In general grand pianos are better to play than uprights for the following reasons:
- the action has better control than an upright action, allowing the player more sensitivity. This is because the upright "throws" the hammer towards the string, whereas on a grand piano it is a "lifting" movement, so perfect control is maintained until the very last moment. - grand pianos over 4ft 10in in length have longer strings and a bigger soundboard than most uprights, giving them a richer tone.
- the soft pedal is genuinely "una corda", meaning that there should be a significant change in tone when used.
- the player can be facing the audience or other players instead of facing the wall.
- the music desk is adjustable (except on some cheaper modern baby grand pianos such as the Yamaha GB1) by sliding it forwards or backwards, accommodating both short- and long-sighted people.
The following is written to help you choose which grand piano to buy.
Are you tall - is there enough leg room? Leg room on pianos varies from 60 to 70cm . Grands and small modern uprights are usually about 62cm from the floor to the under side of the keyboard. With grands, this can be increased by about 3cm by using glass caster cups; the angle of the pedals may then need adapting as these are raised up too. A Yamaha U3 upright has leg room of 62cm whereas a German Steingraeber 118 has 70cm and an older Bluthner 65cm. A small modern Zender has only 58.5cm!
Do you need book holders? If you use thick music books, then a couple of book holders can be fitted. Older uprights usually have them, and modern ones and grands usually don't. Most serious musicians require them.
Sostenuto pedal - it it necessary? Many modern grands and a few older ones are fitted with a sostenuto pedal in the middle of the sustain pedal (right) and una corda (soft) pedal (left). However it does not appear in any classical pieces either used for exams or in the normal concert repertoire. In 50 years of playing I've never come across any music that demanded it!
Wooden floor? It's most important to note that as the soundboard vibrates the sound bounces back of a wooden floor, making the piano sound much louder then it does on a carpeted one. If you're buying a soft toned piano such as an old style Bluthner then this may not be a problem. However if you're buying a bright sounding modern Yamaha or Bosendorfer then it's likely you'll need to put a rug under the piano, and may also need to introduce other absorbent material to the room such as drapes or tapestries. In this way you should be able to arrive at the ideal acoutic.
What make of Grand Piano?
There used to be a saying "a Steinway for the concert hall, a Bechstein for the theatre and Bluthner for the home." There is a lot of truth in this, as Steinways generally aim for a big powerful tone, Bechsteins for a more subtle tone but still quite powerful, and Bluthner very much more mellow, usually with a lighter action.
Baby grand pianos are usually defined as about 5ft 7in or under. The best restored makes of baby grand pianos are, in rough order of availability:
New baby grands: We stock new baby grands by Wendl & Lung, Feurich and Yamaha.
Challen are by far the most common make of very small baby grand pianos from 4ft 3in to 4ft 6in. These are mostly mahogany but there are some in figured walnut which is currently very popular. Challen baby grands are varied; the cheaper ones have "simplex" actions which are not so responsive as the normal "roller" actions
Allison, Cramer, Broadwood, Rogers and Steck are also very common. These baby grand pianos are more varied in quality but can also be very good. There are hundreds of other makes of baby grand pianos too, but we've listed the most common good ones available in the UK.
Boudoir Grand Pianos
From about 5ft 7in to 7ft. The longer ones are sometimes called "Drawing Room grands". These have longer strings and a larger action, so they tend to sound and play better. The best restored makes of boudoir grand pianos are, in rough order of availability: Yamaha, Bechstein, Steinway, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Kawai and Fazioli. These are far superior to cheaply made modern grand pianos.
New boudior grands: We stock new baby grands by Wendl & Lung, Feurich and Yamaha
Concert Grand Pianos
From about 7ft 2in to 9ft 6in. Manufacturers always put a lot more time and effort into making concert grand pianos, also employing their top technicians to work on them. They have long strings and a large action, so sound and play powerfully. The best restored makes of concert grand pianos are, in rough order of availability: Yamaha, Steinway, Bosendorfer, . There are many other good makes of concert grand, notably Steingraeber and Fazioli, but We've listed the most common.
New Concert grands We sell new Yamaha concert grands to order.
