🎹Schimmel C123 Upright Piano Review & Demo 🎹

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0:00 - Video Introduction of Schimmel C123
0:58 - Short Audio Sample - Schimmel C123
1:53 - Model Background and Lineup
3:43 - Musical Features and Differentiators
6:37 - Longer Playing Sample
8:23 - Tonal Discussion
10:40 - Konzert series vs Classic
11:49 - Bass Tone Discussion
13:00 - Mid / Treble Range Tone Discussion
14:25 - Action / Feel Discussion
16:01 - Final Discussions and Observations

Hello and thanks for checking out the Merriam Pianos YouTube channel. On the docket for today is a look at the Schimmel Classic C123 upright piano.

The C123 is a 48” upright piano handcrafted in Germany by Schimmel, and really embodies the classic German approach to upright piano making, hence the name ‘Classic’.

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Background
The C123 is part of Schimmel’s Classic upright piano line, which sits in the middle of the hierarchy of pianos manufactured in Europe by Schimmel. The top of the line series is the Schimmel Konzert lineup, while the Wilhelm Schimmel series, manufactured in Poland, represents an entry point to handmade European pianos.

Schimmel’s uprights are very popular in general, and the C123 actually happens to be one of their top-selling upright pianos due to its height of 48”.

The C123 has some unique aesthetic features including a grand piano-like lid, oversized slowfall key cover and an extra-wide music desk with high quality felt.

Musically speaking, there are a number of aspects that really make the C123 stand out in its price point against competitor options. Let’s get into some of these aspects by starting with the sound.

Piano Sound
Schimmel’s are widely known for the bloom of their piano sound right at the point of attack. The C123 attests to this, with a ton of cabinet resonance and excellent sustain. Much like a Steinway, that bloom never distorts or loses colour, which is the case with some other pianos that have an initial bloom to the sound.

In addition to the bloom, there’s a thickness to the tone that we wouldn’t describe as colourful or powerful like a Bechstein, but rather a real sense of clarity. Often clear sounding pianos can also sound quite thin, and that isn’t the case here.

There’s a real sense of intimacy, and yet grandeur, all happening at the same time.

The Konzert series uprights for contrast do bring an additional level of sophistication, and this is apparent with a more complex bridging system, the scale design, quality of hammers and the amount of production time. The result is that the minor imperfections apparent on most pianos essentially disappear.

But the value that the C123 has to offer the price needs to be stated - even though Schimmel views it as a midrange German instrument, it’s still delivering superior quality than what any other country in the world is currently producing.

In fact, the body resonance the C123 generates in the lower octaves is frankly shocking. As you get into the upper range, that resonance goes away, and you’re left with primarily soundboard and string tone.

Piano Action
The key surfaces stand out right away for their excellent glide - these keys are just super comfortable to play.

Schimmel designs their own actions, which are built for Renner. The repetition speed is decidedly average here, but the control is superb.

Late Romantic music is going to be perfectly enjoyable to play on the C123 with the action lending itself very well to this style of repertoire.

Closing Thoughts
This is a very nice upright piano for the money. The bloom, sustain and cabinet activation in the lower register are all spectacular.

The only real potential downside is the lack of resonance in the upper ranges. This itself isn’t inherently bad, but due to the lack of balance with the lower ranges, you’ll need to account for this depending on the type of repertoire you’re playing.

We hope you have enjoyed this look at the C123. If you’re in the Greater Toronto area, please don’t hesitate to pop into one of our showrooms to try one out for yourself!

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