Stephen Airy <stephen_airy@yahoo.com> wrote: > > If I was a piano manufacturer/dealer I wouldn't > make/sell grands smaller than those with the same > length or shorter strings, or same or less soundboard > area than my uprights. Well, having said what I said before about prefering a good upright to a medium-quality grand, there are some advantages to a grand that some customers prefer. First, there's the look of it. Second, a grand action is faster. (However, I found that a well-regulated Renner upright action is pretty darn fast. If I can ever play well enough that the Renner upright action won't cut it, then fine -- I deserve a grand anyway. But I don't expect that to happen any time soon.) Third, uprights tend to have a more muffled sound due to the fact that they are enclosed in cabinetry. Many people like a really bright sound, and it's easier to get that in a grand. The small and inexpensive ones are really good at providing that. (I prefer a mellow sound anyway, so the fact that an upright is enclosed doesn't bother me. Furthermore, the sound of a vertical can be changed a lot by raising the lid part way or all the way. Unfortunately, most people put family pictures on top of the lid, so they don't realize the potential of their upright piano.) Also, I found that one can't go by the soundboard area and string length specifications only. For example, It's true that the M&H doesn't have the longest strings, and you can hear that the fundamental isn't so pronounced toward the bottom. But I'd give that up any day for the thick and warm bass sound a M&H has. Charles
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