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0:00 - Video Introduction one the C. Bechstein A175
0:36 - The Piano Tone
1:48 - Stu’s Take
4:14 - Playing Demo
5:55 - The Bass Tone
7:36 - The Sustain
8:49 - The Treble Tone
9:53 - Final Thoughts
We’re here with C. Bechstein A175, and today I've had the benefit of being able to also review the A190 in relatively close time and proximity, and the benefit of that isn't that you hear different things out of the different instruments that you wouldn't have otherwise, but it's the differences between the instruments that become that much more clear and well articulated in your mind and in your ear.
If I could try and articulate the difference between the A190 and A175 it would be this; The A175 tends to have a more coral or a more orchestral sound to it. On a piano like this, that makes playing things like stacked triads incredibly fun.
There's just a little bit more space between all the notes and you're just hearing a bit more dancing going on. Another thing I really like about these instruments is the width and separation that it delivers to you when you're playing the lower two octaves. The sound feels like it's way off to the left and the trebles are way off to the right. The concept is that you have this incredible texture and width to all of these sounds at your command and there's an incredible precision and separation that's maintained even throughout the sustain.
Now the tone tends to be a little more round than what you get on the Bechstien concert series, where there are some more upper partials that you're getting from the lighter hammers. You're getting that from more hardwood content in the rim, you're getting that from the vertically laminated bridges and lots of cabinetry and construction differences between those two lines that deliver a slightly more colorful tone on the top end of each note, compared to the academy which is still bias a little bit more towards the fundamental.
There's a little more happening in the upper range of each note, in this case theA 175 definitely is a slightly narrower tone note by note than the A190, but when you're playing chords or very orchestrally, it actually leaves a little more space for some of that dance and some of that extra resonance.
Primarily the difference you're going to hear between all of these Academy models really is the upper potential for dynamics. As the piano gets larger you're increasing the surface area of your soundboard which is basically the speaker of the instrument, you're increasing the length of the bass strings so you're getting a little more clarity and a little more depth to the bass of the lower third of the instrument, and because you get a larger hammer in a larger piano, you also usually get a slight lengthening of the key sticks, so that slightly changes the sense of feel from a baby grand to a concert Grant.
Now I always really like to examine a little more closely the bottom third and the top third of these instruments. What really impresses me about this instrument, is just how even the dynamic potential in the tone is right to the very bottom note.
The other thing is the transition from the treble bridge down to the bass bridge. It’s a little faster than what you get on the 190 because you’ve got some extra length on the bass strings, so it's easier to keep some of those upper partials under control and and kind of have that transition from the steel string sound down into the into the coppers
The sustain on these instruments is really remarkable, and the more I learn about pianos, the more I experience them. There's a whole combination of science going on that contributes to great sustain. You need to have the wood conditioned and dried over the right time, you need to have the right grain count on that wood to begin with, and it needs to be shaped properly. It's how precisely the overall framing of the instrument is put together in the first place. So when you sit down at a piano that has really great sustain, you're in front of a really well built piano, and for a piano that is not costing you the very top of the market…that's pretty remarkable......
Thanks so much for checking out today's video!