Well I picked it up at JFK, drove it up to RI, took the ferry to Block Island and had two strong guys (like me) meet me to unload from the truck and wheel into the family homestead. Set it up in the living room (all wood construction no ceiling just the roof - mostly redwood construction).

Holy cow!

My brother in law sat stunned for two hours as I played through what I can play these days (Brahms, Ravel, Chopin, Poulenc) and stated that this was in a class separate from ANY OTHER PIANO he has heard. The combination of the room and the piano he says outclasses anything it is a combination destined to be.

I am stunned by the heartbreaking beauty of the sound. The action is even superior to my Grotrian. The sound is soooo dear and so wonderfully dark yet rich in overtones. Yet the treble is clear. The bass is not on V8 steroids like a Steinway which I find to be a more tasteful balance. This piano is truly stunning and perfectly sized for the room.

What a treat to have two FANTASTIC german pianos to play on (albeit not at the same time or place).

Jon - the bass bridge is similar to the Bosey in that there are big circular cutouts underneath the cap - but also a complete cut through to the bottom everywhere there is a hole.

The action on this piano appears to be a notch above the Grotrian. I guess there are two levels of Renner action?

I measure it to be 183cm but the piano store who shipped it calls it a 180 so I am not sure what it is yet. It was made in 1977 - mostly restored rather than rebuilt. Looks like new bridge caps. New hammers and shanks and knuckles. Key tops new for sure. Finish is gorgeous.

The action is impeccable. Unlike any action I have played. The musicality of the instrument is stunning. What a most lovely sound. I wonder if this piano is what Brahms and Chopin must have been thinking about when they were composing? (I'm sure it is!)

Regards,

Jerry

I would love to hear/try it. You know what this means, don't you? Piano party!

(Worth the trip to Block Island!)

Maybe I'll sail over. Can you walk from New Harbor

quote:

Originally posted by LJC:
Maybe I'll sail over. Can you walk from New Harbor

Easily! In fact you can call from New Harbor! Just have to make sure I'm up there...

quote:

Originally posted by rustyfingers:

ditto

OK - give me a couple of weeks until I get back out there!

RE the action--G I don't think that Renner designs any of these actions. They just make the parts to the manufacturer's specs.

Congratulations! You need to have a Block Island piano party!

By the way, did your wife freak when you said you were buying another piano in Germany?

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
Congratulations! You need to have a Block Island piano party!

By the way, did your wife freak when you said you were buying another piano in Germany?

You know as our older son started to say it is boring out there and there is no reason to go, and then the younger son started complaining how the upright didn't allow him to practice as he can't play soft, and she sees how much we all enjoy the piano she caved pretty easily I'd say.

What is a home without a grand piano anyhow?

wow. i have to see and play this instrument.

g, how are you going to keep it healthy out on the island?

is there a tech who will visit? are you trying to control the room climate at all?

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
g, how are you going to keep it healthy out on the island?

is there a tech who will visit? are you trying to control the room climate at all?

I don't know what Block Island is like, but one time I was offered a home piano to practice on, out near the end of Long Island...in fact, just a few blocks from the ocean, in Amagansett.

The humidity was not controlled. A stickier environment you could not imagine. (And I thought it was bad here in NYC.) Poor little Steinway.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
wow. i have to see and play this instrument.

g, how are you going to keep it healthy out on the island?

is there a tech who will visit? are you trying to control the room climate at all?

Actually the house is in the middle of the Island so there is no salt air. The humidity is relatively constant all year (albeit more than a normal house). The room it is in has windows and has no ground underneath so it is in fact a bit drier than a normal room. The Altenburg upright was so happy there that I had to tune it once every two years or so (OK I play only on weekends in the summer/spring/fall). No rust on the strings and no issues with mold or anything like that. (Of course no open windows allowed near the piano - this is the biggest danger when there is fog.)

My bigger fear was mice in the winter time. But I don't see how they will climb up the highly polished legs on this piano (they are more of a problem in uprights than in grands anyhow).

Southern Germany - where this piano is from - is also a very humid environment. So I'm thinking it is an ideal environment for the piano.

That being said - I will go out this weekend to see how 3 weeks of settling has affected the piano and will see if I need to get a dampp chaser installed (with underwear). I'm thinking of powering the system with a solar panel so I don't have to worry about electric charges which are worse than anywhere else in the continental US.

I will be the tech for the piano. Heiner Senwald has offered to stop by when he is in Boston in 2010 (he sold me the piano).

quote:

I will be the tech for the piano.

you are a brave man, grotriman. (or is it ibachman now? )

Went out this past weekend and the humidity out here on the east coast has been devastating! Hammers on my Grotrian are as soft as they've ever been. The hammers on the Ibach which were much softer to begin with are a little too much for me now! The bass has become wooden because the hammer won't bounce off the string fast enough. Hope this isn't too much of an issue. I won't do any major voicing though until these have been played a good year (at least into the fall when things are drier).

Grotrian is Yin Ibach is Yang. Ibach is so personal and intimate. Was a lovely impressionist instrument a few weeks ago - now for Mozart I suppose. But when things dry out we'll be back to a bit more lively sound. Both are so expressive but the Ibach's expressiveness is immediate. The Grotrian you are on top of a V16 engine and have to learn how to touch that accelerator oh so carefully. The Ibach on the other hand does not get loud and clangy - it has a smaller dynamic range (low tension scale design) which I wanted for that room.

Now thinking no ceiling may be bad for bass. But need to work out the hammer thing first.

Took pix and over the next few days will be posting in this thread.

Took another look at the Ibach action - definitely different than the Grotrian. The Grotrian if I am playing blocked chords pp or ppp sound like a bunch of chopsticks falling when the hammers are let go. The Ibach never makes a sound from the action.

The Ibach also seems to be a very svelte profile. Very small "looking" compared to the Grotrian which seems to be beefier. Still the lid on the Ibach is one of those very heavy lids. Visually deceiving. Nice keyboard cover attachment mechanism too (wrong screws used though will replace with allen set screws soon).

What fun!