Common and Top Piano Makes In The UK

Common Piano Makes

Key to piano ratings: We have taken as our benchmark U1H Yamaha upright and G3E Yamaha grand pianos made from 1970 to 1980, since they are very common. These are given a rating of 65 = good. Ratings assume the pianos to be restored or reconditioned and in good condition. It must be said, however, that there is a world of difference between a piano that has been well restored, tuned and the hammers voiced, from one of the same make and year that has not been carefully worked on.

0 – 40 = unacceptable
40 – 50    = passable
50 – 60    = fair
60 – 70    = good
70 – 80    = excellent
80 – 90    = superb
90 – 100 = dream piano

Estimates for the number of pianos in the UK vary wildly from 2 to 5 million (figures for 2013). We are using the conservative figure of 2 million. Availability figures are currently being added for each make; so for instance, we estimate that there is about one “Adam” piano for every 5,000 pianos. Therefore there are about 400 Adam pianos in the UK.

Disclaimer: This site is constantly being revised. If you’re in the piano trade and can add or correct any information please let us know.

This video shows the four main types of upright piano mechanism.

NB grand pianos in the UK are about 98% overstung. They are also about 99% overdampers - being over the strings means that gravity helps them to dampen, and the dampers are also located immediately above where the hammer strikes. These factors mean that good grands dampen very abruptly, allowing a clean staccato.

New pianos made in the Far East (excluding Japan)
Many older names such as Waldstein, Bentley, Steinmeyer and Steinbach are now used by companies in China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. They are the same in name only and have nothing to do with the older style pianos.

Key to abbreviations:
s/o = Straight-strung over-damper. This style is on many basic upright pianos; about 35% of all upright pianos in the UK. Straight-strung means the strings go vertically and are not crossed over as with nearly all good and modern pianos, so the bass and tenor string length is shorter and therefore the tone is inferior (There are some exceptions to this rule – e.g. some Bechstein, Lipp and Bluthner.) Over-damper means that the mechanism that shuts off the sound of the string after it’s played is over the hammers, and is inefficient compared to the under-damper system found in good pianos from about 1860 and in all modern pianos.
o/o = Overstrung over-damper. Perhaps 5% of pianos in the UK. They are overstrung like most good pianos but the damping can be poor (see above).
o/u and s/u = overstrung under-damper and straight-strung under-damper. Underdampers are on most good pianos and modern pianos; you can assume that the pianos on the list are this type unless otherwise stated.

