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CORDOGAN'S
SUMMARY OF KEMBLE PIANOS:
Over the past 90 years, Kemble
has become the best selling British piano in the world and the largest
piano manufacturer in Western Europe. Kemble -- not to be confused with
the defunct American brand "Kimball", emphasizes unique, streamlined
designs which easily accommodate both traditional and contemporary
décor.
Kemble's cabinet
styles are timeless, unlike the pianos that are designed by most
manufacturer's to cater to the North American market. To
illustrate this point, if you look through our used vertical piano
inventory, you can look at most of the furniture-styled pianos and
be able to guess which decade many of them were made. The blond
oak from the 50's and the 60's...the medium or light walnut of the
70's...the pecan and darker oak from the 80's...wire music racks...cane
music racks...these were all trends that, at the time, were popluar
with the furniture industry. Today, piano makers are keeping up with
those trends, but 20+ years from now, today's new pianos will likely be
dated too. Not Kemble. They've been making their cabinet
styles for decades and they've proven to be timeless -- a real
testiment to artistic beauty and design.
Kemble pianos
represent a very desirable blend of tradition and technology. The
Kemble company has a long-standing relationship with Yamaha
pianos, who choose the Kemble factory in London to manufacture most of
Yamaha's line for the Western European market. In other words, if you
live in Germany and you want to buy a 48" Yamaha U1 or a 52" U3
professional upright, the piano you're buying is made at Kemble's plant
in England, not Yamaha's plant in Japan. Obviously, Kemble
continues to manufacture its own pianos as well. Kemble pianos share
the highly respected technology, key actions and even the scale designs
of Yamaha pianos, but they have the character and style of handmade
European cabinet designs.
If there are two
areas of frequent criticism for Japanese pianos in comparison with
their higher priced European counterparts, it's the notion that they
don't have as much cosmetic and musical character. These are two
areas that Kemble addresses while still maintaining a price point that
is MUCH closer to Japanese pianos than European pianos.
For
literally hundreds of years, the British have always been the industry
leader in craftsmanship and innovation when it comes to piano
cabinetry. Maintaining the British tradition of impeccable
woodworking, Kemble's cabinetry is undeniably meticulous and tasteful.
Laser technology employed in their factory ensures the precision of
each line in their veneers and inlays. Kemble also manufactures
specialty pianos with contemporary cabinets engineered by award-winning
European designers. While the Japanese piano manufacturers
continue to focus on utilitarian designs, Kemble offers a refreshing
option to get Japanese consistency with European panache.
To create "The Kemble Sound", Kemble pianos employ Bavarian spruce
soundboards -- an expensive upgrade from the standard Yamaha piano and
one that Yamaha reserves for their $160,000+ concert grand. This
higher grade soundboard gives Kemble uprights a distinctly different
and warmer sound which most pianists will prefer more. This
upgrade comes at a price, but fortunately Kembles are only typically
10-20% more than a comparable Yamaha piano -- not 50% more like most
other European uprights. According to the Piano Book
(the only regularly updated and distributed consumer guide to pianos in
print), Kemble pianos are rated a "Category 2", while Kawai, Yamaha,
and the Kawai-made Boston piano (sold by Steinway) are all in the
lesser-rated "Category 3" family of pianos. Kembles have all
the consistency of new Japanese instruments with an Old-World European
style and sound.
Buyers for Kemble pianos tend to be people who fall into one of the
following categories:
1) prefers European quality.
2) likes Yamaha but wants more character both musically and
cosmetically.
3) wants a Yamaha U1 or U3 but doesn't like the finishes offered by
Yamaha.
4) sees a Kemble design and says "that's my piano".
5) must have nickel hardware -- not brass.
6) auditions both Yamaha and Kemble but prefers the musicality of the
Kemble
The unification of strong visual and musical aesthetics coupled with
affordable pricing makes the Kemble a good value for customers seeking
a premium instrument.
Please call or email for information on how to audition the
distinctive Kemble piano line.
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