If you live in North America and you’re looking into a new, good-quality upright piano for the home, it’s virtually guaranteed that the first two brands and models you’ll come across are the Yamaha U1 and Kawai K-300.
And for many people, they look no further since these two pianos check enough boxes to make either one the new piano of choice with these two models being the best-selling professional upright pianos on the Continent. But for folks seeking something a little more exotic and European in spirit without paying European prices, there are other options. Enter Seiler pianos, particularly the Eduard Seiler lineup.
Today we’ll be exploring the Eduard Seiler ED-126, which is essentially an Indonesian-assembled replica of its German cousin from Seiler, putting it in the same general price point as the U1 and K-300.
We’re going to explore the tone, action and some of the design features of the ED-126 to get a sense of it is a legit alternative to the aforementioned Japanese pianos for folks seeking something a little bit different.
Seiler ED-126 – Background
Sometimes there’s a very obvious quality that attracts you to a piano, but other times it can be quite difficult to put your finger on exactly why you happen to like a particular piano.
When the ED-126 first showed up in our showroom at Merriam Pianos, we found ourselves in the former camp – really enjoying this creatively stimulating instrument yet not knowing exactly why.
We had heard good things about the Eduard Seiler pianos from industry insiders, but there isn’t a ton of reviews or other literature covering this particular sub-brand out there in the zeitgeist.
The Eduard Seiler Project
But this entire project is undoubtedly very interesting. While the Seiler has been around since 1849, building pianos in Eastern Europe for over 100 years before moving operations to Kitzingen Germany in the 1960s, Seiler was acquired by Samick in 2008. The top-quality instruments are still made in Germany, however, Samick has expanded the line to include the Eduard Seiler and Johannes Seiler lines of upright and grand pianos which are made in Indonesia and available at much lower price points.
The mid-range Eduard Seilers are quite unique within the industry in that they are built in Indonesia to the exact same scale designs and specifications as the German Seiler line. The German Seiler SE-126 is a very nice, high-end upright piano on par with a C. Bechstein Academy of Schimmel Konzert upright piano.
To be able to get a copy of the SE-126 in the form of the ED-126 for less than half the price is certainly an intriguing proposition. Of course, there are some differences in the components and a massive difference in the labor force that assembles and regulates the ED-126s, but the foundation is about as identical as you could realistically hope for.
We even went so far as to measure the plates, scales, and bridges on both the German and Indonesian models and found the ED-126 to be a very near replica of the SE-126. We suspect the relationship would be the same with the Seiler ED-132 and Seiler SE-132.
Now, the important question; how does the ED-126 perform?
Piano Sound
The ED-126 produces a tone that is clearly very rich, and quite lush while being on the darker side of the tonal spectrum. There’s also a massive amount of interplay with all of the mid-range partials.
Now when it comes to piano tone, unless you’re spending $40,000-50,000 on an upright piano, you’ll inevitably have to prioritize certain things because you can’t get everything you want at a mid-range price, such as where the ED-126 sits.
And in the case of the ED-126, the sweet spot of the instrument is absolutely the bottom two-thirds of the range.
But let’s take a closer look at each specific range, starting in the bass register and working our way up.
Bass Register
The bass notes in this instrument are quite consistent, which is not particularly common for the price range. It’s also quite colorful and the sustain is very solid.
Making great bass strings is not the easiest thing in the world and one of the hallmarks of a non-premium instrument is going to be mediocre bass strings. Most pianos in this range have a lot of inconsistencies in the lower octaves, so the fact that we’re getting the opposite out of this instrument is very impressive. We should add that the ‘break’ area is also nicely executed.
Mid-Range
The mid-range is where this piano really shines. There is just so much resonance and color coming out of his instrument in the mid-range.
If you find yourself spending a lot of your time playing in the mid-range, you should definitely be considering this instrument.
Upper-mid and Treble Range
As we keep travelling up the range, this is where the inconsistencies really start to become apparent.
Now, it’s not that the sound is unpleasant per se, but contrasted with a Kawai K-300 or K-400 you’ll hear more fundamental on the Kawai’s and better overall sustain. As we said, the ED-126 really shines in the lower ranges.
