition of America the Beautiful on piano. Jogku the 19monthold chicken was taught. One of these men was Montgomery Ward. He decided that to reach more people than he could visit single handedly, he would print some fliers listing some of his most popular items. It was a success. The next flyer emerged at eight pages, and soon the enterprise blossomed into a catalog of several hundred pages, complete with woodcut illustrations. Mail order piano makers include Beckwith, Beethoven, Schmoller Mueller, and D. F. Beatty. These companies also sold reed organs also known as pump organs, melodeons, and, incorrectly in most cases, harmoniums. Picture Great Aunt Bessie pumping away furiously with her feet while the congregation of 2. The fleuressence of American piano firms abated about 1. The stock market crash of 1. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies estimate that there are between 35 to 50 serial killers on the loose in the Uunited States. Other estimates put the number. Information guide to the piano marketplace, including reviews of various brands of pianos, new and used. One thing to bear in mind is that the piano world is always. The age of a used piano can be determined using the name and serial number of the instrument. Check out our How Old is my Piano page. If you are paying a tech to. Small-Square/dam/steinwayhall.com/usedpianos/B137528boston345x230.jpg/jcr:content/B137528boston345x230.jpg' alt='Boston Piano Serial Number Age' title='Boston Piano Serial Number Age' />This is a partial list of piano manufacturers. Most piano professionals have access to detailed information about these brands using a Piano Atlas to reference serial. Tabtight professional, free when you need it, VPN service. Great Recession that followed nearly buried it. After the Second World War, when soldiers came home and took advantage of the G. I. Bill to further their educations, family incomes began to rise. Parents wanted things for their children that they had never had such as piano lessons. Venerable piano brands reappeared, but nearly always made in a much poorer fashion in order to put them within reach of the average family. The recovery of the Asian economy, Japan in particular, helped fuel the return of piano manufacturing, again at attractive price points. Meanwhile, in Europe, some of the most revered companies staunchly held on through World Wars I and II, while others were forced to close, either because of the lagging European economy or the loss of facilities to wartime devastation. Below, in addition to comments on specific piano brands, you will find information on stencil brands, gray market pianos, factory locations, serial numbers, entry level pianos, types and dimensions, antique pianos, and whats important in making your selection. Also, in a readers remarks under the Steinway entry, he gives a helpful ranking by brand name and piano sizetype. Here are my general thoughts on piano brands  which ones are good, which ones to stay away from. Please note that these are my personal opinions. Instruments from the same manufacturer differ from year to year, and within a given year  In the same way some cars are just lemons. It also may make a difference in which factory the instrument was made. Sometimes a company Yamaha, Kawai has factories of different qualities, so piano quality is affected by the factory that made the particular piano you are looking atseeking. The Ryuyo and Hamamatsu Yamaha factories are the most famous example. The Hamamatsu factory is not as good. Thus, pianos coming from the two factories will be of different quality. German sounding names are often chosen by non German manufacturers because Germany has such a good reputation for piano building, at least in the past. Just because its a German name doesnt mean it was made in Germany or by German expatriates or at a factory founded outside of Germany by Germans or with German specifications. Inquire.   Its nearly always a Chinese piano or one made for a Chinese company in Indonesia or Malaysia. As of this date 2. Chinese pianos are usually of inferior quality. A decade or two ago, this was true of Korean pianos and Japanese pianos before that, so expect Chinese instruments to improve in quality. How quickly is the question. For now, view Chinese pianos with a weather eye. The Russians, Belarusians, and Poles also are making pianos now. I wouldnt expect good quality from them yet, so buy a Russianformer Soviet Union country piano very cautiously. Update, 2. 00. 9 Pianos are also being made in Indonesia and Malaysia, as labor costs are lower even than China. Nearly always, these are factories for Chinese firms. To the best of my knowledge, the following information is accurate. Things changes all the time in the piano business, so do your due diligence before purchase to avoid buyers remorse or a poor choice. 100 100 Answer Cancer Edition Ovarian Question Question Second. Stencil Brands. Stencil brand pianos sometimes called store brands are common in the U. S.   These are like the house brands at a grocery store, except with stencil brand pianos, the quality is usually pretty poor. With grocery store brands, however, while noticeably different in quality, are not necessarily poor quality. Heres how stencil brands work. A piano store usually a nation wide or at least a regional piano company buys these from a factory and slaps their store name on it. Sometimes the factory owns the rights to the name of a venerable brand no longer being produced. Sometimes the names are new German names are often selected. These are then sold to the retailer. Therefore, many different brands of pianos at varying price points are actually from the same factory And could, in fact, be the very same model except for the brand name These pianos vary greatly in quality. Some are awful some are pretty poor a few make it up to ok. None I have played rates better than ok. These pianos are made in areas of the world with low labor costs China, Indonesia, and Malaysia, in particular. Im sure you see the connection here. Many if not most stencil brands are names bought from companies mostly old that are out of business and that once built good instruments. These companies may have been out of business for 1. Note also that many stencil brands, whether they are purchased names or not, have German names, drawing on the tradition of high quality in German pianos, as I noted earlier. Some stencil brands can be made to sound decent but not terribly good if serviced first by a tech and regulated volume of all notes made the same, basically, though some other things are done to the piano. The price of this work may offset any savings on the piano itself, however. You might check with a tech for a price estimate in advance of plunking down your money for a stencil piano. Tread cautiously with stencil brands. Especially pianos with German names, take care.