Looking for Upright Piano with Heavy, Grand-Like Action

ibb479753

Hi,

I’m looking for an upright that comes as close as possible to a grand in terms of action. A grand isn’t feasible at home due to space, so I’m hoping to find an upright that will keep my technique fully supported and make transitions to a grand feel seamless.

My priorities are:

A heavier action
Fast repetition and responsiveness
A warm, mellow tone rather than something overly bright

Which upright models would you recommend?

I’d really appreciate any recommendations and would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

ShiroKuro

ibb479753 welcome to Piano Tell!

You’ve already gotten some good advice above. The only thing I want to add is that this is so subjective, so I think the most important thing for you to do is to first play a lot of pianos. Is there a dealer you can visit? A shop that has both grands and uprights in the store, and many options of each, would be best. That way you can both play and compare all the uprights they have, and also play the grands and try to get an idea (and a feel) of what you like and don’t like about the different models.

There are many really nice uprights, so eventually I’m sure you will be able to find one that works for you.

The other thing to remember is that any piano purchase always involves trade offs and compromises, and that’s ok. We are all always limited by something, whether it’s the size of the piano room, budget (ok usually both)…

When piano shopping, people tend to think they are trying to buy the best piano or the one fits the ideal, but usually we can’t do that. We just have to focus on buying the best piano we can afford within the parameters (budget, space). That mind shift helped me, so I thought I’d mention it.

Good luck, piano shopping is stressful (and time consuming!) Let us know how it goes!

pianoloverus

If you mention your budget that would be helpful since one can spend from 5K to well over 50K on a new upright. Also, new or used? What piano do you play now and why do want a heavy action? I think either extreme, too heavy or too light, is not a good idea but heavy is a relative terms so one person's idea of heavy could be someone else's idea of a average. Unless you are quite advanced I don't think repetition speed is very important although responsiveness is.

CrisOliveira

Check out this thread on repetition mechanism for upright pianos. You'll find here brands that offer fast repetition for uprights.
https://forum.pianotell.com/d/2206-repetition-mechanism-for-upright-pianos

There's some more information in this thread in the old forum:
https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/3654373/gonew/1/repetition-mechanisms-in-upright-pianos.html

pianoloverus Unless you are quite advanced I don't think repetition speed is very important although responsiveness is.

Maybe this is covered by 'responsiveness', but the ability to repeat notes without resetting the key to near resting position is important for legato repetition, even if the repetition is relatively slow.

MRC

Grand piano actions are not generally heavier than upright ones. What you need to look for is the best control over dynamics, and here the bigger and more expensive models tend to win.

Yamaha make some excellent uprights, but the tone might be too bright for your tastes. For a warmer tone, it's probably better to look at European brands. If you have the budget, Bechstein Concert or Steingraeber are simply the best. A less expensive alternative, but still very good, would be the Hoffmann professional series.

Josephine

For the sound a Grotrian-Steinweg G-132 if you can find one.

HeartKeys

if it's within your budget, the Steingraeber upright with SFM action. It uses magnets or something like that, whereby there is more resistance. That helps resolve some/most of the issues with an upright action, since it is horizontal instead of vertical.

https://www.steingraeber.de/en/innovationen/sfm-upright-piano-action/

I went to their factory and played the 138 SFM. it sounded fabulous to me, and I liked their action a lot, and felt very close to the action I felt from my grand pianos.

But it'll cost an arm an leg, i.e., more than most mid-level grand pianos. But also checks the boxes you ask for.

pianoloverus

ShiroKuro All good advice.

sweelinck

The Edouard Seiler lineup of uprights has some models that offer the magnetic repetition action, so that is available at a moderated price in comparison to German-made pianos with this feature. The Fandrich upright (Fandrich action with a Pearl River or other Chinese-made case and plate) also is moderated in price relative to German-made uprights.

The faster repetition does not address the issue of the key having to reset to near its resting position to repeat. As a result, I found the benefits of the faster repetition actions a bit overrated when I tried some of them (Seiler and Sauter). There are tradeoffs involved.

The Kawai K-800AS replicates some of the grand playing experience in a different way. The keystick length is in the range one would find with 6’ to 7’ grands. The fallboard, end blocks for the keybed, and music rest match the geometry of a grand. It also supports repetition speed that is above average for an upright by using memory cell foam on the hammer rest rail to eliminate hammer bounce during repeated notes, and the Millenium III action that uses ABS-Carbon is responsive, with parts that are more rigid than wood to reduce lost energy. The piano also has a true sostenuto pedal, for what its worth.

Comparing those benefits to the faster repetition of a magnetic or spring-loaded fast repetition upright action is a subjective exercise. You have to try the pianos to make your own judgment.