Hey Folks, I've got an all new Update which has taken to effect since 10th February 2017. Now some of you on Facebook and YouTube might very well have seen it already. So here it is:
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| The WT190 Empire or the Wilhelm Tell Empire 190 - A Conservatory Class Grand Piano |
After like a great 2+ weeks of breaking it out, the Wilhelm Tell was a culmination of a journey that really took trying and playing of many grand pianos. And this alone really has completed my transition of being primarily a Grand Piano user.
About the Wilhelm Tell:
At 185cm long, 6 ft 2, the Empire 190 is an absolute beast. It is classified as a Conservatory Grand, slightly larger than a Salon Grand and rivals the following Conservatory and Salon Grands of that class of length:
Kawai GX3 (185)
Yamaha C3X (182)
Yamaha C3X (182)
Shigeru Kawai SK3. (185)
Boston Steinway GP 178 (178)
Steinway Model O (178)
Steinway Model A (185)
Steinway Model O (178)
Steinway Model A (185)
How it came about is this:
Very rarely you have seen me doing videos at home these days because of Bohemia 126 is really starting to show a tonne of problems with sticky keys caused by friction and expansion of the hammers and mechanisms in it. It was well not optimised nor ideal for most of my repertoire. The thing about Grand Pianos or any piano whatsoever is that to get the most experience out of your grand, you should try them out before purchasing. That's some of the errors that many pianists make as some just jump on the deal without considering the sound, the feel, the touch, the weight... all these factors and in the end doesn't feel enjoyable.
The other thing that I also kept in mind is aesthetics are secondary. Why would you say get a white piano, or get a piano with a polished mahogany chassis that doesn't do more to improve the sound? If you're following a color scheme of your room, then sure, but in my case I'm not.
Steinways for Grand Piano Enthusiasts and Aficionados
I was thinking to visit the Steinway Gallery to look see and try stuff. My GF Wen and I went by the shop after doing the monthly Sounds of Healing and we tried out the various Steinways that was there.
Shown in this video. The attendant was nice enough to allow us to record a good amount of it and just by paying this shop a visit, I think we just made his day a lot less boring in the office.
At that kind of flipping high pricing, that was absolutely no way that Wen and I would be able to splurge on a Steinway. Besides the Steinway Model D and the model B I tried there, are what LASALLE does have in the SIA Theater. And I've already been enjoying my time with the Steinway D which is definitely meant for a Concert Grand. At quarter of a mill for the Steinway D, great piano but with a price that only the riches of the rich can buy.
Ruling out the Yamahas.
Yamaha to me is a brand that people think that oh, that it's the go to brand for grand pianos, hearing a tonne of good stuff about it. The brand is everywhere from all my various travels. But in my experience, the brand is pretty trash. Yamaha's pianos I feel don't really stand the test of time too well. Emilie from my class can vouch for it, that the Ivory Keys on her C6 turned brown and she had to get the entire board replaced. Even so, they still require some maintenance now and again. The C7X which LASALLE received just last year, the damper pedal is already showing some crap in there.
On 2nd Feb, Wen and I paid a visit to her Mentor where I played on her beat up Yamaha C7 where it was showing obvious wear and worn out sound. Don't like to say it on her because the C7 itself was a flagship of the Yamaha. And I already know for a fact because the C5 that we used in C312 LASALLE, had brown keys and wait for it, it stank and drew in dust mites. I tried on a GBK1, a SGD 11,000 SGD baby grand and frankly it's not that good.
The Humble Wilhelm Tell
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| The WT190 in the Showroom, Gramercy Ubi. |
A little later in the day, we paid a visit to Gramercy in Ubi, Paya Lebar, an awesome little shop that Wen frequents. They happen to be shifting their premises and showroom to the Newton area, just a little ways from LASALLE and KK Hospital and the Empire 190 from Wilhelm Tell was the only grand they have which I had a tonne of fun giving this a plink around. The heavy key weight and tone feels oddly familiar to the Steinways I use for the school concerts. The owners said to us that the Empire 190 uses a similar manufacturing process and layout as the Steinway which may probably be the reason. I actually came back again to put it through its paces which to me passed beyond expectations. All at a very compelling price, more on that later.
Kawai / Shingeru Kawai - Jap Branded Pianos
The next brand we went to try is the Kawai, because Wen herself is an owner of one. Her home has an upright grand which I broke one of her dampers on one occasion. We did visit the showroom at Robert Piano, Suntec City where we tried the SK2 (Shigeru Kawai) and the GX3 pianos there. Do refer to the video on Instagram. It's a short video as the attendant Edna didn't allow any shooting to be done there which was pretty crap. The touch and key weight were comparable to most of the heavy grands I played so far with the SK2 being a much warmer tone. The thing that separated the two was the different woods that were used. The SK2's process uses wood that has withstood some torture tests under mother nature for a good few years. I know a Shigeru Kawai in LASALLE, Room C310, not as good as these ones, partly because of age and an older manufacturing process of the internal mechanics.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQDGRZSDN-G/
Back to the Wilhelm Tell
The decision was made eventually on the Wilhelm Tell because of the price, tone and the trading of the Bohemia which they agreed to arrange deliveries of both; getting the Grand in and getting the Upright out. And frankly speaking we really made good on the deal because wait for it, here's the pricing of some of the pianos that I tried and some that were advertised usual and CNY Promo pricings at the point of visiting. You can only view this by selecting the following stuff below... because it's that crazy.
The decision was made eventually on the Wilhelm Tell because of the price, tone and the trading of the Bohemia which they agreed to arrange deliveries of both; getting the Grand in and getting the Upright out. And frankly speaking we really made good on the deal because wait for it, here's the pricing of some of the pianos that I tried and some that were advertised usual and CNY Promo pricings at the point of visiting. You can only view this by selecting the following stuff below... because it's that crazy.
Shigeru Kawai SK2: 46,548 (UP. 57,000)
Kawai GX3 Black: 37,440 (UP. 42,500)
Yamaha GB1K PE: 11,499 (UP. 12,900)
Yamaha C3X 34,899 (UP. 39,800)
Wilhelm Tell 190: 16,000 (UP. 18,200)
Now here is where things get interesting from the WT190.
On top of the promo, Wen somehow managed to bring it all down till we arrived at this:
On top of the promo, Wen somehow managed to bring it all down till we arrived at this:
WT190 at 13,500
trade with my Bohemia
126 at 2,500
126 at 2,500
For a total of:
11,000.
At this kinda pricing, and the kind of touch, it was pretty much a no brainer to just take the WT190 off their hands. We probably won't get a deal like this ever again and we've been told that it'll take another 3 months to bring over another WT190 to Singapore. Also they were pretty interested on my Bohemia too since it was originally from them and they proposed a trade deal. It's a win-win for both sides. I can tell Gramercy was pretty on with letting the showroom piece go since it'll be less of a hassle to handle transporting of the grand to their new showroom. And Gramercy can take piano trades but Robert Pianos won't. Which makes it soooooo much easier, saving me the trouble of arranging my own transport if I were to advertise at Gumtree, Craigslist, Carousell which I did on all three.
CONCLUSION:
Thanks for following me on the journey of finally be primarily Grand Piano user. More importantly, Thank my GF Wen for helping me in the process of selecting the new Piano which is now my current YouTube Piano.
