new Wm. Knabe from Samick

[ranjacob@umich.edu]

I'm not sure that it's OK to ask such a question on this list; if
not, I gladly withdraw it.  But, I responded a year ago to a post
that asked for people's experiences with new Knabes from Samick.

I'd just managed to see one for a very short period of time.
Probably a 5 foot 7 inch or smaller.  It seemed very solid, even,
interesting and potentially even more interesting in tone, from
the standpoint of possible variety of tone with different touch,
and so forth.

I didn't see any other responses on this list. I just had a
chance to compare a new 5 foot 7 inch (WKG-57) and a new 6 foot
1 inch (WKG-61), Wm. Knabe, side by side, for a longer period of time. The 
salesperson said that, for the university sale that
was the occasion, they were especially discounted in a benefit
arrangement with the music school, and were being shown almost
straight from the box, with minimum prep.  If this is true,
the factory or pre-distribution prep seemed really quite good
from the tonal standpoint.

The 5'7" as "minimally prepped" was even better tonally than last
year's: more varied, more open, perhaps even more "solid and even".
The lowest 1/2 octave was (understandably) not quite as clear
and non-inharmonic as the 6'1", but I'd reserve judgment until
there was a new, very thorough tuning.
The 6'1" (possibly partly because it seemed to have a back
duplex that went lower in the treble) was just a little bright
for my own preference in the example, otherwise at least as
good. Both sustained adequately. The *non*-sale price (in upper
Midwest) was $1,000 apart, in the higher part of the $25,000-
30,000 range.  At that rate, the choice between the two
examples would have been hard.  How would I be sure that the
brighter 6'1", although it certainly had a better lowest bass,
could be voiced down in the way I wanted?  Would I want, instead,
to go fairly soon to different hammers?

These are my immediate reactions.  Tonally, very fine pianos;
*different from*, not necessarily inferior to, better Baldwins
or small Steinways of the last 40 years, from my recent
hearing.  I'd like them to have a lower new price, of course.
Oh, well...maybe the store would bargain?

Any other experiences?

Randy Jacob
University of Michigan Library