All of that being said, the cabinet resonance is still very strong even up into the treble.
With some overall sound-related observations out of the way, let’s shift our discussion over to some design specifications that help make the ED-126 sound the way it does.
Design Features & Materials
Hammers
One of the key design features and choice of materials contributing to the ED-126’s unique tonal profile is the hammers. The ED-126 uses Abel Hammers, and Abel of course is a renowned German hammer supplier.
If you have some familiarity with the piano industry, you’re very likely to be acquainted with Abel since they supply the hammers for a number of prominent piano manufacturers. The hammers they produce are unanimously considered high quality.
Tonally, Abel hammers tend to produce a tone that is a little on the darker side of the tonal spectrum compared to Renner, and Renner is the other prominent European hammer supplier. Abel hammers are pretty easy to spot due to the distinctive green under-felting.
Piano Wire
Another notable feature is that Seiler has gone with Roslau Piano Wire for the strings. Like Abel, Roslau is a well-respected company that supplies piano wire to a number of prominent piano brands.
The ED-126 also features bass string wire wound in-house.
Soundboard
The ED-126 features an Alpine white spruce soundboard, which again, is contributing to a more classically European tone, as contrasted with the U1 and K-300 which feature Sitka spruce soundboards.
Seiler approaches their soundboard design differently from other manufacturers with a unique approach to planing and cutting the spruce. Most soundboards are either a uniform thickness or they’re tapered to be thinner on the outside for better energy transfer. But generally, it’s a flat surface on both sides,
Both the German and ED Seilers approach this differently with what Seiler calls their Membrator Groove system. It’s essentially a routing system that is worked into the soundboard about two inches in from the outside of the edge of the soundboard. Seiler claims that this system improves sustain and resonance.
The soundboard area is also quite wide, and we are noticing a huge depth of tone even at low volumes so it seems like Seiler is definitely onto something here.
Odds & Ends
In terms of the pinblock materials, Seiler has gone with European Beech, and it is a multi-laminated 20-ply pinblock which is the approach seen on most mid-level and high-end pianos. The tuning pins themselves consist of Nickel Plated Cut Thread.
The back posts are also thicker than the industry average, and thicker, stiffer back posts should lead to better tuning stability over time, and can even contribute to increased cabinet resonance.
Piano Action
The ED-126 receives a Renner action, which is another very impressive specification this Seiler model boasts. Of course, this action does not receive the same fanatical regulation as the Renner actions that go into German-built pianos, but having the Renner pedigree involved at all is very nice.
Seiler makes the keysticks themselves, and the assembly is subjected to a rigorous quality control system that delivers a higher level of consistency than the majority of Indonesian and Chinese facilities.
Compared to the Kawai K-300’s Millennium III action, this action is not quite as fast or responsive. That said, the K-300 is often held up as the golden standard for actions in the entire class.
This action actually feels somewhat like a Steinway K52 upright action in terms of its speed and response so it’s by no means a clumsy action.
It also happens to feature a Hornbeam action rail which is a premium material that happens to be very rare for the price point, so Seiler definitely deserves points for that.
Cabinet/Finishes
The ED-126 comes primarily in ebony polish, however, it is also available in ebony satin as well as a dark walnut lacquer by special order.
It is also available with nickel hardware as opposed to the standard brass hardware. The design is elegant, yet contemporary at the same time with curved legs and some subtle but nice beveling.
Closing Thoughts
Despite being an Indonesian-built piano, the ED-126 mimics its German-built counterpart about as close as an Asian-built piano possibly could.
It’s a piano with an incredible amount of resonance and warmth, especially in the two-thirds of the range.
We suspect that anyone looking for an instrument for composition is going to the warmth and resonance, and this would be equally appreciated by someone just looking to do some casual playing.
How about for someone looking to play high-level classical? We think the action and tonal complexity would be satisfying enough, especially compared to what else is available in the price range.
The ED-126 really doesn’t feel like a Yamaha or Kawai, and this is actually a good thing since it does offer people a genuine alternative.
Thanks for reading!
