I just love my brand-new Steinway & Sons Designed Essex 111E Upright. I tried all of the Essex pianos in the showroom at Steinway Hall, but I kept coming back to this one. The tone and the way it feels sold me. It’s so beautiful too with its lustrous mahogany finish and modern design. Not only does it look great in my new studio, but it sounds even better.
Some have asked me, “How can I get a piano like yours too? How much will it cost me?”
That’s an easy one to answer. Just let me know and we can go to Steinway Hall to pick out your new instrument. My piano costs $5,790. For many, myself included, paying it all upfront is not an attractive option. You may be interested to learn that Steinway has a rent-to-own program and after six months of renting, you can either return the piano, pay the remainder of the cost and own it, or pending a credit application you can continue to make payments until it’s yours. They also offer a true rental program. You can choose from their “bank of rental pianos” and rent from month to month and return the piano when you feel like it. Normally the rental price is 1.5% of the purchase price per month, but if you let me know, I can get you a 1% rental rate through my contact at Steinway, Regina Davidoff.
It is a little known fact but Steinway makes three lines of excellent pianos: Steinway & Sons, Boston and Essex. The Steinway upright piano goes for about $23,000. They spare no expense and take as much time as needed to condition the wood. It takes them one year to make it and they use the best materials in the world. Steinways are handmade by master craftsmen. The Boston upright still has quality materials and the design is very like that of the Steinway, but part of the production has been automated. That allows them to bring down the price to $10,000. The Essex upright is about $5,500. They are produced in a factory in China, under the supervision of a Steinway and Sons specialist. The materials are good, there is no plastic anywhere in the Essex piano, however the parts cost much less than what is used in the Steinways and it takes less time to make them with machines.
I got really excited when I heard about the Steinway Promise. If you purchase a new Steinway designed piano, and decide to trade it in for a new Steinway designed piano of greater value, you will receive an allowance equal to the full purchase price of your piano.
So, if you know you want a Steinway someday, you can start with an Essex.