schimmel pianos

[Rick Florence]

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Steve,

Are you sure this is a 5'10"?  Schimmel replaced that model with a 6' about
two years ago.  The scales are the same, I think, but the 6' has the same
action (longer keys) as the 7'.  It is a much nicer action in my opinion.

We don't have any Schimmel pianos at ASU, but have plenty of new Steinway
grands (34, purchased four years ago).  I do have about a dozen Schimmels in
my private clientele, non of which takes the beating of a practice room
piano.

If you want the Steinway sound, then buy the Steinway.  The Schimmel has
that European sound - thinner, especially in the treble.  The Schimmel,
however, has a much cleaner sound.

If you are going for a consistent action, plate in the right place, a finish
that actually has cured, and overall attention to detail, get the Schimmel.
You will have to spend some time bedding the key frame, easing keys, and
minimal voicing and regulation on the Schimmel, but it will be nothing
compared to the days spent on the Steinway.

The hammers on our Steinways only lasted 2-3 years.  Renner hammers, in
combination with the Renner shanks and flanges have given us up to 8 years
in a practice room.  These are Renner blues, not the same used by Schimmel,
but I have to believe they would last longer than 2-3 years.

The pinning on the Renner parts is much more consistent.  Although you will
have to repin if you want exact tolerances, it will last much longer than in
the American Steinway parts.  Renner uses a much better felt, IMHO.  I have
found that Renner hammers react much more favorably to steam voicing, a
great tool for practice rooms.

Of course there is the Steinway aura that you may be dealing with (not to be
confused with NY Yankee aura), you know - if it doesn't say Steinway on the
fallboard, it is inferior.  We deal with that problem here to an extent.
Our piano performance people would complain, our accompanists would be
generally happy, our other non-piano majors wouldn't know the difference,
and the Jazzers would be ecstatic (they've been begging for Schimmels in
their area for about 5 years now).

ASU hosts a state piano competition which has been underwritten by Schimmel
for the last two years.  Both years the Schimmel pianos brought in have
received rave reviews from the contestants and judges.  The exception being
a handful this year (a few of the losers and their teacher - they hated it.
Go figure).  The 8"4" Schimmel matched up very well with our Hamburg D in
the concerto competition.

There should be about a $10,000 difference in the prices (I assume you're
comparing with an "L").  You could probably buy a "48" Schimmel with the
difference - now there's a great upright!

Good luck,

Rick



on 11/20/01 9:20 AM, Steve Kabat at s.kabat@csuohio.edu wrote:

Hello group-
   Does anyone have any familiarity w/ Schimmel pianos? Our school is
currently bidding for a piano and one of the bids is for  a 5'10" Schimmel.
We would most likely place it in a practice room for piano majors so it will
get some use.  Any info or feedback from techs or what pianists say about it
vs. S&S would be greatly appreciated. Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Steve Kabat



_____________
Rick Florence
Piano Technician
Arizona State University, School of Music


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