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Piano Review: Cristofori G62L Grand Piano

Many experts credit the first ever piano produced to Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori. This young creator of musical instruments dreamt of achieving musical perfection with a sound which would touch the heavens. His relentless pursuit of this goal led to the invention of the piano itself. For three hundred years, manufacturers have been producing various designs of piano, but one company sought to pay homage to the great musical inventor with their Cristofori branded range of pianos.

This six-foot two inch grand piano has been constructed with a solid soundboard of Siberian spruce to create a superior quality of tone and sound. This is complemented with the Mapes Gold Series duplex bar and German Roslau strings to clarify the tone. The solid maple bridges have been capped for strength to provide the best possible transmission of sound. These elements work in concert to provide a soft and rich tone which is wonderful for piano players of any level to experience and at a price that is pretty hard to beat these days.

The Cristofori Grand Piano features a wide tail design to allow a larger area at the rim and a bigger sound. This unique design allows for smaller models of piano to create the sound effect experienced with conventional larger grand pianos. This is accentuated with the custom design, reinforced and double felted hammers which are made from the highest quality material. The German hornbeam used for the action creates a superior precision, durability and tensile strength. This is supported with an extruded aluminum rail and action hangers to increase stability.

The multi-laminated birch/maple rims add a strength encouraging superior projection of tone. While the overall strength of the design is ensured with spruce beams, a laminated maple key bed and hard rock maple pin block. The Cristofori G62L also has a wonderful aesthetic appearance with available finished including ebony polish, ebony satin and walnut polish.

Cristofori are looking to follow the original dream and ambition of Bartolomeo Cristofori. They take pride in producing a musical instrument which is capable of producing passionate music to inspire everyone. They utilize the latest in Japanese piano manufacturing for ultimate precision.

Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced player considering used pianos, Washington D.C. piano players would make a sensible choice with a Cristofori G62L. The quality of finish and soft sound will complement any playing style and be a wonderful addition to any home.

You can inquire about a New Cristofori Piano here, or browse a few of our restored models available at hard-to-beat prices here.

Roland RM-700 Digital Piano Review

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From the outset, the new Roland RM-700 reveals a new direction for Roland® pianos. It offers all the same features of the KR-Series pianos and then goes on to improve them with excellent new features from some of Rolands other high end products.

It features an 88-note multi-sampled piano which is powered by Roland’s very own Sound Source Chip from the HP-Series pianos, along with their new PHA II Progressive Hammer Action with escapement and Ivory Feel keyboard. Enhanced educational applications like Visual Lesson, DigiScore and Wonderland from the successful I-Series pianos also makes an appearance. The inclusion of a beautiful touchscreen LCD featuring several stunning apps such as Slide Show, Anime and Piano Roll from Roland’s unique VIMA products really help to round out the package.

In person, one of the first things people notice about Roland’s RM-700 is the simple, classic design which comes in two different elegant finishes: classic ebony or warm mahogany wood. The unit also uses the “toe-block” design with the front legs. This is a feature you really only see on higher-end acoustic uprights. It gives the piano a more traditional appearance while adding stability.

When you sit down to play the piano you are immediately impressed with the look and feel of the aptly-named “Ivory Feel” keyboard. It’s textured keys are made of a special material to absorb oils and moisture during playing. It faithfully replicates the same look and feel of real ivory and ebony keys. Everything was thought of in the design of this Roland. It even replicates the “escapement” feel you get on an acoustic grand piano that occurs when the hammer releases. To put it mildly, the results are stunning.

The rich and full tones that emit from the RM-700 are a credit to its powerful digital technology. 88 notes of samples taken from a nine-foot grand captures each subtle nuance. All keys are touch sensitive, becoming louder the harder you play. And each key has varying tonal “colors” which mimics a real piano and is essential for artistic expression during play.

This is one of those pianos that has too many features to name. My advice, come into our store and play it! We carry both new and used variants. If you keep a keen eye on our used pianos page, you may even spot one at a great price. Although they don’t last long!

Mason & Hamlin Model A – Piano Review

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There is nothing as elegant or beautiful as the sight and sound of a grand piano. The notes float upon the air reaching everyone’s ears. Looking upon a grand piano makes you realize how beautiful the music is going to be that comes from the keys. Unfortunately many people are unable to make the room for a grand piano. They just don’t have the space required to fit a grand piano into the room they want.

The Mason & Hamlin Model A piano came from a design by Richard Gertz, one of the 19th and 20th Century’s premiere piano designers. Gertz was trained by some of the great piano engineers at the Bösendorfer and Blüthner factories where he worked on the design and build of the modern Steinway pianos. He then moved on to design and build his own creation: the Mason & Hamlin piano.

The tonal similarities between Mason & Hamlin and Steinway pianos are no accident. In some ways, Gertz took an world-class school of thought and advanced it with his new creation at Mason & Hamlin. It is little wonder that Mason & Hamlin have a reputation for being “the poor man’s Steinway” and some even believe them to be more durable. The pianos are handcrafted in Haverhill, Massachusetts to the highest standards in the industry with materials and parts that we find to be equal or superior to the materials and parts found in much higher-priced pianos .

