🎹Estonia Pianos: Estonia 168 Baby Grand Piano Review - German Spruce Soundboard, Renner Action🎹

#Estonia #GrandPiano #Acoustic

Greetings and welcome to the Merriam Pianos YouTube channel. We’re hopping back over to an acoustic grand piano today as we’ll be taking a close look at Estonia’s smallest grand piano, the L168.

At 5’6”, the L168 is on the fringe size-wise in terms of what might be called a baby grand, but it is the entry point into the world of Estonia and is widely regarded as one of the highest value smaller handmade performance grand pianos currently available.

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Initial Thoughts

Given that Estonia is a newer line for us here at Merriam Music, we simply haven't spent as much time in front of their instruments as we have some of the other usual suspects like Kawai, Yamaha, Steinway, or C. Bechstein for example.

But the process of getting to know a piano of the caliber of an Estonia takes time to fully grasp the subtleties and intricacies, just like a fine wine for example.

Piano Sound

Right off the hop, the L168 seems to give the player more the less the player tries to force things. This is in contrast to the top concert grands available which are all aimed at offering the widest possible dynamic range, where what you give to the piano is what you get back.

The L168 is more nuanced in a sense, and there’s an incredible bloom in the mid and upper mid-range of the piano with an amazing sustain.

The fundamental tone is very prominent, and the scale design, as well as Estonia’s unique approach to their soundboards, are a big reason for this.

The bass register is incredibly clear, which is not common for other grand pianos of this size. The break is still a little bit audible, which is close to impossible to fully mask with pianos of this size.

The top octave and a half have a bit less colour than some comparable instruments in the quality range, and this is likely due to Estonia’s bridge design, which trades colour for superior sustain.

Action

The action plays very nicely out of the box due to some great regulation that occurs at the factory. It’s a fairly conventional feeling European action since it’s built by Renner, and Renner supplies most of the high-end European piano manufacturers with their actions.

There’s not much more to say here - this is a very high-quality Renner action that is par for the course with handmade European pianos.

Finishing & Cabinetry

Estonia puts an inordinate amount of time into the finishing and cabinetry of their pianos. There’s complex joinery where the beams connect with the rim and the underside of the L168 is very impressive.

When you consider the price point an L168 is available for, the level of carpentry here is simply astounding.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re looking for an instrument that really talks to you, the L168 has the potential to be an incredibly compelling musical partner. Bravo Estonia!

Connect with Merriam Music:

[stjamesoldcathedral]

That is the single most useful piano review I’ve ever seen on YouTube, by a country mile. Thank you for all the explanations about partials and their decay profiles - fascinating!

[zaheedhasib]

Honestly, I wouldn't have beleived a single word Stu said other than salesmanship till I played the piano. OMG, a truly hidden gem. Thank you.

[musingsofamusician]

I hope you also do the Estonia L210 and Model 274 someday. Those are beast instruments and it would be great to hear what you think of them.

[whoahdudeman]

Thanks, Stu. I really appreciate your analysis of the tone. It's something I think about a lot as I look to replace my Yamaha U1. Lots of uprights (e.g., Grotian, Kawai) seem to have a "muffled hand bell" sound (imho), which I don't like. The Estonias that I've played have all been extremely bright. But I like how the Estonia's tone does not have that initial hand bell sound on the attack.

[okay]

Stu, you have enriched me with the beauty and nuance of the piano and of music. You are a very special educator and musician who has added so much to my love of life. Thank you.

[fulcherpj]

Hey Stu, I have always been a die hard golden age Steinway / Mason & Hamlin person but this makes me want to run out and play/buy an Estonia for myself!!

[jpdj]

Great playing, Stu. It sounded beautifully and well adapted to more modern repertoire - at some point I had a flashback to a VST review where something played in "cinematic" guise. Would love to hear e.g. some Chopin on it, Debussy or Liszt Années de Pèlerinage. Renner action is what is in your Hamburg Steinway D and I believe Renner never made a cheap version. Yes, it sings beautifully.

As you talk about Shigeru and Fazioli, did you see/hear the finals of this year's Chopin tournament in Poland? In the top 3 one player played a Shigeru and another a Fazioli.

At one point you played single notes in the upper bass and these had a higher pitched ring to them that would make me move on (I live in Europe, not in your geography). The question is if this too loud and at some point seemingly out of tune ring is a matter of tuning or if it will never go away.

[Instrumental-Covers]

Beautiful sound. Very enjoyable video. Your website lists the 5 models from Estonia as models you carry: 168, 190, 210, 225, and 274. This is the smallest one. I am wondering if you have in stock in your showroom the rest of them, or they must be ordered. It would be interesting to hear the larger models, especially the Model 274 (9') Concert Grand. I have noticed in previous comparison videos with brands you don't carry as a dealer (like Yamaha), that the showroom where the used Yamaha pianos sit looks different from your regular brand new piano showroom. For example, in your 2020 video comparison between the Yamaha U1 and the Kawai K300, the showroom décor for each piano look very different: the floor has a somber grey carpet on the used Yamaha U1, whereas the new Kawai K300 is on a cozy, well illuminated red carpet. The same thing happened when you compared, on another video, the used Yamaha C2X vs new Kawai GX2: the Yamaha was sitting on a somber grey carpeted floor surrounded by a pile of pianos, whereas the Kawai G2X was sitting on a much pleasant environment with warm lights. It makes sense to put the used pianos you don't carry as a dealer on a separate side of the showroom.

[philgray]

I suspect that Stu could make a stylophone sound good.

[michelprimeau]

I hope that one day, they will try to build upright piano.

[paxwallace]

So do you feel more or less inclined to reach for polytonal sounds like Marc Copland or even chromatically altered harmonies like everyone but maybe Wayne Shorter Ballads ? It sounds like you feel more pan-diatonic on it than altered.

[urae]

Funny, I live within 500m from one of the two Estonia's factories and probably never learned more about this their pianos than from this video, recorded in Canada :P

[MarcusVinicius]

Estonia is a so underrated brand. I love them.

[vitgerivaz]

I like how at 17:13 Stu just forgets he's supposed to be reviewing a piano and just starts enjoying the sound.

[Nick-izzo]

That's a gorgeous sounding piano and as always amazing playing! Love seeing you really get into the sound and go off exploring ☺️.

[deborahyeh]

We love the beautiful SINGING tone of our family's Estonia 274.

[bhaveshmistry]

This piano is my favourite piano one day I’ll buy this. I really love this brand this has very unique character sound and it so musical...Love Estonian pianos! ❤️❤️❤️

[bryanpersaud]

It has a wonderful singing line and tonal bloom to it. Impressive! I saw a documentary about the Estonia brand and the singing culture which it comes from. You can definitely hear that love of singing through this beautiful instrument.

[thehousewhisperer]

Excellent observations Stu. I agree with your review and commentary. I have an Estonia L190...very beautiful instrument sonically and visually.

[cpiano]

What a gorgeous tone! It's wonderful how the company was brought back to life.