But what if you don’t want to invest $100,000 or more into your piano?
Boston Pianos are made by Kawai in Japan — on the same assembly line, using the same employees. Boston pianos have never been built in Boston like Steinways.
Steinway invented the Boston brand in 1992. Then, building on the success of the Kawai-built pianos, Steinway launched the Essex brand in 2001, contracting the manufacture with Pearl River in Ghaungzhou, China, to offer a cheaper option.
While there are legitimate design differences between similarly sized Boston, Essex and Kawai pianos, as Living Pianos points out in their “TOP 5 Steinway Piano Myths” blog post:
No company ever OEM’s higher-quality instruments to competitors! And the buyer must pay a premium since 2 companies have to make money on the sale. You are better off buying a Kawai or Pearl River directly from the manufacturer.
MSRP Comparison for Upright Pianos
Information pulled from PianoBuyer.com, a 3rd-party piano review site.
All four pianos are of a similar size and reflect pricing for the Ebony Polish finish.
Kawai
44" K-15- Built by Kawai in Indonesia
- Advanced Composite Material Action
- 10 Year Transferable Warranty
Essex
44" EUP-111- Built by Pearl River in China
- Traditional Wooden Action
- 10 Year Warranty, Original Owner Only
Boston
46" EUP-118- Built by Kawai in Indonesia
- Traditional Wooden Action
- 10 Year Warranty, Original Owner Only
Steinway
45" Model 4510- Built by Steinway in New York
- Traditional Wooden Action
- 5 Year Warranty, Original Owner Only
Furthermore, one of the main selling points of purchasing an Essex or Boston is the ability to trade-up to a Steinway later. And while this is a nice option to have, it’s also a very common option that most piano stores will also offer — although it’s typically not restricted to just trading up to a Steinway and/or only new instruments.
Founded in 1927, Kawai quickly gained a reputation for quality and innovation, growing to be one of the largest piano manufacturers in the world.
Piano teacher Valerie Henderson chose the award-winning Kawai GL-10 in Snow White for her teaching studio
If you’re interested in trying the Kawai product line for yourself, we encourage you to stop into our showroom. We carry Kawai’s full line of grands, uprights, and digitals.
We’re open 7 days a week, and we pride ourselves on being knowledgeable, helpful, and not at all pushy.
We may be biased towards Kawai, but that’s because we have good reason to think they’re the superior choice for most families!
If you’re interested in further exploring the technical differences between the named instruments, we recommend checking out the PianoBuyer.com Brand Profiles for each brand, as well as the model descriptions (with specifications) on the manufacturer’s website:
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