Ritmuller R8 Baby Grand Piano

Product Overview

Ritmuller was originally a German brand but adopted by Pearl River as their full-throated effort to enter the mid-range piano market. The company as a whole is the world’s best-selling (though because of its general focus on the entry range, it is far from the largest by revenue). The Ritmuller line and its musical success have closely mirrored their acquisition of talent and know-how from collaborations with Schimmel and Steinway.

The R8, while close in price to its cousin the Pearl River GP150, is undeniably a step up, and rightfully nips at the heels of other entry-level pianos such as Yamaha’s GB1, Palatino, or Perzina’s GP152.

Action

Ritmuller builds its own actions (more or less improved assembly and regulation at the factory of the Pearl River standard action) and is based on existing designs from Yamaha and Schimmel. The actions feature hornbeam construction and aluminum action rails, slow-fall fallboards, and standard if not optimized geometry. They also use spruce keys for a light stroke and improved flexibility in the setup.

Unlike the Pearl River GP150’s, the Ritmuller R8 generally does not require as much dealer prep to achieve an acceptable performance level.

Tone

The R8 has a greater range of partials and bloom on the attack of the note, and with additional voicing, can compete easily with the likes of a GB1 for clarity – and overtakes its bass response with ease. It shares a wider tail design (though not a true wide tail like the GS150 Seiler in this range) which allows for a slightly longer bass string than most baby grand pianos. The german röslau wire helps to deliver a clear treble with pleasing harmonics, and high-quality maple-cap bridges ensure a good connection between string and soundboard.

The piano uses premium cut-thread tuning pins, and sand casted plates for the piano. Though there are varied opinions on the use of this technique, it is something some builder have continued to emphasize.
The R8 also uses a higher quality bass string which has improved the uncontrolled harmonics that can plague lower tones in inexpensive short pianos.

Hammers

Ritmuller has remained tight-lipped on which of the Japanese builders is supplying it with hammer felt, but one can assume it has to be Yamaha or Kawai (judging from the roundness of the tone, Kawai seems an apt guess). The mahogany hammer core is also quite reminiscent of the hammers being used with Kawai’s GL series grand pianos, which is considered ideal for its lightweight strength. It reduces distortion at high velocities and creates a more ideal action geometry.

Soundboard

The R8 uses solid spruce for its soundboard material – a tonal upgrade over the Pearl River’s laminated designs in most players eyes – for improved sustain and projection. Although this can increase the need for strict environmental controls around the piano, many pianists prefer this configuration for musical reasons.

Cabinet

The R8 is available in a wide variety of finishes, such as Ebony Polish, Mahogany Polish, and White Polish.

Features Overview

• Brass Hardware
• German Röslau wire, Copper Wound Bass Strings
• All Spruce Tapered Soundboard
• Hammers with Mahogany Core, Imported Japanese Reinforced White Felt
• Ebony Sharps
• Slow Fallboard
• Ritmuller Action