Hidrau 26" Pneumatic Piano Bench Review

David B

I've been enjoying this new bench for a few months now and I haven't seen much on Youtube about it. Here is my contribution. 😀

https://youtu.be/ZGNdT5z3sP4

God Bless,
David

Del Vento

Very interesting, thanks for posting!

EB5AGV

Incredible! 😲. The factory is a 40 minute (56km) drive from my home!!!. And I even didn't know that brand. Now I need to pay a visit there and hope they let me do some tour on the factory and publish it.

Thanks David for the heads up 🤩

Keep tuned!

Jose

David B

EB5AGV Incredible! 😲. The factory is a 40 minute (56km) drive from my home!!!. And I even didn't know that brand.

I learned about this brand on Piano World. From my research I determined that there are at least two top-tier (maybe more) brands in the pneumatic market.

Discacciati which is an Italian brand but I don't think they have a US importer.

Hidrau which is a Spanish brand with seemingly more name recognition and a US importer.

Both brands might even outsource their pneumatic lift mechanisms from the same company.

God Bless,
David

HZPiano

Hello,

EB5AGV Now I need to pay a visit there

Be sure to get us all a complimentary free bench!

😋

Cheers and happy factory touring,

EB5AGV

David B I will try to visit them and learn about their products, it is so close that it is a no-brainer, if they allow me to do so, of course.

Jose

David B

Just a little followup.

In my opinion, and based on my limited experience (at this time), the two best piano benches money can buy are the Hidrau (pneumatic) and the Jansen (gear). After using the Jansen Petite Artist bench for a few years and now the Hidrau (ergonomic top) for approximately 6 months, I prefer the Hidrau. The ergonomic top has helped to remove almost all of my lower back stress that was acquired from sitting at the piano bench for protracted periods of time. It really is a very comfortable piano bench. I've moved the Jansen bench to my work location where I play my Yamaha P125 occasionally during the week. If I was wealthy, I'd have a Hidrau at work also.

However, with that being said, I must give high praise to the owner of Jansen Piano Benches (Mr. Jansen) whom I've spoken with several times on the phone. Jansen is an American company with superlative customer service. My Jansen Petite bench had a slight noisy wobble in the mechanism. The video below exaggerates the noise, but you can see what I'm talking about.

https://youtu.be/LOl6Rk8zCV8

Mr. Jansen spoke with me on the phone, sent me parts (for free), and I did everything I could to remedy the wobble, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, Mr. Jansen paid to have the bench shipped back to the factory (about $90 to ship it one way) and his craftsmen fixed it. I don't know how they fixed it, but it's quiet, wobble free, and even has new buttons on the tufted top (the paint/finish had rubbed off some of the buttons). Excellent customer service. If they only made it with an ergonomic top, I probably wouldn't need the Hidrau.

God Bless,
David

Johnstaf

Interesting. Thanks for posting David. In Europe, Hidrau is a bit like Jansen in the US. Their traditional (geared) wooden concert benches are very common in concert halls. Their traditional concert benches are really expensive in the US and UK, but are cheaper than Jansen in some parts of Europe. Where I live I'd imagine they're even more expensive than in the UK.

David B

Johnstaf In Europe, Hidrau is a bit like Jansen in the US. Their traditional wooden concert benches are very common in concert halls. Their traditional concert benches are really expensive in the US and UK, but are cheaper than Jansen in parts of Europe.

I noticed on their website/catalogue that they make some very beautiful looking traditional benches. Pianoworks (U.S. distributor) has the Hidrau Premium Leather Artist Bench available for $1,899 😳

It has a pneumatic mechanism.

God Bless,
David

MHirsch

David B Hidrau Premium Leather Artist Bench available for $1,899

Does it automagically improve the pianistic skills of the owner? 😀

Johnstaf

David B noticed on their website/catalogue that they make some very beautiful looking traditional benches. Pianoworks (U.S. distributor) has the Hidrau Premium Leather Artist Bench available for $1,899 😳

Yep. I got that one with a traditional mechanism from a German wholesaler for €400. 😀It was rebranded and had a mark on it. There's no way I could afford full price.

HZPiano

David B Pianoworks (U.S. distributor) has the Hidrau Premium Leather Artist Bench available for $1,899 😳

Perhaps they include a free piano (instead of the more usual free-bench-with-your-piano-purchase)?

😉

Cheers and happy seating,

David B

MHirsch Does it automagically improve the pianistic skills of the owner? 😀

I don't know about the $1900 bench, but the Hidrau ergonomic top I reviewed in this thread does. Perhaps not "automagically" 😀, but not contending with pain in my lower back improves my ability to play which probably helps to improve my skills.

God Bless,
David

Johnstaf

David B I don't know about the $1900 bench, but the Hidrau ergonomic top I reviewed in this thread does. Perhaps not "automagically" 😀, but not contending with pain in my lower back improves my ability to play which probably helps to improve my skills.

I found that I could move around much better. Moving from one hip to the other used to be painful, but the padding is firm enough for support yet soft enough to make any position comfortable. It's like floating with support.

David B

Johnstaf I found that I could move around much better. Moving from one hip to the other used to be painful, but the padding is firm enough for support yet soft enough to make any position comfortable. It's like floating with support.

Awesome!

I never had lower back pain until I started playing the piano in my 40's. I've always been very active and never did anything that required me to sit-down on a bench for so long. I believe actuating the pedal with my right foot thousands of times (also not used to doing that) put stress on my right side (right hip/lower back).

I've adopted a stretching routine, incorporated a few external rotation exercises for my upper shoulders/back, and focused on proper posture with the ergo-top Hidrau, and I'm mostly pain free. I probably wouldn't have had these issues if I started the piano earlier in life.

God Bless,
David

CyberGene

And then we have:

David B

CyberGene That's hilarious. 😀

CyberGene

Glenn Gould was such a weirdo. There are legends about that chair. His father made it for him. Glenn Gould insisted on using that chair for all his life although the chair was barely keeping up 😀

Much has been said about Glenn Gould’s relationship with the piano. In fact, an entire book – A Romance on Three Legs, by Katie Hafner – was written on the subject of his search for the perfect instrument.

Less has been said about Gould’s intense attachment to his chair. Yet it was a matter of no small significance to him.

The chair that Gould used throughout his career was built by his father, Bert Gould, in 1953. Bert took an ordinary folding chair, cut the legs shorter, and installed adjustable extenders on each leg – so that not only the chair’s height but also its angle could be precisely modified.

Gould was clearly obsessed with this thing. He refused to part with it, even after the stuffing fell out of the seat – and despite the creaking noises it made in recording sessions. When his concert manager presented him with a new chair as a replacement, Gould set it aside and returned to his fetish-object.

HZPiano

David B I'm mostly pain free

Well done!!

Cheers and happy playing,

David B

HZPiano Perhaps they include a free piano (instead of the more usual free-bench-with-your-piano-purchase)?

Free piano with your bench purchase. I love it. 😀

They probably could throw in an inexpensive digital with the bench and still make money.

God Bless,
David