The sound of an upright piano is unmistakable. Even with that unmistakable sound, there’s a lot of variety of character. The upright bundle gives you a touch of old and a touch of new so that you play the piano that matches the music you need. We have the grungy Chicago Upright 1927 with it’s muted strings and slightly wavy unisons. To balance that out, you also get the clean, pure sound of the Ningbo Upright 2021, straight from the workshop.

Both of these pianos are the same size (48?) giving a full resonant sound due to the large soundboard.

Chicago Upright 1927

Let’s just get this out of the way. This is no concert grand. It never was and never will be. But it’s no honky-tonk piano either. What this is is a piano with character, and lots of it. That character is more likely to be wearing a flannel shirt than a tuxedo.

Real Character

Though well preserved, this piano has aged like a bottle of fine… vinegar. The low end is tubby and dark. The mid range is warm and cozy. The high end resonant and clear with the growly overtones you get from old strings. You will want to use this piano whenever you need that gritty, vintage feel, or any time you need an intimate, real sound.

Something magic happens when you mic up a less-than-perfect piano with great microphones in a room that allows it to breath. The imperfections of the piano matched with the painstaking sampling process gives the listener a real sense of being in the room with a real piano.

Technicalities

As the name suggests, this piano is a 48? Baldwin Monarch upright built in Chicago in 1927. It has all its original parts and strings. Its history is uncertain, but based on the condition, it’s clearly been very well cared for and maintained for the past 96 years. It was sampled in a large open living room with 5 stereo microphone positions, carefully placed to get the most out of the piano and the room.

Ningbo Upright 2021

Upright pianos have a distinct tone that is hard to mistake. Is it the size? The shape of the soundboard? We’re not sure, but it’s probably a combination of a whole bunch of features. But one thing is certain, and that’s that nothing evokes that intimate, home piano sound like an upright piano. There’s something comforting about the muffled, boxy sound of a upright that you don’t find in a grand.

Best of Both Worlds

The Ningbo Upright is a brand new piano built by one of the most respected chinese piano manufacturers around. Even the most xenophobic piano snobs can’t deny the fact that these are pretty great pianos. It has a perfect blend of that unmistakable upright character, but with a presence and purity that sounds great on pretty much anything you can throw at it.

Powerful, bright low end and clean percussive high end is something you can only get from new strings and hammers combined with a great design, and this piano delivers exactly that.

Technicalities

The Ningbo Upright piano is a 48? Hailun H-1P upright built in Ningbo in 2021. As a new piano, it has brand new parts all around, giving it a solid clean tone up all the way from top to bottom. Our technician made sure it was it tip top shape before sampling to make sure it was at the top of its game. It was sampled in a small living room with 5 stereo microphone positions, carefully placed to get the most out of the piano and the room.