NEWS ARCHIVE 2011
21st October 2011
Welcome to the news page as Autumn sets in. Traditionally this is a busy time for the business and so far we have been encouraged that this trend seems set to continue despite the difficult economic conditions. September was an exceptionally busy month for us and despite a quiet first two weeks of October it has picked up to be a very busy and exciting month with many new faces at the showroom and many pianos going to new homes!
There has been much interest in our top end brands, Grotrian-Steinweg and Bluthner. Both of these German piano makers produce beautiful pianos and interest in both brands has been high. Another Grotrian Classic has sold making it our best selling model, its musical performance is second to none and never fails to impress and extend budgets! Our beautiful model C Bluthner is going out in a couple of weeks. The quality of build and workmanship on this piano is remarkable and the light mahogany cabinet sets it off as a truly desirable piano. We have seen a steady increase in interest for our Bluthner pianos since we became an Official Bluthner Centre last year. There seems to be a general recognition in the trade that Bluthner are back to their best and we are very excited to be part of the success of this prestigious piano maker. We will be looking to expand our upright stock of Bluthners in the near future.
Kawai sales are very good with the extension of their special offers on certain models in the range. With these offers in place there has never been a better time to buy a K2, K3 or GM-10 baby grand in particular. Our last two GM-10’s have sold within a week of hitting the showroom floor! The next one is arriving soon so if you are considering this type of piano come and see us! Our latest RX-2 has a minor cabinet blemish which enables us to offer it at a very competitive price, another reason to visit us if you are in the market for a grand piano. The RX-2 is an excellent choice as a mid range 5’10” grand piano.
Secondhand pianos have continued to sell very quickly. We have now caught up with our waiting list for pianos under £1500 and have a couple in stock that are going up on the used uprights page. We have also just taken in an impressive Schimmel which is going through the workshop and will be a very good secondhand buy when it comes out the other end! A decorative Bechstein upright is nearly through the workshop having been totally restored. It is reserved for a viewing when complete, close behind is a Grotrian-Steinweg baby grand and a Grotrian-Steinweg upright which will both be totally restored and offered for sale.
Neil is seeing a steady increase in enquiries for the digital pianos. He seems to have got the pick of the models as we always seem to have the right ones in stock when customers call! I remain fairly ignorant of these instruments but luckily there is nothing that Neil doesn’t know about them! If you need to speak to anyone about digital pianos give Neil a call.
We had an interesting visitor to the showroom this week. A chap named Di from Wales called in to play our grand pianos, he is on a charity mission to play 1000 grand pianos! Di has travelled far in pursuit of his challenge including the Fazioli factory in Italy and a trip to Rio! I was very pleased to hear his opinion that my Grotrian-Steinweg Cabinet grand is one of the best he has played and he is into the eight hundreds on his quest. An interesting and colourful character we wish him well with the rest of his challenge.
Piano tuning remains very busy. With central heating systems getting into gear moisture will start to be drawn out from the pianos and they will typically start to drop flat of the correct pitch. We fit many basic humidifier units this time of the year and always keep them in the car ready to install if required. Vicky enjoyed tuning a piano on the set of Downton Abbey recently, it is great to do these types of jobs and get a glimpse of a very different world!
We are thoroughly enjoying the busy period and hope it will continue leading up to Christmas. If you are considering a piano purchase come and see us; from entry level upright to top end grand we have a broad range of instruments to chose from and good fresh coffee in the pot! We continue to run the showroom by appointment finding that this system works best for everyone. Our customers get our full attention during the visit and the opportunity to play and discover the pianos without feeling intimidated or time pressured. Neil and I will often disappear for a while to give the less confident players a chance to get to know the pianos by themselves. As mentioned in the last news update please do leave a voicemail message if we can’t answer the phone when you call, we will return your call as soon as we can.
12th September 2011
Welcome to the news page at what is traditionally a busy time in the piano trade. Since returning from my annual holiday at the end of August I have already noticed an increase in the amount of people arranging visits to the showroom. With darker, colder evenings and the beginning of the academic year the three months leading up to Christmas are very important for the piano trade. I am very much looking forward to the next few months and am encouraged by the level of activity that we are experiencing. August proved to be very busy during the first half of the month and less so towards the end. Both Neil and myself took two weeks holiday which overlapped for a few days and meant a certain amount of ‘catch up’ for us both. I am glad to report that we are now up to date with all enquiries and looking forward to many visitors throughout Autumn and Winter.
