upright piano recommendation, please

[Fred Sturm]

I'll amplify just a bit on the height issue. I got a new Baldwin 6000
around 10 years ago, and put it in a room that gets used a bit for
performance, thinking that would be an enormous improvement over the 30
year old Hamilton that had been there. Wrong! Nothing but complaints.
Nobody loved the sound more than they hated the height.
	U-1's are closer to 47" than 48" but are still too tall for most
ensemble players. I have a few in classrooms without grands, and once
again the preference among rehearsing students is for the now almost 40
year old Hamiltons (not that anyone likes the sound of those, or the
clattering keys - re-bushing priorities haven't got there yet and
probably never will - it's that the pianist needs to be able to see the
cellist's bow or the like). 
	So my point is that sound is probably not really the top consideration
in this type of circumstance. I've found some of the Walter uprights
quite nice in private homes, as smaller than 48" pianos go, probably my
favorite in that size range for sound. Haven't seen one stand up to
institutional use, though. Don't have any reason to think they wouldn't
stand up, just haven't had the chance to observe.
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico

Richard Brekne wrote:
> 
> If height is an issue with the U1... try the Yamaha SU118.
> Nice piano.
> 
> RicB