The Piano

[nik0tine]

I'm putting this in General Chat so I can actually get help with this. Not enough people frequent the help forum.

Anyhow, I'm looking to buy a piano. I have my eye on a "Hallet, Davis & co" baby grand piano. Is this a decent brand? I know nothing about pianos and I don't want to get ripped off. It costs alot of money and I don't want to spend that kind of cash on a subpar instrument.

[eestlinc]

I've never heard of the company, but that doen't mean it's a bad brand. The most popular brands among professional pianists are Steinway, Bosendorfer, Yamaha, Kawai, and Baldwin. Chickering also makes (or made, not sure if they still exist) good pianos that I know about. I do know Baldwins have a softer, less edgy sound preferred by jazz musicians.

[Hambone]

I don't really know about pianos because I play cello. But when looking for most intruments, look for one that was made in Europe. Those always seem to be the good ones. I don't know as far as price either.

[eestlinc]

Looked them up on google, apparently Hallet is an old company that used to produce some of the best pianos in Boston, although now they are made somewhere in Asia. Not sure if they are still considered good or not. If you want a real opinion, I would look up some local piano technicians and ask them what they think of the brand and if they have any recommendations.

[rubah]

As long as it will stay tuned, you don't really have a *bad* piano. Barring the amount of effort it takes to push a key and the physical dimentions, they're pretty much the same.

We got ours used for $800 about ten years ago, it's a Whitney and wonderful still.