Oh guys, I don't know. I need your advice. I'm not really happy with the Schimmel piano either. It sounds good when I play mp - f, for example Joe Hisaishi stuff, but not with classical music; a bit harsh in fortissimo, not smooth and consistent enough in piano and pianissimo. The tenor range sounds unclean and boxy. The piano action is also inconsistent and manages to be both light and tough and somehow choppy at the same time. I also have dead notes in the pp too often, which I don't have with most pianos. In the overall picture, that's not enough for me. It doesn't change the fact that it sounds better than many of the (below) average pianos with poor voicing that sit around at dealers and rot. But just as with the Bechstein 124, I don't want to simply make a ‘good’ deal - I have the feeling that I would buy the Schimmel because it was built in 1990, is relatively young and looks nice, but not because it really convinces me.
There really has been one piano model that has always convinced me 100% (can you imagine that!?), both in terms of touch and sound. It really is a very special and rare model. It's a certain August Förster piano that was built at the end of the 1930s/beginning of the 1940s, I think 120cm high. There is a really great piano technician in Berlin who specialises in August Förster pianos because he is convinced of their quality and is particularly fond of this model too. It always cost around 3000 - 4500€ (extremely well regulated and intonated), a particularly good one even cost 7900€. Do you remember last year? I had already written about him.
porco_rosso After that I remembered that there was also another piano technician and dealer close by. I was there three years ago. At that time he had a used August Förster from 1938 or so that spoke to me like not other piano then. Due to the circumstances I described in the first post I didn't buy a piano back then but I thought it would be worth visit him. I called him up and he actually was in his workshop.
This was the best experience I had! He rembered me from the one visit a few years ago. He also thought that this August Förster was very special and he specialised more and more in used August Försters from all ages as he and his customers appreciated the special August Försters sound and also the longevity and build quality of these instruments. But he also has a few other quality brands like Blüthner, Bechstein and Pfeiffer.
Most of the upright pianos were Försters, some of them 100 years old, some 80, some GDR Försters from the 70s and 80s. He told me that the Försters are special because they had a rather clean, transparent powerful modern sound, but without any harshness, and they lacked the soft and muted sound compared to other very old restored uprights.
I can only agree. In the first post of this thread I wrote that I liked modern pianos more because of the cleaner sound, but these Förster Pianos combined the best of both worlds. I liked almost every piano I played there. All had a clean singing resonating and warm tone with a thick base and good dynamic capabilities. I liked one piano especially - it had such a crystal clear and bell like tone but without any metallicness or harshness. Amazing for a piano of that age. Interestingly this was also his favourite instrument, the most expensive upright (7900 € - I didn't see any price tag before) and also the one upright he rent for studio recordings as he works with many contemporary composers, for example with Nils Frahm (who also owns a Förster ge hot from him). He is also almost a bit hesitant to sell it. There were also other very very good pianos for fair prices, ranging from 3000 € to 7000 €. We agreed on the tone and strengths of every piano and he really loved every instrument for his special tonal qualities. He also had some grands for fair prices. Most of the pianos had still original parts, hammers and strings in good conditions.
He offers staggered payments and also that one can exchange the piano in the first year with another - also a cheaper one, with full refunds. He seems very interested in the satisfaction of his customers and I have a really good feeling with him.
So I will visit him again in the next week or two and will probably find my piano, most likely a Förster. Seems that I am a Förster guy as I also liked the new Förster uprights and grands really. But I also liked the used U1 and I am a bit hesitant to buy and 80 to 100 year old piano for thousands of € and would have a better feeling with a young upright. But they just doesn't sound as good.
The main reason why I haven't bought it yet was that I wanted a ‘more modern’, younger piano for reasons of safety and future proofing. But I think I'm now ready for the August Förster. Funnily enough, there's a model just like it (it's rare!) in Berlin from a private seller for €2,200 and I've contacted the seller. And I've also contacted the Förster piano technician. What do you think? Should I finally stand to what I like and buy an old piano like this?
