14/08/2026
🎹 Three Grand Pianos, Three Different Voices
Kawai, Bechstein and Yamaha — three grand pianos I recently worked on, each with its own distinctive tone and character.
It’s tempting to associate a particular sound with a brand or model, but in reality, a piano’s tone is influenced by far more than the name on the fallboard.
The initial factory setup and voicing, age and amount of use, hammer condition, regulation, tuning and maintenance history, room acoustics, temperature and humidity can all significantly affect what we hear. Even two pianos of the same model and similar age can develop quite different tonal characters over time.
And, of course, tone is personal. One pianist may prefer a warm, mellow and rounded sound, while another wants greater brightness, clarity and projection.
Brand, model, size and design certainly influence a piano’s fundamental character, but they don’t determine the final result on their own. Every piano develops its own voice — and good tuning, regulation and voicing help bring out the best in the individual instrument.
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