Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Steinway Piano - A Piano as An Investment?

!±8± Steinway Piano - A Piano as An Investment?

If you are looking to invest in a tangible product as opposed to stocks and bonds, you have lots of options. You consider real estate, classic cars or maybe a piece of jewelry or gold. But how about investing in a piano? To be more specific, how about investing in a Steinway piano? Yes, over the years, this instrument has proven to be a lucrative and often times better investment as far as return and enjoyment than the aforementioned items.

While many instruments built today are mass produced with materials that are cost effective, the Steinway piano is still built just as it was when the company was founded in 1853. Every component is carefully chosen for its superior quality. One piano takes an entire year to be completed and ready for the market, and only 5,000 are manufactured each year. So, demand as well as craftsmanship insures that this instrument will appreciate in value over time. Most other brands will depreciate, much like a car when it is driven off the car lot.

Older Steinways are by far the most valuable with an appreciation in value of 13.6 percent for a grand model made during the Golden Age of the piano, the 1900's and earlier. Even as young as a model built in the seventies, the resale appreciation is at about 2.3 percent. In the eighties, retail value of the concert grand rose 200 percent. That is quite a jump in just a decade. According to the Forbes report, as an investment, it outperformed other items like gold, which declined over the decade, wine increased 100 percent and a classic Mercedes Benz '54-'57 rose 43 percent in appreciation.

If you are lucky enough to already have either a grand or an upright in your family, hang on to it. Not only is it a sentimental family heirloom, but it has also appreciated in value. If it is in need of a restoration, the money needed to return it to its original state is well worth the return you will get from a fully functioning beautifully restored Steinway piano. Of course, as a family heirloom, you may not wish to sell it. What you will have is a valuable piece of family history to pass down and with proper maintenance future generations can enjoy its beauty and sound. Consider an investment in your family.

However, if you happen to be the owner of this fine instrument, it is important to take great care with its regular maintenance. To keep your investment pure, you may want to use the Steinway Restoration Center if you need your instrument rebuilt. That is the only way to guarantee all of the components remain 100 percent Steinway. This is not to say that a reputable technician cannot give you the same quality rebuild and it does not mean that your instrument will decline in value if you use another technician. It is just another safeguard option for the care and maintenance of your investment. You can be sure that if you do not take care of it, you will not profit from it.


Steinway Piano - A Piano as An Investment?

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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Review - Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key Digital Stage Piano

!±8± Review - Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key Digital Stage Piano

The Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key digital stage piano takes the portable digital piano to the next level with a great piano sound and a combination of features and technological enhancements. Through this review, you will discover the pros and cons and other important things you need to know about this particular digital stage piano model from Casio.

The first thing I noticed about the PX-130 when I sat down to play it is the sound - Casio really nails down that authentic grand piano sound. The next thing I noticed is the new scaled hammer action keyboard (88 notes and Tri-Sensor technology). After playing it for a while in the store I became aware of the other nice features such as a built-in metronome and two-track recorder together with a duet mode and other recording features like the built-in USB MIDI interface and the USB connection which enables you to save the songs you have recorded.

So here are my pros and cons of the Casio Privia PX-130...

Casio PX-130 Pros

As I mentioned earlier, PX 130 has a strikingly realistic grand piano sound and acoustic piano feel; both qualities that are always at the top of the list of any discerning piano buyer's list. With the Casio you really don't have to compromise as the PX-130 as you're going to get a terrific grand piano sound for very competitive and rock-bottom price.

Casio really delivers with the variety of their features you get 128 polyphony notes, 16 different built-in voices which can be combined or layered together with four available digital effects like reverb and other digital effects.

One last thing I'd like to mention is the library of 50 built-in classical and popular songs. This piano makes for a very amazing jukebox if you just want to sit back and entertain yourself with some classy background music.

Casio PX-130 Cons

Some people have found the keys a bit too heavy compared to equivalently priced Yamaha models. Normally though, all it takes is a few days of playing the PX-130 and your fingers will develop the necessary strength and you won't notice it anymore.

When I review pianos I always make sure to look at the back of the piano to see how many inputs and outputs there are. One potential problem is that there is no 1/4″ jack. You'll have to purchase a converter jack for one of the headphones if you want to send the signal to a professional external amplifier.

Another potential issue is one of durability; the model is made out of plastic which can be easily damaged or broken when mishandled or dropped from a 10 story building. So it's important that you handle it carefully or find a durable case to protect it while traveling.

The Casio PX-130 is Perfect For:

Musicians who like to occasionally play live as you can take it with you anywhere Piano students who can practice at home as it has the built-in metronome to help them improve their piano technique and the ability to record one's performances for evaluation As an added bonus, it's also great for piano teachers as they can play with their student using the Privia's duet mode

Final Verdict

In many ways Casio has finally come up to the level of traditional digital piano manufacturers like Yamaha and Roland in terms of sound and playability except without the steep price. The Casio PX-130 88-key digital stage piano is a great buy for those who are looking for an affordable yet versatile digital piano they can bring with them anywhere.

My bottom line recommendation: the PX-130 gets top marks for overall sound quality and consumer value.


Review - Casio Privia PX-130 88-Key Digital Stage Piano

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