Demand for the Schreiner & Sohne range has again outstripped our supply and we eagerly await news of the next batch to arrive with us. The 5’0” grand that I mentioned in my last news update proved to be extremely popular and a couple from the next stock due are already sold. The 112 remains the best selling upright from the range. Whilst waiting for the next order to arrive I have taken in a Weber 114 traditional upright which is a similarly priced piano to the 112 Schreiner. I have to say have been very impressed with the quality of this piano and am considering stocking this make of piano in more depth in the future.
The Kawai Summer sale proved to be a great success. All models featured in the sale have been popular over the summer, particularly the GM-10 grand and K3 uprights. Our impressive K6 upright found a good home in August to a customer that ‘didn’t want a black piano’. The fact that the K6 only comes in black is testament to the quality of tone and touch that this top of the range upright offers. The replacement K6 is already in ensuring that we stock every upright from the Kawai range at all times.
The Grotrian-Steinweg pianos continue to impress all visitors to the showroom. The replacement Classic upright has been with us for less than a month and has just sold, a truly remarkable upright piano! Its replacement has already been ordered and is about 4 weeks away from arriving, the showroom doesn’t feel right without a Classic so I am hoping that it arrives sooner rather than later! With two grands and four uprights from this prestigious piano maker the amount of enquiries we are receiving for these pianos is increasing all of the time. I am very much looking forward to meeting with Konrad Blumberg from Grotrian when he visits the UK in October.
Over the last couple of months the demand for used uprights has been very high. Most of the pianos that arrive with us at the moment are quickly reserved and don’t make it on to the used uprights page. In stock at the moment we have used pianos from Kawai, Welmar, Zimmerman and Fazer which have all been reserved before being viewed and we have a list of customers waiting for other suitable pianos to come into stock. It isn’t always like this but at the moment we can’t find enough good quality used uprights to match the demand that we have. If you are reading this and have a good quality upright to sell please call... Going through the workshop at the moment for total restoration we have a Bechstein upright in a superb decorative cabinet and a 5’0” Grotrian-Steinweg grand. As soon as they are finished and available I will get images up on the used piano pages.
Piano tuning remains incredibly busy. The summer has been very wet and humid so most pianos have gone sharp with many reports of sluggish keys and the odd centre tightening up. Vicky, Richard and myself are all busy keeping up with regular customers and new ones alike. I am sure the coming months will be just as busy with heating systems coming on and moisture being drawn out of the pianos to send them flat! All three of us continue to enjoy working on all manner of pianos and meeting a great variety of people, it is a great job!!
Thank you for reading this new update. As ever, Neil and I look forward to welcoming visitors to the showrooms over the next few months. If you call to arrange a visit and you get a voicemail message please leave your details and we will get back to you as soon as possible. This time of year is busy and we spend a fair amount of time on the telephone (the one and only telephone) and a great deal of time talking with customers. If we can’t answer the phone when you call a return call will not be far away, thank you!
12th July 2011
Welcome to the latest news update. Apologies that I have missed a couple of months, it has been an incredibly busy time both in work life and family life. The pattern of business during the year has remained the same, either quiet or incredibly busy, from one extreme to the other. The year so far has been a great success for us, I am pleased to say, but a slightly more even demand would be perfect. After a very quiet April I committed to a heavier work load of tunings only to find that May was very busy in the showrooms which caught us out a bit. June was probably one of the busiest months we have had and now things have calmed down in July for the normal quieter summer months, he says...
Our Schreiner & Sohne pianos have once again been very popular. The 5’0” grand mentioned in the April update has been a great success, it truly is a remarkable instrument at an almost unbelievably low price!! Many good pianists have preferred it over more expensive grand pianos and it continues to impress. Unfortunately, the demand has outstripped the supply again even though the supply has doubled! We have just sold the last black 109 and have one walnut 123 left in stock until the next order arrives. I hope to always stock the 112 but these sold out a while ago!
Kawai pianos launched a summer sale throughout the dealer network which has proved to be a great success for us. In one week we sold four of the fantastic K3 uprights which all had to undergo the usual thorough preparation work, there were a few late nights! The K2’s have also been popular, as ever, and the GM10 grand. we took our first RX-2 grand into the showroom in June which sold almost immediately, it is a very impressive grand piano.
My favourite upright of all pianos, the Grotrian-Steinweg Classic was delivered to its new owner last Saturday. This is a truly, truly remarkable piano. I spent a full day preparing this piano to its full potential and loved every minute of it! The tonal quality of the piano is just unbelievable and throughout the preparation process just got better and better. I will enjoy tuning and maintaining the piano, hopefully for many years. Needless to say I have ordered its replacement and look forward to it arriving, the showroom doesn’t feel quite right without it!
