How Are Pianos Made? Schimmel Pianos Factory Visit

Christian visits the factory of master piano makers Schimmel in Germany to learn how pianos are made.

[@vickigreene4288]

I loved this factory tour! Incredible what goes on there. Thank you Schimmel!

[@TheRealZastaCrocket]

Thank you very much for this detailed tour. I live 80 km away from Braunschweig and I own a Schimmel Upright 112 since 1986 when I was a kid. I love it. It feels and sounds fantastic and it is a part of our family. We would never give it away, but after this video I appreciate it even more!

[@balmoraltowers]

Enjoyable tour, nice to see quality instruments being crafted.

[@SteveBlancoMusicianWarrior]

This was fantastic. Every single day I am grateful for the history that led up to the creation of the piano. Such an elegant beast!

[@peterclyne2480]

This is an excellent presentation. The Schimmel representative explained his pianos wonderfully and I learned a lot. This is a far better video than those of the Bosendorfer factory, where one gets the impression that more is hidden than shown. Steinway’s tour is quite good but Schimmel’s remains the best. I have played a Schimmel, by the way, and that piano had a wonderful richness.

[@HarryHodgman]

It feels like the guy getting the tour has never seen the inside of a piano. I wish he could have asked more inquisitive questions.

[@dulistanheman]

Christian said, "It a piece of furniture". 😅

[@96ivanina]

I have a quite old Schimmel uprght piano, and the sound is so beautiful, so sweet and rich

[@wudruffwildcard252]

I really like the part where he compared the upright to a small grand. And it makes totally sense. A bigger soundboard produces the better tone. So a grand only makes sense if the soundboard is at least the same size of the upright or much bigger! But all the other tech talk was spot on as well. So nice to see a video where education about a subject is more emphasized on than selling a product! I am getting a Schimmel one day!

[@984francis]

Not necessarily. The rim structure of a grand can support greater string downbearing.

[@robinswamidasan]

"So nice to see a video where education about a subject is more emphasized on than selling a product!" I couldn't agree more. Compare this video with those of other piano manufacturers.

[@FryChicken]

Not quite, the grand has a different mechanism that can play faster than an upright

[@PeterWalkerHP16c]

@@davidalarconquinones87 Not in smaller 'baby grands'. The real secret sauce is in the faster hammer mechanism of the grand.

[@alessandralombardini-parks1604]

@@davidalarconquinones87 I think in the video he is comparing upright to grand in respect to the quality of the sound, not projection, nor speed of playing.

[@grahamrankin5557]

Very interesting and technically informative, much more so than other brand videos I've seen. Good also to see that Schimmel don't have hangups about mixing modern technology with traditional techniques wherever appropriate. Some things are inherently better handled using precision machines and measuring instruments for quality control, while manual techniques are reserved for those things that can't be done otherwise. Great job !

[@Kolinu2]

Amazing craftsmanship. Great to see how their pianos are made and a real eye-opener seeing the amount of effort that goes in to the manufacturing process.

[@dw2185]

This incredibly well done as an educational as well as insightful journey into piano manufacture - thankyou for including again in the composer magazine!

[@bendirval3612]

I love piano construction and reconstruction videos and this is one of the best I've seen. Thanks!

[@ashy969]

Wow, most informative video. And it shows, that they're prepared for these info tours. Sadly, most brands are very secretive about their manufacturing processes and try to give as little info about it to the public as possible. But Schimmel showed that there is no need to be so closed up, in fact, to some level, information spreading can help building trust... I especially love the explanation between grand and upright pianos, and the emphasis on how hand-made processes are not always the most quality-assuring choices.

[@notafanboy250]

Amazing video. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. It was very informative!

[@markcrossland5156]

This video is superb. I have met Lothar a few times. His knowledge of Schimmel pianos is excellent as this video proves. It also shows how intricate the manufacturing process is. I doubt it's possible to build pianos unless you are operating at a large scale like Schimmel etc with multi millions invested in the factory.

[@stemart1641]

I recently did extensive repairs to a Schimmel 108 built in the 1960s. I think, by far, the most beautiful sounding older piano I've worked on. Tone was very even & tuning very stable. Pin block felt excellent under the hammer. Touch was lovely.

[@chonghwang8028]

I remember that my church had a Schimmel. Impressive sound I still remember. It was 1970s and the piano was old but sound was impressive.

[@marionb3897]

Very interesting... i am so happy because i bought this month a schimmel upright piano. ...and now i could play and thinking to all this art craft men Who made very artisanal piano.thanks ....

[@christopherkahn6522]

They are wonderful sounding pianos.

[@The.Chiefman]

Great tour. the guide was very knowable

[@richardyoung641]

I have a C169 and it is outstanding both in playability and sound quality..Schimmel, probably the best pianos on the planet.

[@jahnnyquest]

Superb. Very helpful, enlightening. thanks.

[@jhford1234]

Well done! Thank you!

[@aostensv]

Very insightful. Thank you!

[@lehmanbrothers6938]

My favorite brand by far!

[@FryChicken]

And they got bought by the chinese

[@RoelCyborg]

what an amazing quality piano brand , would be great to have one ,but its place and prize, plus if even moving house ,,,but its super good choice "Schimmel"

[@user-bc5hk2gy8r]

amazing, thanks for sharing

[@alex0589]

love it, thanks

[@werner-de-jong]

Great stuff. Funny that a feature about piano's took 20+ minutes until we (accidentally) heard a piano. :) Made me smile as learning about the instrument and seeing the craftsmanship involved makes one very humble in this digital age.