Skip to make: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Make	Est.	Made by	Made in	G/U	Est’d in UK	Rating	Description
Adam Gerhard	1828	Adam	Wesel, Germany	Grand+Upright	400	60-70	Generally well made pianos
Aeolian	1833	Aeolian	Various	Grand+Upright	1500	50-60	Varied. They made many player pianos
Ajello & Sons	1862	Ajello	Manchester, UK	Upright	1000	50-60	Mostly tall overstrung underdamped uprights with strong tone
Allison	1837	Allison	London,UK	Grand+Upright	15000; 15% grands	50-60	Varied â€“ low to medium quality; some baby grands quite good
Amyl	C1920	British piano Co for Coop CWS	London, UK	Upright	1500	40-50	Honestly made but mostly basic straight strung over dampers
Archibald Ramsden	1895	Ramsden	London, UK	Grand	800	42-52	Usually straight strung over dampers, but quite well made
Army and Navy	Unknown	various factories	England	Upright	1500	40-50	Usually straight strung over dampers, but quite well made
Ascherberg	1865	Ascherberg	Germany	Grand	800	50-60	Low quality pianos, pre-war company
Atlas	Est. 1955	Atlas	Hammatsu, Japan	Grand+Upright	200		Due to trade name copyright in the U.S.A, these were sold under the "Tadashi" name, but a few were still sold as Atlas pianos. Tadashi, Toronto, Canada went out of business on 1987.
Baldwin	1862	Baldwin	Cincinnati, USA	Grand+Upright	300	55-68	Varied. Most of the ones imported to the UK were basic models
Barnes W.H.	1976	Barnes	London, England	Grand+Upright	2000	45-55	Nearly all uprights
Barratt and Robinson	1877	Barratt and Robinson	London U.K	Upright	15000	50-60	One of the last London factories. Satisfactory mid range uprights
Bechstein	1853	Bechstein	Berlin, Germany	Grand+Upright	30000	60-85	WE RESTORE ALL BECHSTEIN PIANOS. Prolific high quality maker. See specialist Bechstein page
Bell	1864	Bell	Ontario, Canada	Upright	800	50-60	Generally overstrung. Very varied, poor to medium quality
Bentley	1906	Bentley	London, England	Upright	20000	45-60	Very varied, poor to medium quality
Berry	1877	Berry	London U.K	Grand+Upright	3000	45-55	From very basic overdampers to medium quality overstrung
Blankenstein	1880	Blankenstein	London & Berlin	Upright	500	50-60	Varied, gernerally medium quality
Bluthner	1873	Bluthner	Leipzig Germany	Grand+Upright	20000	70-90	WE RESTORE ALL TYPES OF BLUTHNER PIANOS. Prolific make of high quality pianos. Please see our Bluthner page
Bord	1840	Antoine, Bord	Paris, France	Upright	4000	45-52	Mostly small straight strung overdampers c1890-1910
Bosendorfer	1828	Bosendorfer	Vienna, Austria	Grand+Upright	1500	50-95	WE RESTORE ALL BOSENDORFER PIANOS. Austrian pianos of high quality. pre 1900 grands have â€œVienneseâ€ actions
Boston	1991	Kawai/Steinway	Hamamatsu, Japan by Kawai	Grand+Upright	1000	50-65	A little mellower in tone than medium priced Kawai. Touch is good.
Boyd	c.1900	Boyd	London, UK	Grand+Upright	20000	35-55	From very basic overdampers to fairly good overstrungs
Branston	Unknown	Branston	London, UK	Upright	200	50	Mostly basic pianos
Brasted	1823	Brasted	England	Upright	4000	50-65	Honest well made British pianos
Brinsmead, John	1836	Brinsmead. From 1967 Kemble	London, UK.	Grand+Upright	30000	50-70	Very varied prolific English maker
Brinsmead, Stanley	1894	Brinsmead	London, UK	Upright	500	40-50	Traditional and Modern uprights.
Broadwood	1728	Broadwood	London, UK	Grand+Upright	80000	40-85	Huge variety of quality; most well made and some superb
Broadwood White	1894	Stanley Brinsmead	London, UK	Upright	500	40-50	Straight-strung overdamper half iron frame pianos.
Brock, Bernard	1890	Brock	London, UK	Upright	400	45-48	Traditional upright pianos
Brodmann	1812	Bosendorfer	Vienna, Austria	Grand+Upright	200	60-75	Mostly fair quality grand pianos
Browne, Justin	1870	Browne	Euston Road, London	Upright	500	40-50	Well made but most pre 1890 overdampers
Challen	1804	Challen	London, UK	Grand+Upright	90000	50-68	WE RESTORE SELECTED CHALLEN PIANOS. Can be quite reasonable but vary. They make the UKâ€™s most common baby grands
