UPDATED REVIEW – June 1, 2014 -Steinway, Boston, and Essex Pianos in greater Phx, AZ! Piano stores are starting to do better in Arizona and the economy is coming back a bit. So I am hopeful for piano and music stores in general because local dealers are generally very helpful to their community.
I live in the greater Phoenix, AZ area and we have had multiple piano & music stores go out of business over the last many years or so due to the bad economy and the high cost of owning a business. But now the local Steinway Piano Store, the “KING” of all pianos, has announced they have opened two new locations in Scottsdale, AZ and that means things seem to be improving which is always a good thing. The greater Phoenix area (Maricopa county) isn’t exactly a small place. We have well over 4 million people here and having a thriving economy is so important, as it is for the rest of the US. By the way, the Steinway (made in USA) piano company also designs their lesser known brands Boston & Essex pianos (made in Japan & China by other factories), so there are lower prices on those instruments which helps their sales.
The Steinway piano really is a fabulous musical instrument and for those who can appreciate what it actually does, they’re absolutely worth owning and playing. I have played many of them over the years and it’s always an inspirational time for me when I get a chance to play them. The Boston brand is also a beautiful piano to play as well as the Essex piano designed by Steinway. Many schools, universities, and churches purchase and own acoustic pianos such as Steinway, because even though that brand commands a high price, schools, universities, professionals, and people in general who love good music are looking for a piano that will be able to handle even the most accomplished pianists and be a way to grow musically for students as well. Maintenance of these pianos can be expensive and time consuming, but it is definitely worth it.
If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.co m or call direct at 602-571-1864
it is sad when things like this happen, but when one considers that some steinways, such as the the Steinway model d cost over $100,000, it is understandable that the market for pianos such as that is limited.
I disagree with your assertion that these digital pianos have "authentic" piano touch and tone. I own both a Steinway grand and a Korg Digital Piano, and have played extensively on many different makes of acoustic and digital pianos, including the Casios you mention. Be honest. The electronic pianos are very different. The electronics are fine for beginning students, and are great for fun pop effects, but the touch and sound are nothing like an acoustic instrument. It is fine that people now have an inexpensive option, and as I said, I myself have taken advantage of it, but you get what you pay for. I also think it is a shame that you bad mouth acoustic instruments for "having one sound" and "going out of tune frequently." Yes, they go out of tune more frequently than an electronic box that never goes out of tune. The owner of a fine instrument should expect to maintain it by tuning it regularly. Yes, they have "only" one sound, kind of like a real clarinet or violin have "only" one sound. It is indeed a shame that hard economic times have lead to the closing of the Steinway store. It is even more of a shame that we are creating a generation of "musicians" who do not regularly hear the full, rich sound of acoustic instruments, and have no idea that anything is missing.
I agree with your statement "It is even more of a shame that we are creating a generation of "musicians" who do not regularly hear the full, rich sound of acoustic instruments, and have no idea that anything is missing." This is true and mostly due to changes in society as well as the attention span of young people. While it is true that there are certain acoustic pianos (like a Steinway Grand) that have not been reproduced yet in a digital piano, there are far more "bad" or low quality new acoustic pianos that aren't near as nice as some of the better digital pianos that are on the market today. So the cause for digital pianos taking over is not because of what I say, it's because of what's already happening both in technology, economics and many acoustic piano companies coming out with low quality pianos (bad touch and tone) and people's attitudes towards music lessons and playing. And I can say that there are a few new higher priced digital pianos that are awesome in touch & tone and you can play them wearing headphones, they're much easier to move, and there's no maintenance. And with the loss of value on depreciating acoustic pianos, there is less and less incentive to purchase an acoustic piano. In another 50-100 years, I would take an educated guess that most acoustic piano companies with be out of business and many good ones have recently gone into bankruptcy or stopped production. Sadly, the handwriting is on the wall and the digital age is alive and going strong and continuing to progress with staggering results.