The Model A piano that is made by Mason & Hamlin is the grand piano for people with limited space. It is a baby grand with the dimensions needed to fit into anyone’s home with ease.

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Made with the professional in mind, the Model A Piano is perfect for any purpose – whether it is instruction or personal use. Due to new innovations in piano design and construction, the tone of this piano is very close to the depth that you find on larger grand pianos. Nothing is lost because of the size. It is perfect for homes, conservatories and musical institutions.

It is due to the innovations of today that such rich sound can come from a small piano. With dimensions of 5ft 8 ½ in in length and a width of 56.12 inches, this piano is of small stature no doubt but it is made of a hard rock maple – so it will last for generations. The grace and beauty of the piano are just the beginning.

You can get the finish to match any décor you have in your home. Whether mahogany, walnut or Brazilian rosewood is your favorite, it is available. There are also such finishes as ebony in both satin and high polish.

For pricing or more information on the Mason & Hamlin Model A, click here.

Also, from time to time we happen upon very beautiful Used (and professional restored) Mason & Hamlins, like this one. So always be on the lookout on our used pianos page.

Roland HPI7F Piano Review

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Have you ever wanted to learn how to play the piano? Is the answer a definite Yes? Well, what if I told you that your piano can teach you how? It’s true! Whether you are a beginner, a hobby player, or a professional composer, the new Roland HPI7F is the perfect fit for you. The world has never seen a piano that can interact with the player on so many levels!

First and foremost, the Roland HPI7F Intelligent Piano is the most authentic digital piano music experience. Roland’s Technology (they call it SuperNatural) captures the full expression range of a 9 foot Concert Grand Piano and the touch, tone and feel of the keys makes you feel like you’re performing on a Steinway at Carnegie Hall. It will simply blow you away! If you are a music reader, you may bring your own sheet music or use the HPI7’s built-in sheet music display, a huge 9 inch screen right on the music rack in front of you. The piano has hundreds of built in songs that you can learn to play or you may download free music from the internet and learn to play virtually any song you like.

The Visual Lesson feature will allow you to learn music at your own pace and covers all the stages of education. Like a teacher, it grades your performance and gives you a score. My six year old son has a blast trying to beat his latest high score and improved his rhythm and timing in the process. If you have a child that is learning how to play piano, they will love this feature! Roland also takes the redundancy out of practice by including hundreds of instrumental sounds and rhythm options alongside the tick tock metronome. If you are a student that needs to record your practice session, the HPI7F does that. If you are a composer that writes music and records using multi track sequencing, the HPI7F will write your music and give you 16 tracks to score your masterpiece! There is a USB thumb drive to save your work and print your music on any printer, or download new songs from the internet. You can even burn a CD right on the piano and play your performance right in your car or home CD player.

If you love to sing or have a career aspiration as a professional or karaoke superstar, then hook up a microphone and enjoy!! The HPI7F’s Karaoke feature has a way of bringing the

family together and creating some incredible memories. When entertaining guests, just put on the automatic music and enjoy hours of uninterrupted splendor.

The Roland HPI7F is a unique piano that every piano player and music lover must have. It’s incredible!!!

Yamaha Disklavier E3 Piano Review

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To call the Yamaha Disklavier E3 just a piano is like calling the “Mona Lisa” by Leonard da Vinci just another painting. This magnificent and sophisticated instrument is more than a high quality acoustic grand piano; it’s an elegant, refined and technologically advanced entertainment system. Unlike previous “player piano” incarnations, this is a true acoustic piano (rather than reproduced “live” acoustic piano sounds) with digital-age capabilities that offer ease of enjoyment with its’ listen-play-record system. What this means is that you have a concert worthy piano that you can play on or record with.

Can you imagine having Nat King Cole singing in your home? With Yamaha’s library of thousands of PianoSoft™ software titles, the Disklavier E3 brings the magnificent performances of legendary artists to you. All you do is insert the CD and to corresponding Yamaha disk and instantly the onboard sound system plays the vocals and fully orchestrated accompaniment while the piano performs its part in perfect time and tone. All of this is possible with Yamaha’s newest technology break-through PianoSmart™ that provides a seamless audio synchronization with any standard CD that has a corresponding PianoSoft™ title. You can also use this ability to do the same with videotaped performances by using the Disklavier E3 and any standard TV monitor.

The major element to the success of the Yalaha Disklavier E3 is the piano itself. It is from the highly developed Mark IV Series which incorporates a high-capacity onboard hard drive and pocket sized remote control with a world-class Yamaha grand piano creating the ultimate in home entertainment or for business establishments and educational environments. You can even download the “Disklavier Controller” application to your iPhone, iPad or iPod thus allowing even more control of your home entertainment system.

Looking for a singer or song you don’t have on CD? With the Yamaha Disklavier E3 Internet Direct Connection (IDC) you can connect your piano directly to a variety of web services including Disklavier Radio. You can stream musical broadcast direct from the web service to your piano and it will play along with your musical selections and there are about 11 different stations to choose from and with the built-in amplified speaker system, you know your Yamaha Disklavier E3 will deliver the highest quality home entertainment with the best in sound and technology.

The Yamaha Disklavier E3 comes in 11 models – 2 that are upright and 9 that are grand pianos.