After the market acceptance of Steinway’s Boston piano line, built by Kawai in Japan; Steinway wanted to offer an even more affordable piano built by another proven piano manufacturer, capable of producing high-quality pianos at an affordable price. Pearl River based in Guangzhou China was selected by Steinway to head the Essex project in the early 2000s.
Since the 1800s Steinway has built quality pianos, by hand in New York and Hamburg. Steinway pianos are incredibly expensive for a myriad of reasons, chief among them being high labor costs. The precious woods, cast iron, steel, and copper make up but a tiny fraction of a piano’s end cost.
It is nearly all labor:
Because a piano can take upwards of a year or longer to manufacture, the expense of the thousands of man/woman hours makes up much of the piano’s cost of production. It is for this reason, piano builders have all but left the three countries where the best pianos have historically been constructed; Germany, the USA, and Japan.
New this piano can sell for upwards of $8500. At just $4995 including tuning and warranty, this is a terrific value! If you are looking for a piano in Tampa Bay such as a Yamaha U1, Kawai K300, Steinway upright, or Boston studio upright you will want to stop by and audition this piano.