Chappell	1811	Chappell, later Kemble	London, UK	Grand+Upright	80000	50-70	WE RESTORE SELECTED CHAPPELL PIANOS. Varied but generally good. Old ones can be quite basic
Churchill	Unknown		Bristol, England	Upright	1500	Unknown	Mostly basic straight strung overdamper pianos in a traditional case
Collard and Collard	1760	Collard	London, UK	Grand+Upright	35000	40-70	Extremely varied prolific British maker spanning over 200 years
Cramer	1824	Kemble	London, UK	Grand+Upright	10000	45-68	Plenty of variety. Many baby grands and post 1900 uprights
Crane	Unknown	Crane & Son	Liverpool, UK	Grand+Upright	2000	35-50	Mostly basic uprights
Dale Forty	Unknown	Dale Forty	UK & China	Grand+Upright	7000	30-50	Pre -1950 Dale Forty pianos are basic British pianos
Danemann	1892	Danemann, 1982+: Broadwood	London, UK	Grand+Upright	20000	44-68	Prolific and varied maker. Please click on name for more details
Duck Son and Pinker	1848	Bristol Piano	Bath, England	Grand+Upright	8000	35-50	Mostly basic straight strung overdamper uprights
Eavestaff	1823	Brasted	London, England	Grand+Upright	17000	35-68	Mini Pianos generally basic. Baby grands fair. Other uprights medium
Eberhardt	1800	Eberhardt	Berlin, Germany	Upright	800	40-45	Older Eberhardt Pianos are mostly half-plate iron frame pianos.
Elysian	Unknown	Morley & Co Ltd	London, UK	Grand+Upright	1000	45-60	Name used mainly by Morleys of London and also by Chappell. Varied
Erard	1777 Paris; 1792 London	Erard	UK & France	Grand+Upright	1000	40-68	Very varied
Estonia	1893	Estonia Piano Factory	Tallinn, Republic of Estonia	Grand+Upright	200	50-60	The Estonia grand piano produces a reasonable tone.
Eungblut, Rogers	c1930	Kemble	London, UK	Upright	200	50-60	The name Rogers Eungblut was used by Kemble in about 1930
Fazer	1960	Hellas	Helsinki, Finland	Grand+Upright	6000	55-68	Modern pianos. Fazer are generally good with rich bass and firm touch
Fazioli	1980	The Fazioli Factory	Sacile, Italy	Grand	100	85-95	Fazioli was established in 1981
Feurich	1851	Feurich	Germany, China & Austria	Grand+Upright	1500	65-75	Old and modern ones well made
Forster, August	1851	Forster	Lobau, Germany	Grand+Upright	4000	55-70	Vary varied in quality â€“ passed through â€œIron curtainâ€ phase
Fuchs & Mohr	1921	Eisenberger Pianofortefabrik	Eisenberg, Germany	Upright	4000	40-55	Nearly all Fuchs and Mohr pianos in the UK are small modern pianos with mahogany cases.
Giles	Unknown	Giles Pianos Ltd	London, UK	Grand+Upright	1000	50	Small uprights Giles was a name used by Zender
Godfrey	1885	Godfrey	London, UK	Upright	7000	35-48	Mostly basic uprights: straight-strung and over-damped
Gors & Kallmann	1877	Albert Meyn	Berlin, Germany	Grand+Upright	15000	50-70	Older uprights overdampers but good tone. Baby grands generally good; modern Chinese ones not yet rated.
Grotrian Steinweg	1858	Grotrian Steinweg	Braunschweig, Germany	Grand+Upright	6000	60-90	Prolific make of high quality pianos. Uprights 1900 to 1930 outstanding
Haake, Karl	1903	Haake	Hannover, Germany	Grand+Upright	1000	50-60	Unique, warm and interesting tone; mostly 1880 to 1910
Hellas	1901	Hellas Piano co	Helsinki, Finland	Upright	500	50-60	Hellas are similar to Fazer but action generally not as good
Hickie & Hickie	1894	various factories	London, UK	Upright	15000	35-48	Mostly basic straight strung overdampers 1890 â€“ 1910. later overstrung
Hoffmann	1893	Unknown	Various	Grand+Upright	800	50-75	Name used on both basic British and high quality German pianos
Hofmann & Czerny	1903	Hofmann	Vienna, Austria	Grand+Upright	150	60-80	Very high quality baby grand pianos with rich tone and well weighted touch
Hopkinson	1835	Hopkinson; after about 1990 by Bentley	London, England	Grand+Upright	10000	45-65	Very common British make. Older ones overdampers
Ibach	1794	Ibach	Germany	Grand+Upright	15000	50-80	WE RESTORE ALL IBACH PIANOS. Older ones overdampers but good. Grands generally fine quality
Kaps	1980	Ernst Kaps	Dresden, Germany	Grand+Upright	2000	55-75	Mainly one height (130cm) of quality upright piano made from about 1898 to 1930