We have just launched a summer sale with our stock of Bluthner pianos. Any visitors to the showroom interested in these very fine pianos will be offered a very competitive sale price. The Bluthner 6 grand piano will be included in the sale, it is a supremely built piano with a beautiful mellow tone and delicate touch, admired by all!
Our web site hasn’t had many updates on the used page as the used pianos that we get tend to sell very quickly before they make it to the site. We had three very good quality uprights in last month, all with slightly worn cabinets, that sold within a week. We have just collected a very fine 1990’s Welmar which is going through the workshop checks at the moment, it will be a very impressive piano once ready for sale. As ever, we are constantly on the look out for good quality used pianos to buy.
That just about brings us up to date. On a personal note my daughter, Annie, took her grade 1 piano exam this month. I was reminded of the mixture of nervousness and excitement I felt when doing the exams as a child. At least she got to try out the piano in my showroom before we delivered it to the exam centre, there have to be some perks..! We are open for business throughout the summer and look forward to welcoming customers to the showroom as ever.
10th April 2011
Welcome to the April news update. I write this in the evening of what has been a glorious spring day with blue skies and sunshine. This year has gone so fast, I can’t believe that Easter is just round the corner. Business has been steady throughout March, given all that is going on in the economy I am happy that it has been a good month. We have certainly had some really enjoyable visits to the showroom and look forward to more of the same throughout April!
The Schreiner & Sohne pianos arrived and have been very well received again. A very advanced local piano teacher visited the showroom and could not believe the fantastic performance that these pianos deliver. I also invited a very well regarded technician to inspect the pianos at length and again he was astounded by the quality. The 5’0” grand the we have features a Ciresa soundboard and Abel hammers which contribute to an incredible performance for just £6495! The uprights carry the same impressive characteristics of full tone and a beautifully light and responsive touch. These fine pianos seem to get better and better, we have a 122 upright in walnut and a white 109 at the moment as well as a black 5’0” grand. These are the only models left in the showroom but we are expecting more very soon. We will be increasing our stock of uprights to include the 112 and 132 models in various finishes.
As ever, the Kawai pianos have been very popular throughout March with the K2 selling in three different finishes. March saw an increased demand for the K3 with nearly as many sold as the K2’s! We currently have a polished mahogany K3 in stock and have a polished black on order. We have a beautiful polished walnut GE20 grand in the showroom having taken advantage of a very good buying opportunity. Anyone visiting the showroom and considering this piano will be able to take advantage of a generous discount!!
March was a quieter month for the Bluthner and Grotrian brands. We took delivery of a Grotrian Carat upright which is finished in polished black with chrome fittings which looks very impressive. As with all Grotrian pianos its musical performance is exceptional, they never fail to impress. It is possible that we may be getting in a 9’0” Grotrian Concert Royal Grand later in the year for a prospective customer, pianos don’t get any better than this!
March saw the launch of our digital pianos and I confess that I was surprised by the level of interest and demand generated so quickly. Neil is our digital man and had a busy month demonstrating the benefits of the Kawai digital pianos and delivering the ones he sold! Like our acoustic brands they tend to sell themselves with the quality of sound and touch that they have. I am greatly encouraged by the start of this new venture and look forward to welcoming some of the customers back in years to come for an upgrade to an acoustic piano!!
We don’t normally hire pianos, except for the ABRSM exams. However, we recently had request to supply a piano for the production of the TV series Downton Abbey being filmed locally at Highclere Castle. It sounded too exciting to refuse so our Kemble Classic T was delivered to be used to record with. After the piano had been delivered I went along to tune it and took my nine year old daughter, Annie, with me so that she could see behind the scenes. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and were looked after by some very friendly crew who showed us around the set and explained what was happening when a scene was being shot. It was a great experience and made me once again appreciate what a fantastic job of work that I have!
As always we look forward to welcoming many customers to the showroom in the coming month. Easter school holidays are upon us and the next two weeks are looking very busy which I am very pleased about. We have some beautiful pianos in stock at the moment and always enjoy showing them off. Happy Easter!
1st March 2011
Welcome to the March news update. A few sunny days have been a welcome sight after the long and gloomy winter! Business has been variable for the first two months of the year but probably busier than I would have expected with the post Christmas recovery and negative economic reports! January was busier than expected and February fairly quiet until the last week of the month which made it a very acceptable month indeed.