New Grand Pianos
We don't recommend most modern grands which sell for up to about £12,000 RRP, as they tend to be of inferior quality and can develop problems after a few years. There are a few exceptions to this, and we currently have in stock new pianos from Wendl and Lung, a serious Austrian firm. We also stock new Yamahas, starting with the Yamaha C1. We don't stock the Yamaha GB1 as we consider it to be below acceptable quality. Please see this article for an explanation
Rough price list
Here we list the most common German and English grand pianos, in rough order of availability in the UK. For a comprehensive list of the most common makes of grand piano available in the UK please see the restoration page
Most common top quality German grands (in approximate order of availability)
Make
Model
Length
Year
un-restored
restored
Bechstein
Model A
6ft
1902 - 1925
£1,200 - £3,500
£12,000-£18,500
Usually black or rosewood. A beautiful all round grand with A smooth action and rich tone.
Bechstein
Model B
6ft 7in
1902 - c1925
£1,000-£3,500
£12,000-£18,500
Usually black or rosewood. A beautiful all- round grand. Deeper tone than model A.
Bluthner boudoir grand
Patent action
5ft 5in to 7ft
1880-c1915
£1,000-£2,500
£10,000 - £19,000
Usually black or rosewood. Very rich warm tone, mellower than Bechstein. Smooth light touch
Bluthner baby grand
Roller action
4ft 11in to 6ft
1915-1935
£2,000-£4,000
£10,000-£18,000
Baby grand usually walnut, mahogany or black. Warm silky tone and smooth touch.
Bosendorfer grand
170
5ft 7in
1915 - 1940
£4000 - £5000
14,000 - £25,000
Usually black or mahogany
Steinway boudoir grand
Model O
5ft 10in
£6,000-£9,000
£15,000-£37,000
Varied styles of casework. powerful all round piano with rich tone .
Steinway boudoir grand
Model A
6ft 2in
£6,000-£9,000
£15,000- £37,000
Varied styles of casework Powerful all round piano with rich tone. Deeper tone than model O
Bechstein models V and IV grand pianos which pre-date the models A, B and C are also very common. Please see the Bechstein page for details.
Richard Lipp grand pianos are also excellent. The most common are the 5ft and 5ft 8in baby grands.
Most common restored English grands and baby grands
Make
Model
Length
Year
un-restored
restored
Challen baby grand
Various - plain case
4ft 3in to 6ft
1915-1960
£500 - £1,000
£3000 - 5500
Usually Mahogany or walnut. Very varied. The best have a bright singing tone
Chappell boudoir grands
"New style"
5ft to 6ft 10in
1895 - 1915
£600 - £1,200
£5000 - £8,500
Usually figured rosewood. Attractive with rich bright tone and smooth action
Chappell baby grands
Baby grand
4ft 6in to 5ft
1920 - 1935
£500 - £1,000
£4,000 - £6,000
Usually mahogany. Consistently fine strong tone for a baby grand
Broadwood baby and boudoir grands
Extremely varied
All sizes from 5ft to 8ft
1890 - 1940
£500 - £1000
£4000- £10,000
Pre 1890s ones very common and best avoided unless very well reconditioned. 1890 to 1910, some excellent ones, especially the "Barless" grand. Of this make you will find some of the best and some of the worst secondhand pianos available. Broadwood also made some of the most beautiful looking grands.
Other English makes of grand and baby grands which we don't often buy and sell: (in rough order of availability):
Steck
Model A
6ft 2in
£300-£800
£2,500 £4,000
Older ones (1900 - 1915) can be excellent. 1920s and 30s ones vary and often develop loose tuning pins.
Cramer -Well made baby grands
Allison -Well made baby grands
Welmar - Well made baby grands
There are hundreds of English makes of grand and baby grand pianos. It's advisable to stick to the well known ones as many firms which made good upright pianos, such as Knight, had unsuccessful attempts at grands.
Modern German Grands (post 1950)
These are much less common on the second hand market. The best ones that come up relatively frequently are: Steinway models O (5ft 10in and B (6ft 11in). Model (5ft 7in) and model S (5ft 1in) baby grands are good but not so common. For full details see the Steinway website
Avoid modern Bluthners made from about 1960 to about 1990 as these were made in East Germany while Germany was divided or just after reunification, and the materials used are not always good.
Other less common modern German grands are (in order of availability) Bechstein, Bösendorfer, August Förster (not recommended - too variable), Ibach, Zimmerman (not recommended) and Schimmell. Please inquire if you'd like further information about any ot these.
Yamaha and Kawai grands
These are the two most common makes of good Japanese grand pianos. Yamahas are by far the most common good grand piano on the world market. For details of Yamaha grand pianos please see the Yamaha page . Older Yamaha and Kawai grands from about 1970 to 1985 are excellent and more consistent than more recent ones, with the exception of the top of the range newer ones which are also excellent.
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A Bluthner style 4 baby grand.
