Schimmel C189 Grand Piano

Product Overview

Germany is known for many things, and fine pianos rank chiefly among their most revered exports. Schimmel is one of the most awarded and longest-standing of all German piano makers, and their handmade pianos occupy many European concert stages, institutions, performance halls, and fine homes.

Schimmel produces two lines of grand and upright pianos in Germany that differ both musically and in price. The more expensive Schimmel Konzert series features a litany of modern and innovative design features, whereas while the Classic series manages to borrow many advanced features from the Konzert series, is more of a throwback to the traditional practices of Schimmel’s history. A less expensive but still handmade line, Wilhelm Schimmel, is produced in Poland.

The Schimmel C189 is the middle entry in the series often referred to as the Schimmel Trilogy, and represents the important ‘institutional’ 6-foot offering. This is a critical size range, occupied by heavyweights such as the Kawai (SK-3) and Yamaha pianos (CF4).

But the C189 doesn’t just hold its own – it shines – with the same sized action as a full-sized concert grand piano and pricing that’s more than competitive. A serious instrument for the astute purchaser.

Action

The Schimmel C189’s action is built to meet the high expectations of pianists of all stripes. Schimmel pianos, like German pianos in general, are known for the agile, responsive actions that will not limit the player regardless of the technician requirements of the music.

The C189 is a perfect testimony to this widely held belief, with an action built by Renner according to a design from Schimmel’s R&D engineers. The full concert-length key-sticks provide a superb level of control, likely rivaled only by the Shigeru Kawai SK-3 in the class. Smaller models don’t usually offer this type of control.

Mineral keytops simulate ivory and provide a pleasant texture.

Tone

The C189 captures the ‘classic’ brighter tone Schimmel is known for but increases the tonal clarity and complexity with their unique capped bridge design.

Large parts of the sound system of our full-size concert grand are integrated into the mid and treble areas for increased dynamic range.

The sustain is very good, as is the projection in this new grand piano.

Hammers

Wurzen supplies the double felted hammers found in the C189. While the shanks aren’t the premium Mahogany featured in the Konzert series, they still use high-quality Beech due to the brighter tonal profile they facilitate.

Soundboard

Bavarian, AA, Tapered solid spruce is used for the soundboards in the C189. With a soundboard mass approximately 15% higher than other similar-sized grand pianos in the class, the C189 delivers excellent power and projection.

Cabinet/Rim

The C189 uses a concert-quality rim to aid in the sound-producing mechanics of the piano.