Andy Taylor wrote:
> Why aren't full size uprights made anymore? The public probably
> wouldn't buy them, but the _pianists_ probably would. What would
> be wrong with building brand new 52" or 54" upright players?
They are being made. No company listed had anything taller than 52"
(132 cm). Prices taken from Ancott guide:
Petrof 52" Mod. 131 $ 9,380 We sell them for less!
Samick 52" Mod. SU 131B $ 5,860 We sell them for less!
Steinway 52" Mod. K-52 $ 21,400
Boesendorfer 52" Mod. 130 $ 46,780
Bluthner 52" Mod. B $ 26,000
Boston 52" Mod. UP-132E $ 10,300
Bechstein 52" Mod. 8A $ 43,540
Baldwin 52" Mod. 6000 $ 8,900
Geo. Steck 52" Mod. GSU52PB $ 8,790
Hyundai 52" Mod. U-837 $ 5.790
Kawai 52" Mod. US-8X $ 11.750
Kohler and Campbell 52" Mod. SKV-52S $ 5,960
Maeiri 52" Mod. MU837 $ 5,790
Yamaha 52" Mod.WX7S $ 12,990
Seiler 52" Mod. 121 $ 16,170
Young Chang 52" Mod. U131 $ 6,880
Other brands that make 52" uprights include Nakamura, and (Korean)
Weber and others.
Now you know why there are not more of them out there. The modern
piano industry considers the full-sized upright to be the top-of-the-
line instrument that it always has been, but they are no longer within
a median price range. There is basically no way to make such a large
piano sound as sorry as the spinets made by the same company, so even
the worst piano company's 52"-ers sound great.
The reason no one has seen these instruments is because they do not fly
off the floor at these prices. Most dealers do not sell them except
for special order. Only the most wealthy piano dealers even keep one
or more on the showroom floor. Unfortunately, the prices almost insure
that the starving musicians who need them most are least able to afford
them.
D. L. Bullock Piano World St. Louis
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