Our top end Grotrian-Steinweg and Bluthner pianos were very successful in January and towards the end of February. We now have an impressive stock of Grotrians; the Studio, Cristal, Carat and Classic Uprights and the Chambre and Cabinet Grands. It is a great joy to have such a stock of these fine pianos, each one has its own charm and character true to the Grotrian characteristics. We have the model D and C upright Bluthners in stock and the awesome model 6 Grand which seems to get better as it is played, there has been increasing interest in the 6 with its warm, rich tone and delicate touch.
As ever, Kawai remain popular with our customers. The GM10 Grand has been a favourite over the last couple of months and three K5’s have found good homes. The K2 remains our best selling piano and we continue to stock four models with different finishes due to the demand for this model. I am convinced that with Kawai we offer the best value mid range piano in the market which is backed up by the number of Kawai pianos in homes within our local area! Our next batch of Schreiner & Sohne pianos are due with us in the next two weeks. A number of these have already sold to order and will be prepared and delivered as soon as they are with us. These pianos offer exceptional value for money and are proving to be very popular.
March will see the start of a new development with our business, the introduction of the digital piano! Neil has worked with digital pianos for 30 years and has been very keen to use his expertise within the business. I have no experience and, if I’m honest, have always lacked the enthusiasm for anything but an acoustic piano. However, after buying in a couple of Kawai models I have been suitably impressed and convinced of the market for these instruments. We have supplied a few digital pianos during the last two months, a couple to acoustic piano owners as a second instrument, and I am now happy to invest in a good stock of these instruments to display in our showroom. Neil will be the contact advising on digital pianos and is looking forward to sharing his expertise and knowledge in this field. As with the Kawai acoustic pianos the quality and value of the Kawai digital pianos is second to none and widely acknowledged in the trade as being at the forefront of the latest technological advances. Our web site is being updated to include details of the digital pianos that we will have in stock.
Last week Dave Stapleton led another jazz workshop in the showroom which was well received. Some participants were back again after the last workshop and others attended for the first time. Everyone again participated in a group performance with 12 pianos being played together and individuals improvising within a theme. With Jean providing excellent refreshments it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. I am sure that there will be another workshop before too long!
That just about covers the goings on during the first months of the year. I am hoping that the momentum gained at the end of February carries on to March and look forward to welcoming many new customers into the showroom during the Spring.
10th January 2011
Happy New Year!
After a relaxing Christmas break we are back to work and looking forward to the year ahead. There is much for us to look forward to in the coming months as we try to build upon the success of last year. December proved to be an excellent month to end last year with many customers choosing their pianos before the rise in VAT. Neil has had a busy start to the year delivering the pianos that sold just before Christmas and we have had many of the replacements arrive at the showrooms already.
With such a positive response to our Grotrian Steinweg pianos we now have two grand pianos on order which are due in over the coming weeks. We immediately ordered a 192cm Cabinet as soon as the last one sold and have added a 165cm Chambre to our order. The tonal qualities of these pianos has been greatly admired and I am delighted by the prospect of adding another grand model to our stock. The two grands will sit alongside the Classic, Cristal and studio uprights to offer our customers a comprehensive choice of Grotrian pianos.
The beautifully made Bluthner pianos have also been much admired and provide a great contrast in tone to the Grotrians. The finish of these pianos is truly stunning and the warm rich tonal quality offers a unique playing experience which is enjoyed by top pianists throughout the world. The 190cm Bluthner 6 is a remarkable piano which exudes quality both in appearance and performance!
Our best selling pianos of last year were the excellent Kawai pianos. The pianos are exceptional value and have been a popular choice for pianists of all abilities. Throughout January we have some very attractive offers on these pianos and continue to stock every upright model, with a variety of finishes, and two grands. We now only have one Schreiner & Sohne grand piano left in stock but are expecting the next batch to arrive in February, we are already taking orders in advance of them arriving!
We are always looking for good quality secondhand pianos which tend to sell very quickly from our business. Often the pianos don't make it to the stock pages on the web site so please contact us to check our stock if you have a specific requirement. We are expecting a 1996 model K Steinway upright in soon which we are looking forward to, a fine piano to sit alongside the Grotrians and Bluthners!
I will be looking for new opportunities to promote the business over the next year. Dave Stapleton is looking to run further jazz classes from our showroom which proved a successful way of showcasing the business last year. I am talking with other music professionals to arrange similar classes for different genres of music. I am also looking to arrange some technical classes in the showroom for local tuners/technicians which are great fun and a good way to meet like minded people! As always Neil and I are pleased to welcome anyone to the showroom to talk pianos, we are really looking forward to meeting new customers in 2011.