If you've been wanting a newer Bluthner Model 2

Ithaca · 2024-09-02T02:04:16+00:00

This seems like an incredibly good deal: https://www.pianomart.com/buy-a-piano/view?id=57001 (Summarizing: 7'10", built in 2017, sold new in 2019, one-owne...

Ithaca

Pallas 🤣🤣🤣

I was just wondering what the worldwide supply of good used Bluthners is, since the factory was back ordered for a while. And, to be practical, Haesslers, too - I’m told that they’re both built like tanks. Like, what is actually out there? Random Sunday morning thoughts; it’s no wonder I don’t get enough done. 😁

Pallas

Ithaca If dreaming about pianos is a waste of time, I'm in real trouble.

ShiroKuro

Pallas If dreaming about pianos is a waste of time, I'm in real trouble.

Same! 😃

Joseph-Fleetwood

It's not just the USA. Most people in the UK don't know Blüthner and Bösendorfer. A lot of pianists do know them because there are so many old ones kicking around, but not many people know about the new models and they judge the whole brand on a couple of examples that are 50 to 80 years old, or more - up to 140 years old - and then say they don't like them compared to a new Yamaha... Well no Sh*t! Blüthner London also did themselves zero favors by not investing in a full time concert technician who could prepare all the pianos. They used to send all the pianos through the Leveretts, when they owned that factory and the Leveretts were their employees - and so the pianos were impeccably prepared. This is actually why so many of the pianos they sold after that period were Leverett rebuilds! It got to the point around 10 years ago that the showroom didn't want to stock Leverett rebuilds anymore because they needed to promote the new product, and it couldn't compete

Ithaca

Joseph-Fleetwood It got to the point around 10 years ago that the showroom didn't want to stock Leverett rebuilds anymore because they needed to promote the new product, and it couldn't compete

You're saying that new Bluthners couldn't compete with Leverett rebuilds of old Bluthners, yes? On price alone, or were the rebuilds the (near?) equal or better than the new Bluthners?

Either way, this is fascinating, thanks. It turns out my technician is very fond of old (pre-1900?) Bluthners, but hasn't met a new(ish) one outside of a PTG conference. He's sent to conferences in Europe occasionally - if he's going to be anywhere near London soon, then I'm going to encourage him to stop by Piano Restorations LTD. I desperately want to try their Model VIII and IX rebuilds, but unfortunately there is no travel in the cards for me till next summer at earliest.

Joseph-Fleetwood

Whether it was on reason of price or quality I do not know. The rebuilds were at that time about half the price of the new pianos, which is not an insignificant difference. At that time in London, the pianos being shipped over from Leipzig had a harsh tone because they were using really hard hammers to try and modernize the sound. In the ten years previous, Blüthner still had that drawing room sound and they wanted to try to move away from that and be taken seriously as a competition instrument. That was a very difficult learning process for Blüthner because those pianos don't actually suit having that sound. Leveretts kept the sound as Colin had learned to voice them, and he was taught that technique by Rudolf Blüthner. People went to Blüthner because they wanted a drawing room sound or a chamber music sound, or if they were buying a concert grand they wanted something more romantic and warmer. They didn't want a hard tone. There's a lot to be said for sticking to what you're known for.

Blüthner pianos are designed to sing, and they really do sing, but if you put too hard a hammer on it the attack becomes too much and it goes from singing to shouting. A Yamaha voiced that way becomes dull and dead, but a Blüthner sings. You have to voice to the piano really. It's the whole build of the instrument that counts. The rim of a Blüthner is sectional, not continuous, and the idea is that it allows the body and soundboard to vibrate more freely. To change the voicing so drastically, one would really have to change the whole build. I think the Haessler has a continuous rim and it suits the more modern tone. But of course Haessler was never going to be a piano that competes at that level on concert and competition stages. It's a good piano, but it's a practice room piano really.

mivaldes

That piano is certainly beautiful. I'd love to actually hear it in person. Sad that it was owned for so short a time and the person is moving to assisted lliving. I wonder what the story is there?

Ithaca

mivaldes I thought the same - what a pity that the owner only got to play it for such a short time.

But this reminds me of when I was dithering over whether to buy my piano - I'd been feeling ill for quite some time and was worried that buying something that I wanted so badly and cost so much was the height of stupidity - almost like I was asking the universe to give me an imminently terminal diagnosis. And I try to be intelligent about high-ticket purchases. So I went to my therapist and asked, "Wouldn't buying this expensive piano be a phenomenally stupid decision, if it turns out that I'm going to be dead in 6 months?" His reply startled me: "Oh, Ithaca - if you were going to die in 6 months, I can't think of a better thing for you than to be able to play such a piano in your waning days." I sat on the idea for a day, decided he was right (modulo still being able to care for my children), and called my dealer later that week.

I hope the beautiful Model 2 gave its owner great joy in the time they had together.

Pallas

Ithaca "...if you were going to die in 6 months, I can't think of a better thing than for you than to be able to play such a piano in your waning days."

This person gets angel wings. Furthermore, I hope anyone who can afford the piano of their dreams, buys the piano. Not everyone can afford a dream instrument, and that's sad. But there is no virtue in denying yourself if you have the $$$. I'm in therapy for this! ☺️

When it comes time for me to buy a grand piano, I hope you will help me get over the reflexive self-denial. Remind me that people who can afford to treat themselves and don't, don't get virtue points!

I started out a single mom making $10/hour, and 30 years later, I have the resources to buy almost any piano, but I still clip coupons, and it'll be a big leap of faith to buy the big grand piano when I've decided it's time.

I'm glad you decided to go for it, and I hope you are and continue to be in good health.

Ithaca

Pallas When it comes time for me to buy a grand piano, I hope you will help me get over the reflexive self-denial. Remind me that people who can afford to treat themselves and don't, don't get virtue points!

Definitely, and with pleasure!

My therapist often tells me that for most of his patients he has to try to rein in their spending, but for me it's the exact opposite, and that neither extreme is healthy. I've gotten into this weird state where if I'm in a large city, $5 is the minimum unit size (someone took your bag from you and rolled it 10 feet, even when you didn't want them to? Give them $5), but when I'm home I'll find myself dithering over whether to put another nickel into the parking meter for 3 more minutes of time. The answer is to always put in the extra nickel - it's not worth the $75 fine if I'm over time, and I don't move as fast as I used to - but sometimes my brain gets very unhappy about the likely waste of....$0.05. Old habits die hard, I guess.

Pallas

Ithaca I've gotten into this weird state where if I'm in a large city, $5 is the minimum unit size (someone took your bag from you and rolled it 10 feet, even when you didn't want them to? Give them $5), but when I'm home I'll find myself dithering over whether to put another nickel into the parking meter for 3 more minutes of time.

Same, same, same! I keep coming back to this thread because I identify so hard.

HeartKeys

regarding the immediate conversation above, my take is:

it's a dumb decision if you say it is.
it's a great decision if you say it is.

for me, it's a great decision for me to have spent, in my (finite budget) a "fortune" for two nice acoustic grands, and four keyboards, and tons of VST software, etc.

for me, it's a stupid decision to spend $0.20 more per gallon for gas, when I could've gotten it cheaper down the street.

human behavior. 🙂

Ithaca

HeartKeys At an average of 13 gallons per fill, that's $2.60 in savings, so well worth the extra drive, IMO. 😉

I envy you the Bosendorfer and SK combo - to be able to play different acoustics with very different voices as the mood strikes sounds delightful.

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