Kastner	1920	Barratt and Robinson	London, UK	Upright	700	45-55	Mostly small modern uprights 1960-1970. A few older ones 1890-1930
Kawai	1930	Kawai	Hamamatsu, Japan	Grand+Upright	10000	55-85	Japanese pianos (later ones made elsewhere too) of generally good quality
Kemble	1911	Kemble	Milton Keynes, England	Grand+Upright	120000	55-78	Varied in quality but best are very good
Kimball	1857	The Kimball Piano co	USA	Grand+Upright	55-65	Those in the UK 1960-70 small uprights	Those in the UK 1960-70 small uprights
Kirkman	1730	Kirkman, Collard	London, UK	Grand+Upright	500	30-55	Mostly very old British pianos. Many grands
Knight	1936	Knight	London, UK	Grand+Upright	30000	58-80	Respected British maker. Best between about 1960 and 1980
Lindner	1960	Lindner	Shannon, Ireland	Upright	1000	35-50	Irish pianos with revolutionary plastic action for which no spares are readily available
Lipp, Richard	1831	Lipp; modern ones by Bentley Piano co	Stuttgart, Germany	Grand+Upright	6000	55-90	WE RESTORE ALL LIPP PIANOS. They are made with great integrity. Rich warm tone. Baby and boudoir grands generally excellent
Marshall and Rose	1907	Whelpdate, Maxwell & Codd	London, UK	Grand+Upright	400	50-65	British pianos of medium quality
Mason & Hamlin	1854	Mason & Hamlin	Massachusetts, USA	Grand+Upright	100	55-80	Well made modern pianos; design of older grands show remarkable similarity to Steinway
Mickleburgh	1903	Mickleburgh	Bristol, England	Upright	2500	Unknown	Shop name; mainly low to medium quality uprights 1900-1930
Minstrelle	1877	Barratt and Robinson	England	Upright	300	40-50	Small pianos made by Barratt and Robinson
Monington and Weston	1858	Monington and Weston	London, UK	Grand+Upright	18000	50-65	Many low quality baby grands made with â€œsimplexâ€ actions. Uprights can be very good
Moore and Moore	1838	Moore & Moore, then Kemble	Stoke Newington, UK	Grand+Upright	1500	50-58	Pre 1933 mostly tallish traditional cases
Morley, Robert	1881	Morley	Lewisham, London	Grand+Upright	40000	50-55	Fair quality British pianos
Murdoch	1862	Spencer & Murdoch	London, UK	Grand+Upright	2000	35-55	Common basic British pianos
Neindorf	1900	Neindorf, Gebr	Luckenwald, Germany	Grand+Upright	2000	50-55	Mostly traditional upright and baby grand pianos
Neumeyer	1905	Neumeyer	Berlin, Germany/Modern ones made in China	Grand+Upright	5000	50-65	Mid-range German pianos. Best ones have rich warm tone
Niemeyer	1890	Dongbei Piano Co	Korea & Germany	Grand+Upright	400	45-55	Low to mid range German pianos
Nordiska	1985	from about 1988: DongBei Piano Group Co	originally Vetland, Sweden	Upright	800	50-60	Mostly modern Sweedish uprights in the UK 1960-1970; from about 1988: Chinese
Osbert		W. H. Barnes	London, UK	Upright	200	55 - 60	Traditional uprights with reasonable tone; some overdampers
Papps	1900	Papps	Portsmouth, England	Grand+Upright	2000	35-50	Mostly basic uprights. Portsmouth firm; pianos around 1900 - 1930 with specially designed metal wrest plank for environments with varying humidity; some modern uprights too.
Pearl River	1955	Guangzhou Piano Factory	Guangzhou, China	Grand+Upright	2000	45-70	Huge variety; older ones (1990s) varied.
Petrof	1864	The Petrof Factory	Hradec Kralove, Czechoslovakia	Grand+Upright	1500	60-70	Wide range of quality in uprights. Some early baby grands are outstanding
Pfeiffer	1862	Pfeiffer	Stuttgart, Germany	Upright	100	55-70	Fair quality upright pianos
Pleyel	1807	Pleyel	Prais, France	Grand+Upright	2000	45-68	Much varied in quality from this French maker
Reid Sohn	1859	Samick Factory	Korea	Grand+Upright	8000	45-60	Large Korean factory
Reisbach	1920	Rogers	London, UK	Grand+Upright	800	50-65	Fair quality British pianos made by Rogers with influence from Grotrian Steinweg
Rippen	1937	Rippen	Frankeneng, Holland	Grand+Upright	900	50-65	Generally well made pianos
RitmÃ¼ller	1795	Pearl River	Gottingen, Germany	Grand+Upright	2000	55-70	Old ones mostly tall traditional
