Steinway's great. Is it really the best, though?

I fully realize that I am taking the risk of being shot at by many. Don't get my wrong. I'm not anti-Steinway. I just think there are other options.

So it comes down to this. When I was at Interlochen, many of the piano majors were diehard 'Steinway-heads'. I don't blame them. Steinway is a great piano, it plays superbly, and it has an amazing touch and element of control.

But there was a smaller group, including me (most of the time), who thought that there were other pianos that were at least par to Steinway. For different reasons, many other less-known pianos are superior to Steinway for their own respective reasons. The main one? Cost in relation to instrument quality.

For instance, a favorite of ours was Baldwin. Nice Baldwins (not the crappy older ones) have an excellent touch, firm tone, good control, and are truly awesome instruments. They feel different than most Steinways, but in a good way.

Mason & Hamlin was also another favorite. Mason & Hamlin has a pretty light touch usually, and has a lighter, yet equally rich, tone. Their keyboards are shaped slightly differently, which can make practicing on one inconvenient, but the instruments themselves are excellent for performance.

Bösendorfer. Amazing. Light touch, bright tone, gives shivers to play one.

Kawai was not on our favorite list, however. They are just too damn heavy. Forget practicing for three hours without pain. They gave us all sore wrists and tendinitis.

The bottom line: Steinway is an amazing piano for its quality, durability, and overall consistency throughout its entire line of pianos. I love Steinway very much for those reasons. However, if you are adventurous, there are many other excellent, even superior instruments out there. You just have to play them all and pick a favorite.

Either way, bring your checkbook.

Update. Allow me to make an edit. The point I am trying to make is that a piano is a piano regardless of the name on the fallboard. Love a piano because it plays like you want it to, not because of a name. I LOVE STEINWAYS. But I love other pianos too.