Top 10 Things To Know BEFORE Buying Steinway & Sons 

We had a terrible experience with the sales person at our local brand new Steinway showroom. In the end we took delivery of a brand new Shigeru Kawai SK6 from Portland Piano Company. Absolutely love it

My 1927 Steinway M was rebuilt with new strings, hammers and dampers. My technician insisted on using only Steinway parts so it remains a true Steinway. Fortunately, the original soundboard was in good shape so the fine, mellow tone was retained. He incidentally was able to repair several ivories and polished all the brass bits. The instrument inspires me!

"The price keeps going up..." In 1973 the list price of a *B* ebony was $6810. I know because I worked at a S&S dealer then. Multiply that by the inflation adjustment 1973-2024 and you will be QUITE SHOCKED to see their outlier pricing!

Great conversation- interesting to watch. For many Steinway is the pinnacle. There’s a reason conservatories and concert halls use these instruments. Their tone, feel and precision set the standard for pianists. Some instruments aren’t impressive but the standouts are leagues above other brands. One thing not mentioned is the converging of the Hamburg and NY manufacturing techniques. This is ongoing and NY has opted for rounded arms now. I would advise getting a slightly used but not heavily used instrument where you’re not paying the premium for new but not buying someone else’s problem. Pianos take some time for their sound to mature so a used instrument will give a better idea of what the piano is. I’d also advise against non-Steinway modifications. They’ve been tweaking the process for 150+ years and their techniques are proprietary. Have some respect for that. There’s definite secrets to the soundboard that nobody will ever figure out. A used C&A is a rare but great find. Not every Steinway is great but there could be wildly different opinions about the same instrument based on the conditioning of one’s ears. “golden age” is BS. Some eras were better than others but over the last 10 years the quality of concert instruments is tremendous. Finally, a Steinway technician is also a huge asset as they can mold the instrument to your liking. The instruments are highly adjustable and customizable. Hope this helps. Comes from my experience choosing an incredible piano.

I tried several model Bs at Steinway Hall in London: they all sounded virtually identical to the one I had at that time. They had three model Ds, and each one sounded very different. I was lucky enough to own a reconditioned American model D: it was stupendously powerful, and the sound was very lively, but my excellent tuner found it a bit of a nightmare because there was so much falseness in the sound. It had a new set of Abel hammers, which were changed to Renners when they wore out. I never liked the sound with the Renners. Back then, the American pianos had the accelerated action, which I think was manufactured by Steinway in New York; the Hamburg pianos had a Renner action and hammers.

I enjoy your series. Thankfully, I have owned five Steinways. Being a concert pianist, I have been blessed to be able to purchase a D. When you say “Steinwas, ” that refers to a Steinway that has had the original soundboard removed and another soundboard replaced that was not made by Steinway. The sound is very different. I have played a few of them. The sound board is the life of any piano. Everything else can be replaced by an outside technician and then replaced again, but the sound board is a non negotiable option for me when purchasing a Steinway. Hope this helps. Keep up the wonderful series.

I think it would be cool if you guys can write a book about all the stories and history behind the piano industry!

Steinway is currently owned by the guy that shorted the mortgage derivatives in the stock market in 2008. I can't remember his actual name, but his character was played by Christian Bale on the "The Big Short"

A used Steinway can be a good investment. A new one...not so much!

The oldest All-Steinway School in Ohio, you guys mention, is Oberlin 🙂

Would you please do a video on 'Fazioli' Pianos?

A lot of clever marketing, certainly - but without products that really have “soul”, even the best marketing tricks would be useless … nothing compares to a Steinway, period.

Many years ago the local sheet music store had a Conn upright for customers to try out scores on. It seemed a one-off piano. Given what you’ve said about ownership was that actually a Steinway built piano?

Steinway is the Apple of the piano world.

I felt this video was not balanced enough. Didn't talk about all of Steinway's lawsuits, their artist lock-in, their wild inconsistency, often poor out-of-factory performance (shipping with sawdust in it !!), and the fact so many rebuilders "flip" them. The best of Steinway's best are world-class. But the best of Steinway usually don't make it into customer's homes.

I was under the impression that Steinway slipped in quality about 20: years ago. Are they now up to their old standards?

Steinway is nothing but a bunch of bullies. They do twist the arm of schools and artists! The most famous story is that Carnegie Hall is an all Steinway venue, by contract. Several artists over the years have wanted a different brand, specifically Liberace. Whether you like him or not, he was famous and he was a Baldwin artist. He was nearly denied the concert in New York until the venue reluctantly acquiesced at the last minute. Now Steinway is not allowing piano restorers to work on their old pianos, under threat of lawsuit. You cannot even get a Steinway fallboard decal without fear of being sued.

It's not a SCROLL! It's a roll. Steinway didn't make players in the 1920s. Aeolian contracted with Steinway to provide a certain number of units per year that were built to Aeolian specifications to fit their Duo-Art player system. In order to finalize the contact, Aeolian had to stop making and marketing their Weber brand piano as competition to Steinway. Was Steinway so afraid of Weber as competition? Weber today is barely a blip on the horizon of the distant past, but at one time it was artist endorsed and played in many concert halls. You can blame Steinway for ending that.

Great video, but Patrick try to relax a bit.

Not shown: Model L

Word salad

So Boston baby grands would actually hold their value if well kept? My next long term goal is to go with a brand that appreciates well overtime.

Wish the older guy was talking. The younger guyis too loud and irritating because he is hyper and all over the place. Stop yelling!