Pearl River classic 45-inch Professional Upright Piano.

  This piano taught a young girl to play so beautifully and proficiently that her very accomplished piano teacher recommended her parents buy her a grand piano in order to reach her highest potential. Her proud parents were impressed enough to upgrade to a Steinway & Sons grand piano for her future endeavors. This model is a one-owner purchased new in Albuquerque in 2012 at the Authorized Pearl River piano dealership, Kitt Fine Pianos. Therefore, it is happily acclimated, stable and fully adjusted to our dry climate and should provide decades of musical gratification to the new owner, or perhaps another graceful and musical young lady or boy.

The structural integrity of the soundboard, bridges, action and pinblock is excellent so we are happy to offer a two-year warranty. The classic polished ebony finish is in excellent condition also. Being a 45-inch studio upright, it performs at an elevated level with a robust bass response, rich tenor and a bell-like treble. The overall timbre is center-bright. The piano-action is fast, accurate and balanced with a wide dynamic range permitting quiet pianissimos and strong fortissimos. The middle pedal is a muffler function for quiet practice. The original padded bench with storage is included. Professional first-floor, local delivery is also included.

Pearl River today, is the largest piano manufacturer in the world and since 2000, they have the largest market share in retail sales worldwide. They are sold in over 112 countries. The company is located in Guangzhou, China and their state-of-the-art factory is 3.5 million square feet and builds over 150,000 pianos annually, combining traditional craftsmanship with advanced CNC digital machinery. Pearl River dominates the competitive Chinese market share too, with 40% of all the new pianos purchased there. With over 8500 individual, cataloged parts in a grand piano, a country with lower labor rates makes sense. During production every single large, small or tiny part is handled by human hands so a piano is arguably the most labor-intense product we can own. The Pearl River Piano Group also includes the Ritmüller and Kayserburg piano lines. They also build pianos for other piano companies including the Essex for Steinway & Sons since 2001.

Modern CNC routers and digital machinery enable the construction of 150,000 pianos annually.

Hand-made 50-inch Professional Upright piano.

  The distinctive sound and tone of the Mason & Hamlin grand piano in a more compact upright cabinet, it will outperform the smaller grand pianos. The bass response is classic Mason & Hamlin, booming and robust with a growl like thunder off in the distance. The duration of tone is astonishingly lengthy which is suited to classical music or any piece that requires the melody be sustained above the background of an accompaniment. The harmonic content or timbre of the overall range is center-mellow stressing the fundamental tone, also ideal for classical music. The attack is slow and it seems some notes “crescendo in” upon playing the key. This contrasts with a percussive, short tone with a sharp attack that a jazz pianist may prefer. There is plenty of volume when you want it and the dynamic range is very wide, allowing a more expressive and emotive performance. This piano is an absolute joy to play.

The Mason & Hamlin model 50 Upright Piano is still built to this very day.

Mason & Hamlin model 50 Upright Piano webpage

Per our policy of sourcing our pianos locally, this instrument is a one-owner and has lived its entire life in a beautiful home in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Pianos don’t like being moved around a lot, especially to differing climates. It was purchased brand new at Paul Muench Music here in Albuquerque so it is happily acclimated and fully adjusted to our dry climate and should provide decades of musical gratification to the next owner. It has always received excellent service from skilled piano technicians. The condition is excellent – structurally and aesthetically. We have had to do barely anything in the 88 Keys Piano Restoration shop, just standard cleaning of the interior, tightening piano-action screws and a few adjustments, and a strong tuning. The piano is ready for the next performance.

The uncontested top two American piano manufacturers have historically been Steinway & Sons and Mason & Hamlin. The rest of the top ten is open for debate. They are the two surviving piano companies from the Golden Age of the Piano, during which performance, composing and piano building skills reached notable heights. The finest pianists of the day would sometimes affiliate themselves with their favorite brand (like basketball player Michael Jordan and Nike shoes). Sergei Rachmaninoff and Maurice Ravel were notable pianists/composers who aligned themselves with Mason & Hamlin grand pianos. In 1853, Steinway & Sons was founded by Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg in New York. The following year in 1854, Mason & Hamlin was founded by Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin in Boston. Including other fine piano manufacturers, the two cities were very prideful in promoting their own piano brands, and that continues to this very day.

The model 50 has been built for over sixty years. This is highly unusual for a model to have that staying power and it’s a testimony to its intrinsic design. Here is a description from an undated catalog:

The Boston-style fallboard protects the keyboard and little fingers.

45-inch Professional-grade vertical piano.

  One of the finest American hand-made pianos of our day, they are sometimes referred to as the Steinway & Sons of the 21^st century. In the year this piano was built, approximately fourteen-hundred of their pianos were actually finished at their factory in Elkhart, Indiana. Most technicians who encounter a Walter piano are very enthusiastic about them, mostly due to their excellent design and lack of service problems. The scale design provides an unusually smooth transition from the bass to the treble. The treble range sings beautifully and the bass is strong and clear all the way down to the bottom note.

