🎹Steinway Pianos vs Bechstein Pianos - Everything You Need To Know🎹

Bechstein - 1:11
Steinway - 5:25
Actions - 9:47
Will They Increase in Value? - 11:57

#Steinway #Bechstein #GrandPiano

Thanks for joining us here today at the Merriam Piano YouTube channel. Today, we’re going to be comparing two companies of piano royalty - Steinway & Sons and C. Bechstein. We’ll be covering some of the technical, design and musical differences between these two behemoth manufacturer’s.

It’s hard to think of two other brands who have had more of an impact on the piano industry over the past 150 years. Both brands at various times have occupied the absolute top market position in the premium piano category.

Currently, Bechstein sells the majority of pianos priced at over 10,000 Euros throughout many European markets, positioning it as the top premium manufacturer overall if accounting for uprights and grands. The Steinway Model D and Model B remain the majority choice for Concert grand and Semi-Concert grand instruments in concert halls around the world.

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Brand Differences:

Sub-Brand Approach:

Both of these manufacturer’s have glorious histories and offer some of the best pianos money can buy, but they have many differences. The first difference we’ll highlight is the disparate approaches these companies take to their less expensive sub-brands - in the case of Steinway, their sub-brands are Boston and Essex, while C. Bechstein’s sub-brands are W. Hoffmann and Zimmermann.

In Steinway’s case, the Boston line is actually manufactured by Kawai in Japan, and the Essex line has floated around among different Chinese manufacturer’s, currently settling with Pearl River.

With Bechstein, they directly manufacture all of their 5 European lines; C. Bechstein Concert, C. Bechstein Academy in Germany, and W. Hoffmann Professional, W. Hoffmann Tradition, and W. Hoffmann Vision in the Czech Republic. Only the Zimmermann is contracted out to Hailun in China.

While it’s not fair to say one approach is superior to the other, it is fair to say that there is going to be a lot more in common musically among the Bechstein family of pianos than among the Steinway family of pianos.

Grand Lines:

When it comes to grands, it’s a much fairer fight between these two companies. Steinway grands have a beautiful dynamism to their tonality, ranging from very dark to aggressive and layer after layer of beautiful harmonics. Their actions while heavy as very responsive, and the cabinetry is legendarily robust. The extensive use of maple produces a bassline tone that is a little bit more mid-range focused, and the Steinway D has some of the best projection of any concert grand currently available.

The Bechstein grands are built with a more technical design, which creates a far more noticeable cabinet resonance. Their approach is quite similar to Italian manufacturer Fazioli - extreme precision in the laminations, with layers of high quality alternating hardwoods in the rim. Bechstein’s also employ a more finely tuned duplex scale, and like the larger Steinways, the larger Bechstein’s also use a treble bell, which creates more sustain and projection in the treble. The result is a more colourful treble than the Steinway, and greater level of lower-mid warmth at softer dynamic ranges.

In terms of the actions, Bechstein’s are known for having a lighter action than a Steinway. Bechstein’s quality control is of the absolute highest quality, whereas Steinway’s New York facility has dealt with some quality control inconsistencies over the years.

Will Either Piano Increase in Value?:

This is something that stills comes up, in particular with Steinway’s, the idea that a piano will increase in value over time.This is by and large fale. If by the term value we mean buying an asset, and down the road liquidating said asset for more money than originally spent when accounting for inflation, the idea that this will happen with a piano simply isn’t true. A piano will not outpace inflation, and it’s also highly unlikely that a buyer would spend more for a used instrument than a new one.

The only exceptions to this rule are when considering one specific piano’s collectability, i.e. if the piano was featured in a movie, of course a collector may be willing to spend an inordinate amount of money to acquire said instrument.

[enriqueali]

Hands down the best piano/ keyboard reviewer on the internet, bar none! Strikes just the right balance of technical details, musical impressions, and practical considerations like maintenance, serviceability, longevity, and applicability to real life situations (home use versus studio, etc.😃😃😃👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[worldclass]

All I have to say is WOW. What a fantastic review - well spoken, OBJECTIVE, facts based, historical. I am super impressed.

[ibVODs]

you are my go to piano review guy, thanks for the videos! one thing i would say is in the comparison videos it would really help to hear the same piece played on both instruments back to back, I know in a video youve said you werent great at doing so but would really help to grasp how the sound compares between two pianos. Thanks for the content man.

[alexthompson]

Awesome video, I love these little match ups of similarities and differences. Very well balanced and delivered comparison.

Not that I've played many... But the Steinway's I've played always seem a bit middle of the road, where as to me, the Bechstein's seem to really sing.

