real pianos - spinet vs upright

[notCardio]

What's the difference? And are there any others besides grand and baby grand?

Thanks

 

[DonF]

Look here: http://www.lucamusic.com/truecraftsmanship.htm

In general, the longer the strings, the better the sound (all other things being equal).

Don

 

[bsr2002]

Are there any others besides grand and baby grand?

Thanks

Here ya go.....

 

[notCardio]

Look here: http://www.lucamusic.com/truecraftsmanship.htm

In general, the longer the strings, the better the sound (all other things being equal).

Don

Thanks, that's just what I wanted to know!

Very informative.


bsr2002,

How am I supposed to read the music with all of those holes in it?

(like I would ever attempt to read piano music anyway )

 

[bsr2002]

Sorry, couldn't resist. Glad you found what you needed to know

 

[zacanger]

My family recently aquired an almost six-foot upright. We had to move it out of this old lady's house, get it in a pickup truck, and then unload it into my house, all in the rain. And it desperately need to be tuned. It's very old, apparently.

 

[MadAudio]

There's a Steinway baby grand in my house, but I haven't done much with it in a while. I really need to play that thang.

 

[pohaku]

Pick up a copy of the Piano Book by Larry Fine. It will tell you pretty much all you need to know (short of playing them). The primary differences are string length (already mentioned) and the piano action (uprights and spinets are very different from grands in terms of the design of the action and how they play). If you are thinking about buying a piano, a bit of investment in research is well worth it. I don't play keyboards much (guitars and other stringed instruments for me), but have bought several for my family. We settled on a Yamaha U1 upright for an acoustic keyboard as a compromise over space, playability and sound.

 

[mikeh]

I have an upright (sometimes refered to as an "upright grand") which is dated 1897. It is very rich and warm sounding, not quite as bright as a baby grand - but it makes every spinet I've heard sound like a toy.

I don't know exactly what the factor is which seperates an upright from a spinet (although clearly height is a good indicator - a spinet being maybe 3-4' height and an upright often being 5' high or more).

Uprights can weight a lot, are difficult to move and older ones can require a lot of costly care (trying to find actual ivory keys in and of itself is a major challenge).

I've had to move mine 3 times and the last 2 times I paid professionals (after the 1st time - when friends helped - I could not get them to help again) - hell, I did not want to move it again. But it is worth the cost, I would never own a spinet after owning an upright (if I ever give up the upright I would buy a Clavinova or some other quality electric piano.

 

[pohaku]

Per the Piano Book, spinets are generally defined as small vertical pianos usually 36 to 39 inches tall, with an indirect blow action. They are the smallest of the vertical pianos. Next size up is a console piano (40-43 inches with compressed action). Followed by the studio piano (43-47 inches with direct blow action) and then finally the full size upright at 48-60 inches tall with extended direct blow action. As there are no enforced "standards" for piano sizing and construction, these are general guidelines only. You could, for instance, have a console size piano with an indirect blow action.

For a vertical piano, you would generally want a studio or full size upright with direct blow or extended direct blow action.