The feel is very even across the keyboard due to exceptionally long keys that are individually lead-weighted and balanced. The piano-action is an American-made Langer built by Herrburger Brooks. The exceptionally thick Delignit pinblock keeps the tuning pins tight between tunings and will do so for decades, providing a more enjoyable playing experience and less costly over time. “If you’re looking for a high-quality, medium-size, US-made vertical piano that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, this is one you should consider.” Larry Fine, author “The Piano Book”.

All cabinet parts of the piano are carefully sanded, given multiple coats of specially formulated lacquer, meticulously hand-rubbed and polished. This finish consists of genuine American black walnut veneers. It uses no particle board in the cabinetry, which is very substantial and beautifully finished. All case parts are of 5-ply lumber-core and solid hardwood construction. The music desk is sturdy and will accommodate large music books like “fake books” that professional pianists use at gigs and its sheet music desk can handle long musical scores a pianist at the community theater may need. The Boston fallboard gently covers the keys and glides effortlessly to protect the sides. The matching bench is original and is duet-sized for two players. The condition of the instrument is excellent – structurally and aesthetically.

The Walter Piano Co. of Elkhart, Indiana is unique among US piano manufacturers in that it is a family business, staffed by Charles and his wife Barbara, several of their grown children and in-laws, in addition to unrelated production employees. Charles is an engineer and prior to building his namesake instrument he headed Piano Design and Engineering for a piano manufacturer doing important research on musical acoustics. Each piano is inspected by a family member before being shipped and that person’s signature can be found on the top of the piano back, underneath the lid. Though Charles has passed on, the company continues to exist today, run by his family.

Unusually lengthy keys increase leverage for a smoother feel and wider dynamic range.

Grand piano shaped soundboard and sturdy back construction.

American-made Langer piano-action.

Yamaha 6’-1” Conservatory Grand Piano.

  The C-series is arguably Yamaha’s most popular professional grand piano line and has had huge financial success. You will find their model C3 in performance venues everywhere including recording studios, piano bars and hotel lobbies, on concert stages and houses of worship. Many highly respected musicians are Yamaha Artists and endorse their pianos. Elton John and Chick Corea come to mind. Many schools of music have become All-Yamaha Schools as a means to attract students desiring quality musical instruments during their studies and practice. They will become the future concert pianists, studio musicians, recording artists, music professors and even high school teachers and band directors. A quick search and view of YouTube videos featuring a pianist will confirm the popularity of these instruments. The Yamaha website states that the C-series is “the most recorded piano in history” and “some of the most timeless hits have been recorded on a Yamaha C-series piano”.

 As always, the piano was sourced locally, per our company policy. It has spent the majority of its entire life here. So, it is happily acclimated and fully adjusted to our unique desert Southwest climate and low relative humidity. It has always been serviced by local competent and knowledgeable technicians. Our talented technicians have inspected the soundboard, ribs and bridges and they are flawless. The tuning pins are very tight in the pinblock and it will hold its tune longer than most other models in the industry. The pinblock allows the tuning pins to move smoothly enabling a “true” concert tuning. The strings are extremely clean and free of rust and other corrosions. The hammer and damper felts have minimal wear. The piano-action and trapwork has been regulated to the highest standards and the piano is ready for the next performance. It is in excellent condition – structurally and aesthetically, nearly new and should offer you decades of musical enjoyment. We will be happy to offer a two-year warranty on the piano.

Yamaha has had a well-deserved reputation for superior quality control and virtually perfect preparation at the factory. They arrive at the dealership in flawless condition. Technicians are enthusiastic about servicing them due to their exceptional engineering design. The Yamaha model C3 grand piano is a part of the Yamaha Conservatory Collection. The C-series line of pianos were built in the main factory in Hamamatsu, Japan. The C-series grands differ from the less costly G-series in that the former have harder and denser rims made from beech and mahogany which improves power and duration of sustain, slightly better plate composition and improved scaling. They have additional factories situated in China and Indonesia where their lesser-quality piano lines are built. Lower labor costs there enable more economical price points for their entry and mid-level models.

The C-series is the most recorded piano in history.

It has the classic Yamaha touch; fast, accurate and responsive with an excellent repetition. Their piano-actions are considered to be maintenance free. For general home and school use, piano technicians probably recommend Yamaha pianos more than any other brand. The tone is also classic Yamaha. It is harmonic-rich and sonorous with an excellent dynamic range, meaning the pianist can perform the subtlest pianissimo and most forceful fortissimo. It has somewhat of a percussive attack and the tone is very clear which is attractive to most listeners. A duet bench with storage is included. Complimentary local first-floor professional delivery is also included

The C3 features a Duplex scale design with Aliquots that tune the non-speaking length of the strings to vibrate at musically pleasing frequencies, matching the speaking length.

The half lid position with the short lid prop is a handsome way to display your grand piano.