I had the joy of using a Bosendorfer for a few years in my job as an improvisational ballet pianist. But I was over the moon when I played a Schimmel. I never dreamed that there was an instrument superior to Bosendorfer, but I am convinced that Schimmels are superior in all aspects. These are magnificent instruments that respond readily whether imitating a deafening storm or invoking a whisper from a dream.
The demonstration of the tuning fork stuck in a piece of board that could be bent was very informative. It kind of resonated when the board got bent to just the right degree. But this was only one tuning fork, resonating at one frequency. The sound board must pick up and amplify ALL the frequencies from all the strings - a mind-boggling achievement. I therefore assume the selection of the spruce, and the sound outcome after manufacture requires a certain amount of luck.
Does anyone know anything about the Schimmel-Pleyel partnership? Listening to these pianos, they sound very much like my Braunschweig-made Pleyel, bought in the 80s.
That concert grand sounds a bit " thin " to my ear. The truest comparison is by hearing a piano in a truly blind test where you really do not know which piano is being played. Such tests can yield some surprising results.
Hmm thin rim not my sound. The new Bechsteins have adopted Steinways thick rim also Mason & Hamlin in order to mainly keep vibration where it belongs in the soundboard the rim saps that acoustical energy.
intersting to see that Schimmel has so enthusiastic fans all over the world. In Braunschweig it was only the number two, the piano for beginners, schools and churches. In the concerthall the pianist's choice was rather Grotrian... Anyway, Chinese investors saved the life of both, and i guess the majority of pianos of the two brands are made in these country. I have an Schimmel from Leipzig, 1920. Has a beautiful sound. Chiara-escuro. Never heard on a modern Instrument. But not easy to play.
I instantly fell in love with an upright piano when I was around 13 and went to a music store with my parents. We wanted a piano, an used one, not too expensive. After trying out every piano they had, I found the k112 but at that time I knew nothing about Schimmel. Now, 10 years later, I really really appreciate this piano and still think it's sound is perfect.
3:16 Umm how do you know the age of a tree without looking at its cross section or some kind of tool. Here he's just glancing at random trees in the woods
I know I will get a terrible backlash for this, but for reasons that are absolutely not based on reason I simply cannot get myself to like Schimmel. Growing up in Germany in the 80s, I never even saw a privately owned grand piano and had to grow around 40 to lay hand on one for the first time. Germany was an upright country (and is a digital country as far as pianos go nowadays) My piano teacher had a Schimmel upright. It was ok, better than my tiny Rippen upright, yet it was not great. I really did not like it too much as a child. The other thing is me remembering German singer/entertainer Udo Jürgens, whom I certainly did not like as a kid/youth sitting in front of a acryl glass Schimmel grand piano in Saturday evening TV shows. So no matter how great their grand pianos might be, whenever I see the brand logo, I think about that stupid little upright of my teacher and this guy in front of the glas piano. I would gladly play a Grotrian-Steinweg or Bechstein or Blüthner or Seiler or Sauter. But Schimmel... sorry, for reasons beyond reason they are burned for me.
I have never seen one. I observe that there was no player of the first rank demonstrating or praising the pianos. On RU-vid the sound was cultivated but constrained. I will look out if I ever encounter one.
I think the reason why there was no first rank pianist demonstrating is because they are all taken by overrated S&S or one of the 3 B's. Also RU-vid compresses the sound
Proprio ieri sono andato a comprarmi un piano verticale e dopo aver provato quasti tutto che ci avevano ho deciso di provare il solito Schimmel che c'era. Prima neanche ne pansavo perché ha due lampade fissate che ho trovato strano ma adesso sono innamorato. Arriverá domani il che mi fa molto felice.
I recently did some work on a 1960's model 108. (Hammer heads, return spgs, loops, tapes, repin hammers etc) I don't remember a sweeter sounding piano which played as well as this one, after the work was done. A beautiful instrument & a wonderful testimony to Schimmel.
0:45 notice the small sounding, unsustained chord played here, as if it was played on a small spinet piano, yet it is being played on Schimmel's 9 foot concert grand piano, the largest in their line. 4:44 - 5:40 Notice that the higher treble notes do not ring out or sustain like a bell would continue to sustain, however you can hear the baritone and bass notes sustain with big, bold fullness. I've had the same problem with the treble section in my 7 foot studio grand Schimmel. Working with piano technicians, none of us have been able to figure out why there isn't more natural sustain in this treble section of strings, starting from an octave above middle "C" going upward. These notes need to be lyrical and singing, since they are mostly responsible for playing the melody notes of all types of music. Our conclusion has been it is not the soundboard, and not the strings, but rather Schimmel's "scale design" and the bridge design which is limiting the sustain and character of these critical notes. I'm not sure if this is true on most Schimmel grands, since scale designs are different on each size of grand piano, but I intend to test as many different lengths of Schimmels as possible to find out. Even so, I still love my Schimmel, because it remains a very European-sounding piano, filled with rich tone and deep character, especially after I've voiced the hammers. I've discovered ways to overcome this "lack of treble sustain" limitation by holding down melody note keys slightly longer which creates an illusion of greater lyrical sustain. Every piano has strengths and limitations, regardless of manufacturer, size or price. Pianos are very organic instruments which react to temperature, humidity, playing, care, maintenance, moving and physical placement in a room. The only way to get the best possible performance from a piano is to have a highly skilled piano technician adjust the piano's action, voice its hammers to your taste, and give it regular tunings, especially as the seasons change from hot & dry to cold & wet. For home use, people often place too much emphasis on a piano's brand name, and it's price. Size is very important, since the larger the piano, the better and bigger its sound is. An expensive 5 foot "baby" grand piano usually can't make the same sound as a large console or upright piano. A 7 foot grand regardless of price or brand, will always make a fuller, richer sound than a 5'7" grand. But in terms of value, quality and future resale price, the more expensive brands will always retain value and resell for much more. Even so, the least important thing about a piano can be its brand, because every piano is a welcomed sight in the home.
4:20 "Fifteen percent more soundboard radiation surface".....Schimmel does this by making the curved end of their grand pianos much wider than most pianos, which gives a larger sound in the bass end, but actually has little effect on the middle and high treble end of the keyboard where most of the music is played.
jennifer86010 No, the soundboard works as a single unit. The wide tail design is nothing new, my 115 year old Baldwin has a really fat tail, and a rich midrange and treble. Maybe the two are unrelated but I would struggle to say that it does nothing for the midrange and treble
Despite this glossy video commercial, please listen to the piano playing in the background music. It sounds narrow, without sustain and very bright, artificial, almost metallic and cheap sounding. Schimmels are known for their overly bright sound, i.e. the "Yamaha of Europe". Yet they are great pianos. So if you own one, ask a technician to 'voice' it down a notch or two in order to get the truly organic natural piano sound.
I see it as a compliment to be compared to Yamaha. At the hand-built level for Yamaha, well-voiced Yamaha CFX and smaller CF series are magnificent. Honestly, I've heard over-bright Bechsteins, Steinways and Bosendorfers. They're just bright in a different way. Some technician liked the sound of that concert grand. The good thing is technicians can voice a piano reasonably to an owner's specification.
I've never heard of Schimmel's sounding metallic or cheap. In fact, this comment is the first and only time I have ever encountered such an opinion. I've owned a Schimmel upright for years and would describe it as having a rich and warm sound - far much so than any other upright I have ever played or heard.
2:59 "High Altitude" is incorrect. The correct phrase is "high elevation". Altitude refers to flying above the ground. Elevation refers to things connected to the ground.
