Make: Lipp, Richard

Made in: Stuttgart, Germany

Made by: Lipp; modern ones by Bentley Piano co

Rating: 55-90. 1885-1935 restored ones nearly all rating 75-90. Some pre-1885 with lower rating. Modern pianos using the Lipp name not rated here.

Estimated Number In UK: 6,000 or one in 500. About 10% grand 90% upright. Nearly all 1890 – 1935. From 1985 the Lipp name was used by British and later by Chinese companies.

Year and serial number:
1880 - 9780

1900 - 20480

1920 - 36670

1940 - c42900

1960 - 44350

1985 - 50001 Lipp name used by Bentley, UK

1993 - 50220 Lipp name used by Whelpdale, Maxwell and Codd, UK until about 1995. Later pianos made in China but have no resemblance to the original.

Comments

Older Richard Lipp pianos are German and made with great integrity. They have a rich warm and very powerful tone. Baby and boudoir grands are generally excellent. The tall uprights 1895 – 1930 are some of the best uprights ever made, though the bass section doesn’t easily shut off when damped due to the very resonant strings. With new dampers and damper springs there is some improvement. The smaller upright straight-strung Lipp pianos made mostly between 1900 and 1915 have a sweet mellow tone and don’t suffer from the damper problem.