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On page 12, this says spruce and King William Pine for the soundboard: http://www.hurstwoodfarmpianos.co.uk/images/stuartpianos.pdf

String spacing is very important in pianos. But if memory serves me correctly, capo bars are more efficient terminations. The problem with agraffes is that they are brass... strings tend to make groves in them over time because steel is harder than brass. Either termination, capo or agraffe, can be hardened to make the termination even more efficient, but I don't know if Stuart does this:
http://www.prestonpiano.com/Design_Services_2.html
http://www.prestonpiano.com/Design_Services_5.html



Here's an article about FEA as it applies to Stuart & Sons:
http://www.strand7.com/html/pianopaper.htm

Charles - I know you are keen to defend the Stuart pianos and especially the 7ft one as that is what you have. However - I really disliked the one I played. And having been put off by one piano, it was not worth the bother of seeking out another one merely to confirm whether or not my original impression was correct.

But as I said in various posts here at the time, I did like the big brother, though the finish was far to garish for me.

Stuart is a small, niche manufacturer and has made minimal inroads into the European and American markets. In many ways this is a pity, but for me the brand has never had the marketing drive behind it that would make it a real success. I remain of the view that other manufacturers match the capability of these pianos, with equally good cabinetry, equal or more innovation, and equal or better performance - and for a better price.

For home use - and at concert grand size - I would put the Steingraeber Phoenix and the Fazioli ahead of the Stuart. I prefer the Stuart to pretty much everything else though, including the Hamburg D that is on permanent loan to me.

Horses for courses! (and don't be too quick to dismiss carbon fibre. And be careful with the violin comparisons - carbon fibre instruments are now in use more than one top orchestra around the world.)

Kind regards

Adrian

McPhail made agraffes which had a piece of replaceable wire that the strings pressed against. It is one of many innovations where the improvement is less for the sound of the piano than for the sound of the advertising.

On the carbon fiber violin.

I got to see in person a carbon fiber cello. It was all rounded kind of like a bubbled letter 8. No violin corners. It was strange looking, but it had incredible power!

What are the prices on Stuart pianos?

Well someone said the 102 note one is around $260,000 or so

Where? I'd be highly skeptical of that because their 97 note concert grand, when they used to put prices on the website, was definitely under 190,000AUD... and we have a favorable exchange rate with Australia.

Sorry Beethoven, I mixed it up with the Fazioli Top of the line model, which is $260,000.

It sounds great over the orchestra. And, I swear, during the Bach, it really reminded me of a clavichord!

To me the Ballade No. 1 recording with Gregory Kinda on YouTube is barely listenable. It starts out pretty enough, but the sound turns into a strident mess later on. Can't necessarily blame the piano for the sound of a YouTube track played through computer speakers, but it sure didn't make me a fan of Stuart and Sons.

Yikes, I remember when that listed in the 170s... Though, I know you can get a new 9' Faz for 130, so perhaps you could get the big one for 200.

I think it sounds stunning, though I listen through really really good headphones... however, the Stuart is not for everyone.

The Russian piano duo Igor Machlak and Olga Kharitonova have just released an album of Ravel, Stravinsky, Schubert and Brahms. Lots of free audio clips here. http://www.leatham.com.au/lm200/lm200.htm

It certainly suites my ear well.

The sound, sustain quality and the tone colours are amazing. However, I am put off by the unconventional non 88 note keyboard and all those pedals.

The extra notes and the pedal, together with the sound, sustain quality and tone colours (which incidentally are enhanced by the use of the two 'soft' pedals) allow you to expand the performance possibilities of the piano in a way that no other piano is able to do. It took me a very short time to adapt to both, likewise my students absolutely love it. The Stuart is the only piano which requires a complete rethink of the way you play, and it requires you to listen very, very carefully to the timbre and colours you produce. It is absolutely essential to have it voiced properly at all times. I now find conventional pianos limiting - and that is not a comment on their quality at all - but subjectively (the way I feel when I'm playing it) and objectively (the sound that is produced and recorded) simply no other piano can do what a Stuart piano does.

Regards
Chris

I'm not technical by any means, but I understand that Stuart uses agraffes for string termination - I can assure you from experience that the string termination is very effective indeed.

Regards
Chris

It is not so much keen to defend as trying to correct misconceptions and misinformation.
I have no problem with your disliking that piano, but as I have repeatedly said you are very much in a minority when it comes to your view of the 'harshness' of the tone. Neither I nor anyone else I have spoken to holds that view regarding any Stuart piano (whether 2.2 or 2.9 metre), and I have not heard any similar opinions about that particular piano at Hurstwood either. However, I am surprised and disappointed that you felt it was not worth your while to see whether yours was a 'one off' experience, but continue to state that Given that you have only played one and have no interest in playing another, your blanket statement regarding the 2.2m piano is clearly invalid and logically nonsensical.
You are entitled to your view, but your view flies in the face of everything that has ever been objectively written about the Stuart piano.
I'm not dismissing them at all - but please reread what I said before.

Regards
Charles

Charles - Over the years I have in fact played more than one Stuart. But only one 7ft model because a) I disliked the one that I did play and b) it was the only one in Europe at the time.....

It is natural for you to defend your purchase fiercely. If you read back to my posts of a few years ago you will see that I was a strong proponent of the big Stuart. But time marches on and where they were once possibly at the forefront, others have now caught up and overtaken them.

Stuart have also failed to make significant inroads into the market. I think this is a pity, but it remains the case that they are a small niche seller and will remain so without a meaningful distribution network to showcase their pianos.

My own view is that Wayne Stuart also made a serious tactical mistake several years ago when he launched his pianos onto the market. He was very focussed on what most would describe as art case cabinetry, and this pushes the price of his instruments up substantially. Yet piano buyers (and our wives/husbands!) are in general a conservative bunch and will not stray far from either gloss or satin black and certainly will not pay a premium for something we don't really want. Musicians are mainly interested in musical performance not extra dollars spent on special woods that our wives say will not fit in with the decor.... And there is very little chance of persuading a concert hall to purchase art case pianos.

Stuart developed a large piano, that has a very limited market in the first place (massively dominated by the Steinway D), and then excluded a chunk of that market by focussing on art case designs. Result - fewer people got to see and hear the innovations that he brought to pianos, so few pianos were sold and many of those that were in the early days were heavily discounted in the end. Being in Australia was unhelpful geographically of course.

The fourth pedal is not unique. The extra keys are of very limited usefulness to most people playing classical rep.

Plenty of people have had the opportunity to play the Stuarts side by side with Steingreaber, Phoenix, Boesendorfer and Steinway. The Stuart's, beautiful as they are, are slow sellers in the northern hemisphere. And in that price bracket people will look at the incredibly well finished big Fazioli (which also has four pedals).

Anyway - the original question was is the Stuart one of the worlds best pianos? My view is that the answer is yes, but with the emphasis on "one of" rather than on "best".

Kind regards

Adrian