Then again, I'm not a concert pianist..

[pianowhizz]

I won a brand new C.Bechstein in a competition - cost $0. Sold it for a massive profit. Never say never :). Great video btw: and yes the action on my C.Bechstein was amazingly well regulated. I have yet to measure any other instrument so perfectly handcrafted.

[zhnvgz]

Dear Stu,
I cannot say how much I enjoy your piano reviews since I began learning how to play piano! In my opinion you are offering the highest quality piano review videos out there! : )
Stu, as a suggestion, could you please make a video about what will change with MIDI 2.0 for piano players/live performers/composers?

Best Regards,
Björn

[stefandrechsel]

Thank you so much for this enjoyable and highly knowledgeable video, just answering some of my questions!!!

[gerardhranek]

Excellent review! Most comprehensive that I’ve found, and includes so many relevant details. Thanks!

[Beyondabsence]

The Bechsteins you play in your videos are wonderful. But my guess is that your approach to harmonic and style ( very similar to mine) matches, perhaps, the sound of some of the very best Steinway signature sound.

[illusionyx]

In one villa's hall Steinway into other villa's hall Bechstein....a good combination, thank you!

[mroaquin]

Not enough people give credit to what a good piano technician can get out of an instrument

[leeloopatsy]

there are 2 aspects to a piano which are equally important. The first is purely technical, how the piano is made, what woods are used etc ... and the second is totally subjective, it is personal.
it is very difficult, if not impossible, to say that one piano is better than another. For me the best pianos in the world are Bechstein, Blüthner, Steinway, Bossendorf, Fazioli and the Yamaha CFX.
but trying to figure out which piano is number 1 number 2 number 3 etc ... makes no sense to me it's like asking which is the best sports car? Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin? they are all equally incredible and the difference will be made on a personal level. The same goes for a piano.
in my case I had 3 piano teachers between 9 and 18 years old. Two of these teachers had a Steinway. Most of the musicians I listened to and loved, in classical, like Robert Casadesus, Wilhem Kempf or Glen Gould, for example, played on a Steinway. The same in Jazz. Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Keith Jarret, Bill Evans and many others played on a Steinway.
therefore Steinway has been, is and always will be the best piano for me regardless of the quality of the others yet excellent too.
because the sound of a Steinway is completely ingrained in my head and yes it is totally subjective.
And thank you for this nice and interesting video.

[Nick-izzo]

Amazing pianos. For me, I would love a Mason and Hamlin someday :)

[studentjohn]

I would pick a point with you, sir: The earlier Bechstein concert line (agraffes for every note, three hitch pins for all treble notes) had plenty of coloristic effects available. That wasn't the point. Schulze and Thomma wanted the instruments to be louder, at the expense of much else. They have achieved that. When I was looking for a Bechstein, I went looking for one with a serial number in the 170, 000's. Found it. It's here in Toronto now. George Stimpson maintains that it's one of the five top pianos in the entire city.

[jaimequijano]

I´ve just read Aldo Ciccolini´s opinion (in 2011) about both brands, and he loathed "some Steinways" as "devices for relieving rheumatism. For me, the ideal piano today is a Bechstein".

[bambinomamuaya]

I always enjoy your reviews.. Keep up the great work! Please review the new Kawai ES920 & 520 next✨

[johnschlesinger]

Excellent video. Thanks for debunking the myth that a great piano is a good investment!

[BDrones]

I have heard that not all Steinways are good in fact a lot of the newer Steinways are not built that well at all. I saw this on more than one YouTube channel which is unfortunate because I held them to the highest standard but after hearing several people say the same thing they are just not built like they used to. I would have definitely had to put the Yamaha CFX 9 foot Grant concert piano on this as it seems to be unbeatable in that category done tons and tons of research and every performer I have seen has been blown away about it. Bows and Dorf was bought out by Yamaha

[phillewis]

I have a C.Bechestein Concert Grand, it blows away a Steinway I had before. Real Ivory Keys too - problem is - am 80 and what will happen to it some day ! I bought it in 1983 - holds its tune perfectly, tuned twice a year - Located in Central New Jersey.
Open to ideas ! Phil

[miltronix]

I'm sure that you don't consider them in the same category as these two, but the finest piano I ever played (and I used to work at an S&S dealer, during which time I bought a new Yamaha) was a nearly new and meticulously prepared Mason & Hamlin BB I played my senior recital on. Its sustain seemed to go on forever- I had to re-pedal some pieces, having practiced on a S&S B... and the tone and touch were to 'die for'