🎹Schimmel 123 vs Fridolin F123 Upright Piano Comparison, Review, & Demo🎹

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Welcome to Merriam Piano KZbin channel. We’ve got another piano comparison video for you today as we’ll be comparing the Fridolin 123 and the Schimmel 123.
These are essentially the same instrument, but the Fridolin is built in China while the Schimmel is built in Germany. What are you getting in the Schimmel for $20,000 more that you aren’t getting in the Fridolin? We’ll cover that and more in this video.
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Piano Overview:
Fridolin is a line that is a line that is designed and distributed by Schimmel. Schimmel is originally a German company that is now in fact owned by Pearl River, the largest of the Chinese piano manufacturers. Pearl River has injected all kinds of money and resources into Schimmel, but otherwise lets it operate within Germany as it always has.
As mentioned above, the idea with the Fridolin’s is to offer a copy of the German Schimmel that is built in China, resulting in a piano that sells for about ⅓ of the price. For folks with a $10,000 or so budget (CAD), the Fridolin serves as a viable alternative to a Kawai or Yamaha, which tend to dominate this part of the market.
Fridolin 123 Piano Tone:
The tone can be best described as warm and lush. The bass response is great, and there’s a nice flow and transition from all of the ranges of the piano, which is a key indicator of a great scale design. The tone is distinctly European, so it’s a great option for those seeking something European sounding alternative to a Japanese tonal profile.
In terms of power, it’s likely we’ll hear more power in the higher frequencies when we switch over to the Schimmel 123. The Fridolin 123 uses a solid bridge versus a laminated bridge with the Schimmel, which means there will be less tonal blending and some energy loss.
Piano Action:
The action is quick and effortless, and I’m hearing nice tonal dynaminiscm. The regulation is solid, but does not have the level of finesse and refinement that the Schimmel 123 does. That being said, with about 5-10 hours of work by a concert technician, you could get this action to a very high level.
Out of the box, the action really reminds me of a Yamaha U3 - similar key weight, key depth and responsiveness.
Schimmel 123 Piano Tone
Right away, some differences are very obvious once we get to the Schimmel 123. Power, clarity and attack are all immediately more pronounced on the Schimmel. Part of this has to do with the presence of a higher quality soundboard, meaning less energy lost.
I’ve always noticed with Schimmel’s that they tend to have a very bright, immediate attack, much more so than most other German uprights, likely due to the heavier hammers Schimmel utilizes.
The extreme level of clarity is due to high-level prep at the factory, as well as the bridge design and material. Schimmel’s bridge caps are horizontally laminated, something entirely unique to Schimmel, which changes the overall harmonics of the tone.
Another thing worth noting is the sheer quality of the bass strings used in the Schimmel and other high end uprights. Manufacturer’s reserve their absolute best materials for their top end instruments, and this makes a huge difference in the quality and clarity of the bass tone.
Summary:
The biggest reasons for the dramatic increase in price from the Fridolin to the Schimmel comes down to the higher quality soundboard spruce, more advanced bridge design, heavier higher quality hammers, higher quality bass strings and prep to higher tolerances. At the end of the day, these are two great instruments that stand out in their respective classes.
Thanks for watching!
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