🎹Steinway Model M vs C Bechstein L 167 Baby Grand Piano Comparison - Handmade Grand Pianos🎹

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0:48 - Playing Demos
2:00 - Overview
5:55 - Piano Sound
23:31 - Steinway Bass Demo
24:42 - Bechstein Bass Demo
26:29 - Bechstein Mid Range Demo
28:35 - Steinway Mid Range Demo
29:37 - C. Bechstein Treble Demo
30:51 - Steinway Treble Range Demo

#Steinway #Bechstein #GrandPiano

Welcome to the Merriam Pianos on YouTube. Today, we’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to compare two of the world’s most revered sub 6-foot grand pianos as we compare a fully restored Golden Age NY Steinway M and a C. Bechstein Concert L167.

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Background

Golden Age New York Steinway M’s are among the most coveted pianos to acquire and fully restore as they are considered by many to be some of the best Steinway’s ever made. This particular one we’re playing today has been fully restored with all Steinway parts, including Steinway hammers, action, and strings.

While the M measures 5’7”, the Bechstein L167 comes in slightly shorter at 5’6”, and represents the entry point to Bechstein’s updated and redesigned top-of-the-line Concert series.

There are a number of commonalities between these two instruments in terms of their design. Both pianos use a capped vertically laminated bridge system, both have front and rear duplex scales, both use tapered solid spruce soundboards and both utilize very similar scale designs.

Musically, however, they are very different beasts. Let’s start by comparing the sound.

Piano Sound

What jumps out right away is that the M has more of a mid-range warmth of any particular note in terms of the harmonics, not the mid-range of the piano itself. The sound also draws further into the center of the piano and comes at the player in a very blended way.

The L167 sounds like it’s a much wider piano with more separation in the notes, and there’s a much higher degree of cabinet resonance going on. We suspect the thick stretcher bar and its intricate cabinetry has a lot to do with this.

The M has some airiness to the sustain, especially in the treble, which is very similar to the Schimm Konzert series we recently reviewed.

This same treble range is more precise on the L167, and each individual note has more color, but there also happens to be a greater level of clarity.

The overall sustain on each instrument is simply superb. In fact, we timed the sustain for each piano and the M came in at 31 seconds, and the same note on the L167 came in at 37 seconds.

A big contributing factor to the divergent tonal profiles of each piano is the hammers. Both companies are among the few who makes their own hammers in house these days, which is quite remarkable in such a globalized world.

Bechstein selects Walnut for their Concert series pianos, which is one of the most expensive materials to use in hammer design. It’s super light yet also rigid, which minimizes energy loss and distortion.

Steinway uses hard rock Maple for their hammers mouldings, and that’s the case here with the M. Hard rock Maple is more dense and superior to standard Maple mouldings, but it’s also greater in mass than Walnut.

Walnut is going to allow for many other sound-contributing parts of the instrument to come through, like the soundboard and the rim, while hard rock Maple can help in generating more pure power.

The M is getting great cabinet activating in the bass, and is very clear and consistent. The L167 is similar in character but less powerful than the M in the bass, but there’s also greater warmth on the L167 as you start to move up.

The L167 has more warmth due to increased rim activation in the mid-range of the piano, while the M has more projection back to the player.

Closing Thoughts

That sums up our walkthrough of these two legendary instruments. Both pianos deliver remarkably powerful and clear bass registers considering their sub 6 foot size, excellent sustain, and yet, very different sonic experiences.

Thanks for watching!

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Видео 🎹Steinway Model M vs C Bechstein L 167 Baby Grand Piano Comparison - Handmade Grand Pianos🎹 канала Merriam Music