<DIV> <DIV> I've come across two Seiler 8'1" Concert Grands.....initially during the first year or two they were muffled to the point of frustration (no openness in it's tone either), then after a year or two it got horribly bright (from frustrated poundings from the pianists.....most complained about the same thing) They have a very heavy touch - lots of friction (tight bushings) tiring to play (the Abels on the thing are of mammoth proportions) All this in spite of 4 technicians efforts to fix the piano up...it really was the only problematic piano that we serviced after all the Hamburg Cs, Ds, Bosendorfers and Yamahas over at our local concert hall. A 7 foot Seiler I once performed on was very nice compared to the 8'1" They ended up switching to a Schimmel 256 a few months ago which I recommend to everyone...it started out quite bright but after doing the necessary voicing after delivery.....it was pure heaven Are we forgetting the marvelous rebuilt or possibly...brand new Bluthners? :) Another one would be Steingraeber and Sohne..but I doubt it's availability in the USA....it's a smaller model 205, 6'8" i think...it was very very astounding....very rich singing tone while not bright and a sweet sounding bass with an overall scaling that never overpowers......much better than a few Bosendorfers I've tried of similar size and environment.....cheaper as well. It's the kind of sound that puts a warm smile on your face and makes you feel all fuzzy inside :) With so many viable options, I guess it comes down to trying the piano to see if you like it on the spot (beware of acoustic conditions of course) Amery Singapore Greg,Try the Seiler 8'1". Actually they are all quite nice. Rick Ucci / Ucci Piano > Greetings list goers, > I am in a position of trying to gather information for a church > who has a sky high budget to find a piano their music director likes. I > believe they are interested in a 7 footer. He, the director, has tried and > likes the Grotrian and the Pleyel. He has tried more than a few S&S B's and > was "under whelmed (his words)" by them. He disliked the "accelerated > action" specifically. He has seen the Petrof and was somewhat interested > but not for the main instrument so he may be looking at a 7' and possibly a > 6' instrument as well. He rather dislikes the bright, harsh sound and > favors a full bodied tone quality. A man after my own heart! In the case of > a rather large budget with these tastes in mind, where would you steer this > individual? I even suggested a hand built piano like one from Ron Overs or > Stephen P. (I forget his last name) but it seems that he is trying to have > something in place by January as the donators of the money are getting > antsy. Suggestions PLEASE! > > Greg > Greg Newell > Greg's piano Forté > mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net </DIV></DIV><hr SIZE=1> Do you Yahoo!? <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=10469/*http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com">Yahoo! SiteBuilder</a> - Free, easy-to-use web site design software