A Tale of Two Aeolian Pianos

[@aliefarchaeology7907]

James, another excellent video. I look forward to seeing them and hearing you play. Makes for a nice moment each time. Thanks.

[@ThePianoforever]

Thank you for checking the channel out to see what I am finding.

[@danielk.7221]

Very nice find, James. I always find your piano and organ reviews very interesting.

[@gbantock]

I remember that Kranach and Bach pianos were the brand mostly on sale, for years on end, at the May Co., a department chain of high-end stores.

[@Hammorama]

The Chickering was made in East Rochester, NY in the American Piano Co. factory. They were made in Boston until around 1932 when the American Piano Co. merged with the Aeolian Corp. and then production was moved to Rochester. The plates on the Chickerings of the pre-WW II era were well-finished and detailed. In 1959 the Aeolian-American Corp. was bought by the Winter Piano Co. of New York and from then the pianos began a steady decline in quality and the company name was simplified to just "Aeolian". The plates on the Mason & Hamlins which were also made in E. Rochester since 1933 had the fancy detailing removed because finishing those details was very time-consuming. This Chickering, if it's the 5'8" size, is actually a Knabe scale and plate. Knabe was the other great brand owned by the American Piano Co. and was made in E. Rochester also until the company went out of business in 1985. Chickering's specialty was the "quarter-grand" which was 5'4" but was discontinued sometime in the 1950's. All the East Rochester pianos were available with the Ampico reproducing system until 1941 and were very fine pianos in their price points. The histories of the American Piano Co. and the Aeolian Co. are really the history of the quality American piano industry in the golden era from 1900-1941. The Kranich & Bach was an Aeolian "stencil" piano that would have been made in the Aeolian Memphis, TN factory. Winter Piano owned the names of many famous piano companies of the past and stuck them on numerous somewhat generic pianos. This one is actually one of the better ones. The "starter" models are very cheap, crudely made pianos and the Memphis factory had a poor reputation for quality.

[@courag1]

We toured the Nethercutt Museum today. It has a Bergundorff piano and a big ol' Wurlitzer theater pipe organ and many nicolodeons and orchestra ones too. Loads of restored antique cars also. It is free to go see. It is in Sylmar, CA so if you by this way you'd really enjoy some of the instruments they have I think. I think of anyone, you could really appreciate the thought which went into making the orchestreons and all that this Wurlitzer does. They can even get the Bergundorffand the Wurlitzer to playback their live performances which I find interesting too. Much of what they have is antique but everything works but may not be demoed every tour. If you get a chance to go, I think you'd find it interesting. I don't think their website works but you can call them for when it is open and the admission and tours are free. I know they'd appreciate someone also of your awesome talent and skills at repairing pianos. The Nethercutt Museum 15151 Bledsoe St. Sylmar, CA 91342 1-818-364-6464 m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5qUaaNsopxlo7c

[@musiceducationvideo4111]

fantastic

[@kyrvhy]

At the time there was a dubious "Fruit Wood" used on a lot of furniture(Pecan had been big in the '60's through the '70's) and the ubiquitous "Fly Specking" was everywhere in the furniture business. Throughout the '70's the resurgence of "Colonial" design so popular in the '40's - '50's(note the spindles in the music desk) was also a theme running in much of the furniture business leading up to the bi-centennial in 1976. Too bad the Aeolean buy-out of so many piano manufacturers became the death knell of great independent companies and quality American craftsmanship. Same hear in Canada. The top companies(Heinsztman, Mason and Risch, Lesage to name a few) could no longer compete with the import of Japanese products. Thanks for sharing your love of the piano with us.

[@124tamir]

Unionized construction , James. Meaning build by union workers. Wonderful videos . Keep on posting

[@Ccyawn123]

While Aeolian had some very good factories in New York at which they made Mason & Hamlin, Knabe and Chickering during the years they owned those names they also had a huge factory in Memphis at which they turned out many lower quality brands, of which the Kranich and Bach would have been one. They bought tons of names of extinct piano brands and churned out many mediocre to downright dismal pianos using those old brand names.

[@wmalden]

The finish with the black dots is known as “fruitwood”. Popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

[@sugarpacketchad]

As I was growing up, my parents had a white French provincial Wurlitzer upright that had a top you could open on one side like this one. It unfortunately had a very light action.

[@ericpurkey7502]

To Piano forever there is an Aeolian player piano from the 1920's at the Music house museum near Traverse City Michigan ever get to Michigan go the museum.

[@ogdenlane3199]

My grandmother's piano was a baby grand (brand unknown); it had been adjusted so that all the notes sounded bell-like -- very obviously bell-like. This is the only piano I have heard with that sound. Can you explain what had been done to create that sound???

[@ThePianoforever]

I really don't know! Sometimes the treble can have a somewhat bell-like sound, but I've never found an acoustic piano that sounded like a bell in all registers. Sounds interesting!

[@benjaminsmith2287]

Chickerings always sound nice to me, if a bit mellow. And the older pre-Aeolian ones have more character to my ears. The spinet or console was pretty uninteresting sounding, but not bad.

[@Ccyawn123]

Sand-cast plates won't be mirror smooth like the vacuum-cast plates of mass produced modern pianos.

[@garyblack570]

I have a 1980 Mason and Hamlin A and the plate is not "rough" as you call it.

[@Dana_Danarosana]

Aeolian... Interesting to name instrument mfg. co. after the 6th mode... Again, I'm just a dumb trombone player but I can only assume it's that rather than Anatolia... especially since they're a USA manufacturer. Although the mode is somehow associated with the region... hence "Asia Minor"... Just curious if you have any idea as to the reason for naming the manufacturer "Aeolian"...

[@ThePianoforever]

No idea, maybe someone else knows.

[@markellis6886]

Was WheeLock Made By Aeolian.

[@ThePianoforever]

Never heard of them.

[@Hammorama]

In the 1920’s it was made by the Aeolian Co. It was discontinued after the merger with the American Piano Co.

[@markellis6886]

I Have One That I Purchased Back In 1984. It Has Been Stored In A Controlled Environment For Years. I Wonder If It Is Worth Getting Tuned And If It Will Stay In Tune. I Think It Is A 5 Ft. Parlor Grand.

[@ThePianoforever]

Mark Ellis, Pianos from the 1980's generally hold a tune fairly well, but I might point out that it will need several tunings to bring it up to pitch, or what technicians call a pitch raise. If you have a basic understanding of notes you might consider buying a chromatic tuner, and doing a basic tuning several times, and then have a tuner come out and complete the final stretch tuning.

[@johndouglas7787]

1977 by the serial number.

[@ThePianoforever]

We guessed about right. Thank you for researching it for us.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

Kro nick and Bok=chronically broken, this was never a good piano, sometimes a nightmare. Run away. This piano looks like it got almost no use. Great reviews, James.