We’ve had a steady flow of pianists, from beginners to advanced players visiting the shop this week to try out the new models, along with many positive reactions and plenty of orders too! We will be uploading a demo video for each instrument over the next few weeks (once we’ve had a chance to get to grips with all the new features), but for now here’s a brief introduction to the range.

On paper it was impressive to say the least, the specification featuring a full wooden keyboard and brand new RM-3 action on both models, along with a 60-strong voice set, great connectivity for MIDI, USB, and audio, and of course the solid Spruce soundboard on the CA93.

In reality, the spec list means nothing compared to a few minutes playing either instrument. With a newly recorded piano sample and the amplification power to deliver its rich tone, the new Concert Artist digital pianos prove themselves to be miles ahead of both their Kawai predecessors and the competition. If fitting a digital piano with a soundboard was a bold move on the original CA91, then this new version entirely justifies it and makes the most of the feature.

The action on the new models has also been upgraded, with Kawai’s RM-3 action replacing the old range’s AWA Grand Pro. 88 wooden keys combined with a near-perfect grand piano action make expressive playing easier than it ever has been on a digital piano.

We have just taken stock of 3 Samick NSG grand pianos, these are fantastic instruments and great value for money. We have the NSG158, NSG175 and NSG186 available at our Cobham showroom.

We have also just been told that the brand new Kawai CA (concert artist) range of digital pianos are on their way to us. Both Maidenhead and Cobham will have a CA63 and CA93 on display. Prices are £2,199 and £2,999 respectively. Pop in next week when we will have them on display!

We have good stocks of all the things you would expect to buy at Christmas time… Plenty of guitar starter packs at great recession prices, with acoustic packs starting at just £99 and electric packs at £179. We’ve even gone all out and now introduced a brand new piano that you can purchase for under £2,000. That’s been unheard of for almost 2 years now, but we’ve actually managed to find a decent piano for a decent price. There have been cheap pianos around, but none of them have been any good; the Schaefer upright pianos are the solution to all of our musical-but-money troubling problems! Ultra-modern and sleek, they look great, and even have a slightly higher keyboard allowing taller people to get their legs under comfortably. Available in both shiny black and polished mahogany make sure you don’t miss out before we sell out. If you prefer the traditional piano look with the legs, they are available too at an extra £200.

You may have noticed that we’ve spruced up the website a bit with a new background colour and fancy images on our homepage, all to hopefully make your online browsing and shopping more effective. All comments, feedback, and suggestions are more than welcome at feedback@sheargold.com

We are also keeping a close eye on our online stocking levels, with new systems in place that will only allow you to purchase a product if it is in stock. We had a few problems with the website last year where people ordered guitars that had been sold and replacements weren’t available until after Christmas. To avoid disappointment this year, you can only purchase a guitar online if it is in stock. If it is out stock, the website will tell you – you can then call us up to see when it is due back in.

A few new lines have been added in the past few weeks to watch out for: we now sell Line 6 pod products and amplifiers, we have added the Hercules auto-grab wall bracket to our stock as well as the floor standing guitar stand. We also have wonder wipes for all your guitar maintenance needs available in handy single packets at just 50p a time.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Sheargold customers for their business this year, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year; the same goes to all my colleagues here at Sheargolds, which includes (in alphabetical order): Anthony, Chris, Dinh, Hoss, Jack, Jason, Jill, Jon, John, Kate, Liz, Luke, Mark, Martin, Nathan, and Steve (Orville)

So my name’s Steve and I’m the ‘General Manager’ here at Sheargolds. I’ve been here for 5 years now, and seen it change quite dramatically over that time – especially our Maidenhead shop. It’s gone from being just a piano shop to a piano, digital, guitar, music production and anything else you can think of type of shop!
Our latest additions are my favourite, as they tie in very nicely with my hobbies and interests at home. We’ve just set up an in-store recording set up to demo all the different types of recording equipment we now stock. This is great for me as this is what I do outside of work and on a freelance basis.

