Today I want to continue talking about the “rating” of the Piano. In this blog, I will be more focusing on consumer-grade pianos which are more common in our lives. They include the pianos I used for practicing so I have some experience to access different consumer-grade pianos. Although I can feel the differences between these pianos, I can’t say the one is better than the other one. In my opinion, the choice of buying the piano at this level depends on personal use from different customers. For example, the piano is going to be placed in a small practice room, a smaller size piano with a lower volume is recommended. If the piano is going to be placed in a big sitting room, a baby grand can be a better choice with a higher volume and a better looking (I believe). Also, some pianists prefer the piano with a brighter sounding when the others prefer the deeper piano sound.

 

Aside from personal preferences, consumer-grade pianos can also be grouped by the price range. I will list them from the highest price to the lowest price.

 

The professional level of consumer-grade pianos:

Baldwin (Professional/over 6′) grands Boston (Japan) Brodmann (AS) Cunningham (grands over 6′) Emerson Wilhelm Grotrian grands Hailun (grands over 6′)

W. Hoffmann (Vision) Hupfeld (Europe) grands Irmler (Professional) grands Kawai (GX) grands Kawai (Japan) verticals Kayserburg (Artists) Wilhelm Schimmel

Schulze Pollmann (Academy) Seiler (ED) grands Charles R. Walter verticals Wertheim (Fandrich) Yamaha (Japan) verticals Yamaha (CX) grands

The price of the verticals varies from $12,000 to $21,000. The price of the grands varies from $30,000 to $60,000.

 

The next level is the Premium pianos. They include

Baldwin verticals Baldwin (Academy) grands Baldwin (Professional/under 6′) grands Boston (Indonesia) verticals Brodmann (PE) Cunningham (except grands over 6′) Fandrich & Sons Wilhelm Grotrian verticals Wilhelm Grotrian Studio grands Hailun (except grands over 6′) Heintzman verticals Hupfeld verticals Hupfeld (Studio) grands

Irmler verticals Irmler (Studio) grands Kawai (GL) grands Kawai (ST-1) verticals Wm. Knabe (Concert Arist) Ernst Krause Berlin Mason & Hamlin (Artist) Perzina J.P. Pramberger (Platinum) Ritmüller (Premium) Samick (NSG) Fridolin Schimmel

Gebr. Schulz Schulze Pollmann (Studio) Seiler (ED) verticals G. Steinberg Wilh. Steinberg (Performance) Story & Clark grands Albert Weber Wendl & Lung Wertheim (Euro/Platinum) Yamaha (GC) grands Yamaha (P22D) verticals Zimmermann

The price of the verticals varies from $6,500–$14,000. The price of the grands varies from $15,000–$35,000.

 

Mid-Range pianos include

Brodmann (CE) Cline Essex Wilhelm Grotrian Studio verticals Heintzman grands Gerhard Heintzman verticals Kawai (Indonesia) verticals

Kingsburg Wm. Knabe (Academy) Mason & Hamlin (Classic) Palatino Pramberger (Signature) Samick Schumann verticals

Johannes Seiler Weber Wertheim (Gold) Yamaha (Indonesia) verticals Yamaha (GB) grands Young Chang

The price of the verticals varied from $5,000 to $8,500. The price of the grands varied from $12,000–$21,000

 

The final level is the Economy pianos. They include

Cristofori/Paul A. Schmitt A. Geyer Hallet, Davis & Co. Hardman, Peck

Gerhard Heintzman grands Wm. Knabe (Baltimore) Pearl River Pramberger (Legacy)

Ritmüller (Performance) Schumann Story & Clark verticals

The price of the verticals varies from $4,300 to $6,800. The price of the grands varies from $9,500 to $16,000.

 

The groups of the consumer-grade pianos are all listed above. If you are interested in choosing a consumer-grade piano, the budget and your personal preference should be considered in the first place.