[@CadErik]

wow - what a fine art

[@famtoonen18]

Based on this factory tour, we decided to order a Schimmel. We don't regret it at all. It is a fine sounding instrument, with a very good action. I personally recommend, don't go for Yamaha or Kawai, go for the Schimmels.

[@FryChicken]

I liked the idea until they got bought by the chinese.

[@winterreise694]

Steinway is the best, I bought one and It was the best decision in my life

[@MarcusVinicius116]

It depends on the taste of each one. The brands you cited are top tier also.

[@AstralsBrasil]

That was absolutely mind blowing! Thanks so much guys

[@studentjohn35]

@24:50 I love that Schimmel has a screw adjustment for the top butterly spring. Steinway, please take note.

[@fafmotorsport]

20:50 the moment Christian’s mind is blown!

[@Researcher30473]

On my last decision to wander from a digital to an acoustic piano I must have tried at least 20 different uprights on my local music shop with my mind set on a kawai k500. My teacher told me to try the schimmel pianos also as this would be the choice he'd make from his U3. A wilhelm schimmel 114t took all the other glory from the other pianos of the similar budget (under £8000). I can't express the need to at least try a schimmel piano not just for the sound quality but if the feel of the keyboard also. The k500 bass has a funny twang to it and the yamaha U series are just to bright and string tensed for my ears. The schimmel has its own distinct sound and that's what I went with. It's a personal thing...

[@monkieie]

The gent from Schimmel speaks really good English but I had to smile at 21:20 when he talks about tolerances. I think he wanted to say "Schwammig" - best translation would be spongy but it doesn't quite translate properly. I would love to have a tour in the factory!

[@joeynuggetz]

Watched this after I watched the Steinway making video. The bridge on Steinway are carved by hand. I bet these schimmel pianos all sound the same. No character.

[@MERCEDES-BENZS600GUARD_V12]

Highly unlikely. All pianos sound different regardles of brand🎹🎶

[@LouieTaylorMusic]

you're welcome to sample my schimmel grand if you like ;)

[@HasiciHluchov]

What the hell?! James Cameron is running the piano factory?? (joke)

[@medianexchanges]

masterclass

[@cannadineboxill-harris2983]

Hello Spitfire Audio why couldn't you Try Remaking A Daddy Grand Piano by putting on 88 Tuning Forks like what you did on an Upright Piano, Please do the Same Thing on a Daddy Grand Piano For Most of us KZbinrs, It will be a much Better Idea For us so we can Try and See and Hear It, Thank You.

[@eugenesedita]

Who makes your action? Ty.

[@cannadineboxill-harris2983]

Hello there My name is Mr C. T. Boxill-Harris why couldn't you Try Remaking A Daddy Grand Piano by putting on 88 Tuning Forks like what you did on an Upright Piano, Please do the Same Thing on a Daddy Grand Piano For Most of us KZbinrs, It will be a much Better Idea For us so we can Try and See and Hear Pianos with 88 Tuning Forks inside Thank You.

[@ashleybritney5974]

I have a old upright schimmel have painting cracks I want to repaint by myself but I tried many kind bleachers there are not work , is anyone knows what kind bleach work for the piano , the piano looks like 50 years old. Thanks.

[@nvau3644]

Approx. price for this piece ?

[@Svm777]

Great video, Paul! But I was wondering, why are all Spitfire videos' volume so low? Is it on purpose?

[@MrDvenclovas]

💥💛💚❤️💥

[@jobatimus]

Germany quality....

[@joaovtaveira]

What about playing it?

[@floridian2023]

W.O.W.

[@joaovtaveira]

Who is this pianist?

[@achatinaslak742]

I can see, the one with the camera was literatim moved by what was told. It is a pity, my eyes became therefore too tired to watch this interesting video until the end.

[@d.haroldangel241]

This long tour and we never heard the sound of their pianos.

[@keithcloyd6097]

Not a good documentary in my opinion. One guy giving a tour to another guy. No interactions with other employees or musicians. I like the Steinway videos of this type.

[@MarcusVinicius116]

It's another way to present their job. More a factual documentary than the commercials we're used to see from other brands.

[@FireAngelOfLondon]

I am going to show this to somebody I know who complains about the prices of decent pianos. Given the incredible amount of work that goes into even the lowest priced Schimmel - and other high-quality brands - the prices are perfectly reasonable, even the £100,000 or more for top end concert grand pianos.

[@pipelinepunche]

whos here for an assignment

[@nnm3299]

me

[@overdrivevgs9433]

@@nnm3299 Noah?

[@sage-240]

Me I’m late to submit it my teacher called me and asked if I even cared for pianos

[@euphgolf]

Great tour, but I couldn't watch more than a couple of minutes of your drunken camera work. Maybe next time go to the beer garden after you film.

[@PeterWalkerHP16c]

James Cameron clone.

[@keithcloyd6097]

Oh, one more comment. It was boring, no music in the background. I stopped watching before it ended.

[@MarcusVinicius116]

It's a documentary, not a commercial.