Ritter S.	1828 Germany 1995+ China	Hangzhou Weidun Industrial Co. Ltd	China	Grand+Upright	1000	50-60	Basic modern pianos of varied quality
Rogers, George	1843	Rogers	London, UK	Grand+Upright	16000	55-70	Good factory with long history. Older ones may not be worth reconditioning
Ronisch	1846	Pfeiffer / Bluthner	Dresden, Germany	Grand+Upright	1000	45-75	Older ones very well made. Modern ones more varied
Russel (and Russell)	1842	Russell and Russell	London, UK	Upright	1000	45-58	Honestly made cheaper uprights mainly from early 1900s
Russell, George	1842	R&R	London, UK	Upright	2000	50-55	Mostly basic straight-strung overdamped pianos, well made with a good tone
Sames	Unknown	F.Mills & Co.	Scotland	Grand+Upright	1200	50-55	Mostly Overstrung upright pianos
Samick	1989	Samick	Korea/ Indonesia	Grand+Upright	10000	45-60	Large Korean factory
Sauter	1819	C. Sauter & Co.	Spainchingen, Germany	Grand+Upright	10000	58-78	Well made German uprights and grands
Schiedmayer	1809	J.and P.Scheidmayer	Neckarstrasse, Germany	Grand+Upright	10000	58-78	WE RESTORE SELECTED SCHIEDMAYER PIANOS. Well made German uprights and grands
Schimmel	1885	W. Schimmell	Neuschonefeld, Germany	Grand+Upright	4000	55-68	Mid-range German uprights and grands
Seiler	1849	Eduard Seiler	Liegnitz, Germany	Grand+Upright	8000	58-78	Well made German uprights and grands
Spencer	1883	John Spencer & Co	London, UK	Upright	10000	45-62	Common British maker from about 1900 to 1940. Modern ones from different factories
Squire and Longson	1910	Kemble	London, UK	Grand+Upright	10000	50-60	Mid range British pianos
Steck	1857	Aeolian Weber & Pianola Co	Cassel, Germany	Grand+Upright	8000	55-70	Uprights have warm tone; baby grands vary in quality
Steinberg	1908	various + Steinberg & Co	various locations	Grand+Upright	2000	60-75	Huge variety; some older English and German pianos, some modern German and Chinese.
Steingraeber & SÃ¶hne	1852	Eduard Steingraeber	Bayreuth, Germany	Grand+Upright	250	70-90	Mostly grands, see own page
Steinway	1853	Steinway & Sons	Various	Grand+Upright	65000	60-95	WE RESTORE ALL STEINWAY PIANOS. Best known top piano maker. Mostly German Steinways found in the UK
Strohmenger & Sons	1835	Chappell	London, UK	Grand+Upright	5000	50-65	Good quality British pianos
Stuart & Sons	c1990	Stuart Piano Co	Australia	Grand	5	75-90	Hand made top quality grands
Waddington	1838	Waddington	London, UK	Upright	300	45-55	Basic British piano, can have a reasonable tone. Grands basic
Waldemar	1900	Waldemar	Berlin, Germany	Upright	600	45-55	Mostly traditional walnut upright overstrung overdampers with warm tone
Waldstein	c1895 (old) 1956 (modern)	Pearl River	China	Grand+Upright	11000	45-58	Modern Chinese Waldsteins are nothing to do with the older pianos; they only share the name.
Weber	1860	Various	London, England & Far East	Grand+Upright	6000	46-68	Older ones well made. Modern ones made in the Far East
Welmar	1925	Welmar	London, UK	Grand+Upright	25000	55-75	WE RESTORE ALL WELMAR PIANOS. Good quality British pianos. Older uprights varied. Baby grands copy of Bluthner.
Wendl and Lung	1920	Wendl & Lung	China	Grand+Upright	800	60-75	Mostly modern pianos 2003 to 2011
Windover	1877	Smith	Manchester & London, UK	Grand+Upright	1000	45-60	Mostly mahogany overstrung underdamper pianos made 1900 â€“ 1930.
Witton and Witton	1838	Witton and Witton	London	Grand+Upright	800	45-60 Modern ones not rated	Uprights fair; grands can cause problems
Yamaha	1887	Yamaha	Japan	Grand+Upright	50000	48-90	Most prolific maker in the world. Huge range in quality
Young Chang	1956	Young Chang	Seoul Korea	Grand+Upright	8000	45-60	Large Korean factory
Zender	1892	Various factories	London, UK	Grand+Upright	20000	48-60	Always very small pianos; Over 70,000 made in the UK, mostly 60s to 80s
Zimmermann	1884	Zimmermann	Germany	Grand+Upright	2000	47-70	Mostly modern baby grands and uprights of low to medium quality

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Common and Top Piano Makes In The UK

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