Dear Respected Hub Teachers,
A warm welcome to you all as we kickstart the Hub with an official first newsletter.
SPOTLIGHT
The biggest 2018 piano event happening in NZ will be the YUNDI Li Concert Tour - Touch of Chopin.
YUNDI will be heading to NZ on 31st of October, performing at the Vodafone Events Centre.
If you are interested in this event, email me below and I will provide you with a 10% discount code.
$10 per ticket to be donated to Heart Kids Charity
The Lewis Eady Charitable Trust (LECT) is celebrating its 10th Year!
As part of the celebrations we have LECT Anniversary recitals coming up.
As these are LECT events taking place in our Lewis Eady showroom, attendance for you and your students is free.
OCTOBER
Wed 3 Oct – Modi Deng
Wed 24 Oct – Gemma Lee & Charlotte Francis
NOVEMBER
Thu 15 Nov – Anya Maksymova
Wed 28 Nov – Siyu Sun
DECEMBER
Wed 19 Dec – Lorelle McNaughton
Piano Club
The teacher’s performance ‘Piano Club’ also commenced this month, click the tab below and I’ll get in touch with you with more details.
TOPIC
The Lewis Eady Brand Guide
“Anthony, I’d like my student to buy a good piano – but I don’t know what to recommend!”
I understand the confusion. Pianos are complicated. For a first-time buyer, it’s remarkably easy to get lost. Even for dedicated, Google-trawling parents, 90% of the time they end up confusing themselves even further.
For the first Hub newsletter, I thought I’d make a little reference for all the brands that we carry and suggestions for both you and your students.
Quite a few of the teachers I’ve talked to have asked for a guide to help them when they do have a student that needs a piano, so they know what to suggest if the parents ask for their recommendation.
I’ve tried to make it as honest and as informative as possible without boring you with the technical details.
In most cases, your job is quite simple (we don’t expect you to be an expert salesman and an expert teacher!) - check if the student’s practice instrument is right for their level, or that they do have something to play on.
If they don’t have it, just send them our way and we can help them out.
In any case, if you wanted to make a specific recommendation for a student, then please read on…
PIANO REFERENCE GUIDE
Current Lewis Eady Product Hierarchy
(from best pianos descending)
Steinway & Sons
Sauter
Boston
Essex
Sonata Series
Other brands
(ordered in, do not regularly carry stock):
Grotrian
Weinberger
STEINWAY & SONS
I don’t think I need to say anything about this brand. Best pianos in the world, bar none. For many families this is a ‘heritage’ investment, becoming an intergenerational family heirloom, such is the quality and craftsmanship with which these pianos are made.
SAUTER
This is a brand that not many people in New Zealand are familiar with as the market for high-end European pianos is so small. The oldest piano manufacturers in the world (and still family-owned), they are 100% made in Germany using completely German parts.
The only exception is their ‘master class’ pianos and design pianos; they use a different type of imported spruce.
We generally only stock two of their pianos at a time. They do a huge range of different colour and wood finishes as well as modernist designs to match current house design trends. The pianos have a clear, bell-like treble and rich bass.
Their upright pianos are a great choice for a more advanced student that urgently needs a grand piano action and sound but can’t get a grand for space or other reasons, or for a discerning family who wants something interesting or unusual.
BOSTON
A lot of you will be familiar with this brand as it’s the most popular piano in our showroom. It would be safe to say though that a lot of people in New Zealand don’t know it - since it’s a ‘Steinway Family’ piano, we’re the only ones that stock them.
In my opinion, this is the best mid-range piano you can get in New Zealand. You may be looking at me dubiously since I’m a salesperson, so I’d better back myself here:
- Currently in use at the University of Auckland and the Wellington School of Music
- Designed from scratch by Steinway, using Steinway design and engineering
- Built in the Kawai factory in Japan to Steinway specifications
The last two are tricky for people to wrap their head around!
First off – yes, it is built in the Kawai factory, no it is not a rebranded Kawai piano.
It is a 100% pure Steinway piano, designed from scratch by German engineers and built in Kawai Japan to take advantage of their hi-tech manufacturing and craftsmanship.
Instead of being built to be ‘like’ a Yamaha or Kawai, this is built to be as close to the Steinway level as possible for a fraction of the price.
The final quality control, componentry and finishing put this on par with European pianos for a lower price, making it incredible value for money. It continues to surprise me with the tonal colours pianists draw out of it.
Highly recommended for students of every level.
ESSEX
A 'Steinway Family' piano, built in China and aimed for beginner-intermediate level pianists.
This is a great little piano for the price. Some might baulk at the idea of a Chinese built piano. It’s true that this is no handmade piano but of the three recent Asian countries building pianos (Korea, Indonesia and China) Chinese-built pianos are by far the best and last the longest, thanks to a cutting-edge factory and more experienced labour.
The Steinway design and strict quality control make it a great new option for young students needing a piano who aren’t ready to move onto a higher-end instrument.
For your students, we can include what we call a “Boston upgrade” – 100% trade back within five years towards either a Boston upright or Boston grand piano.
This alone gives it the best value out of any piano in the low-end market.
SONATA SERIES
‘Sonata Series’ is a special designation we give to our secondhand Kawai and Yamaha pianos.
We have a very strict selection process:
1. Japanese-made, Yamaha/Kawai, no older than 30 years (the younger the better). 121cm or taller, history of good maintenance and have lived in comfortable humidity. Parts are all ‘A’ grade or better.
2. Independently selected by trusted piano technicians. Pianos that are not ‘recommended’ are rejected.
3. Half a day set up in our piano showroom, which involves further inspection, regulation and tuning.
For new students, these are very reliable and affordable. More advanced pianists can also get by on some of the tallest pianos we get in, especially if they are financially struggling and not able to afford a better instrument.
The secondhand market is very dangerous and the easiest place for a family to get scammed or duped.
Our strict selection and the competitive secondhand market means that if we don’t currently have the piano they need I am happy to recommend another reputable dealer, where they won’t get ripped off or scammed.