Which Piano Brand Is Best?

Who makes the best piano?

There are many different opinions about piano quality. In the end, the best piano is the one the customer gets the most pleasure – both in short and long term. Along the same thought, it depends somewhat on what the customer likes. Example: I have said before, if you enjoy a strong-boisterous bass then you need to purchase either a Bösendorfer or Baldwin since they have the biggest bass section. However, some would say their bass section swallows up the rest of the piano. If you seek a bright sound, then you need to go with a Yamaha or other bright pianos on the market.

Performing artists prefer Steinway

Steinway pianos can be voiced either intensely bright or exceeding mellow, while other bright pianos start to sound muffled if voiced too far towards mellow tone. Steinway is top of the list for performing artists, and there are many reasons performing artists prefer Steinway. That being said Steinway gets a lot out of their name and allows their pianos to leave the factory in questionable shape when it comes to regulation and adjustment. I have also seen brand new Steinway pianos, still on the dealers floor with questionable pinblocks, etc.

Yamaha easiest to service

When I started in the piano tuning business, someone who was a Yamaha fan, gave me their opinion the best pianos where the ones easiest to work on (an opinion that I do not necessarily agree with). Their thought was Yamaha, unlike many other well know brands, took the time when designing their pianos to think about the technician – that was smart. Yamaha also pays extra, for all new Yamaha pianos sold to have their “preventative maintenance program” known as the “Yamaha service bond” included in the new piano service.

Let me say up front that I too like Yamaha pianos. However, have you ever wondered why, when asking technicians about recommendations of piano brands, that Yamaha is one of the first brands mentioned – there is the fact ~ technicians get paid more (because of the Yamaha Service Bond) to work on the easiest piano made to service – Yamaha was exceptionally smart in their marketing.

Ask your piano tuner / technician

Good technicians, can make any brand sound like a dream piano of a lifetime by talking up their strong points or make them sound like a huge gamble – all without being dishonest, because technicians know the strong and weak points in all brands they service. So make sure your piano tuner / technician is someone you trust when asking for advice about piano brands.

The most noteworthy thing when buying a new piano is to have a trusted piano tuner / technician assess the piano before you buy. If possible, it is best to have more than one piano picked out, so he can inform you which one he likes best.