There are so many people now that have their own recording setups at home, which I think is great. It allows people to record their own songs and band demos etc. I do a combination of things with my setup. I use it to record personal tracks with friends, I use it to record bands, and I also use it for commercial purposes for music for TV.
I write with a friend, and our most recent projects include writing background music for a number of tv channels based on Sky and FreeView. It’s quite a new venture for us and it’s great fun having to write music to a brief and also knowing that lots of different people will be listening to it!

My recording setup is based around a PC with RME Hammerfall optical in/out soundcard into a Yamaha 01V96 digital mixer with flying faders. I have two software ‘weapons of choice’ both Cubase and the infamous Cool Edit Pro 2 (now known as Adobe Audition). Cool Edit is great, it’s so easy to use and if you are only dealing with audio tracks I find it very fast and user friendly.
It is only recently that I have started using Cubase again, as I have started using MIDI again, especially for the tv music, because if the client wants a certain section tweaking, you can just ammend the section in question rather than have to re-record the entire track!

If anyone else has a mini studio or some form of recording setup at home, it would be great to hear about it, what kind of gear you have, what you use it for, all that sort of thing. Also, if you have any problems or questions, post them up and see if someone might know the answer!

Even the smallest grand piano takes up more space than a large upright. Grands range from around four and a half feet long to nine feet long, and often weight at least half a ton.

Unlike most uprights, the lid of a grand piano consists of two parts: the main lid, and the front lid. The music stand is usually behind the front lid, which covers the keys. The best way to hear the sound produced by a grand piano is to play it with the lid open. At performances, a grand piano is usually positioned so that the sound is reflected towards the audience off the inside of the lid. When a grand piano is open, the strings and frame are clearly visible, along with the soundboard. Grand pianos havee the same number of strings as upright pianos, and are overstrung (with the bass strings running diagonally across the other strings).

Tomorrow… More about grands!

A piano needs to have long, thick strings to produce the low notes, and short, thin strings to produce the high notes. In a modern piano, these strings are stretched across the cabinet diagonally to save space. For the low strings, copper wire is wound around them to make them extra thick.

Long, thick strings naturally sound fuller and louder and carry on sounding for longer than short, thin strings. To prevent them overbalancing the high ones, the strings are arranged so that you actually strike three strings all tuned to the same note, simultaneously when you play any key in the highest five octaves. In the lowest bass section, each hammer only strikes one string at a time, and in between there are a small number of notes – each with two identially-tuned strings. These sets of two or three strings are called unisons.

Most pianos have around two hundred and twenty strings in total. Together, they exert a force of up to twenty tons. To resist this huge tension, pianos have a heavy cast-iron frame, otherwise known as a plate. Together with the backposts, this frame is the backbone of a piano.

The strings are tuned by turning the tuning pins, which are set into the pinblock, a sturdy block made up of layers of wood: this is usually hidden behind the frame. All strings run over a bridge: a long narow piece of wood which transmits the vibrations of the strings to the soundboard. The bass strings have a separate, smalller bridge.

Tomorrow… Grand pianos

Most of the parts belong to the action; the ingenious mechanism which makes the hammers strike the strings. The keys pivot in the middle, so as the front of a key is pressed down, its back goes up. This flicks the jack upwards, sending the hammer moving towards the string. As the hammer travels towards the string, the damper is removed from it. The moment the pianist releases the key, the damper returns to the string and stops it sounding. The jack springs back immediately after it has passed on its motion to the hammer. If it didn’t, the hammer would remain pressed against the string, instead of just striking it briefly. As soon as you let go of the key, the jack returns to its place, read for the next note.

Tomorrow… Strings.

The wooden board behind the backposts is called the soundboard. When the strings vibrate, the soundboard vibrates too. Without the soundboard, you would barely be able to hear the strings. It amplifies the sound of the piano in the same way as the soundbox or body of a guitar or a violin does. The soundboard is reinforced by a set of diagonal bars: the ribs.

On the back of the cabinet, you will also find two handgrips. These make it a little easier to move a piano, as even a small upright can weigh as much as 200kg, or 400 pounds.

Tomorrow… Inside; the action explained.

Most upright pianos are between 100-130cm high, or 40-52 inches. The width and depth rarely vary between instruments.

On most uprights, there is a music stand on the inside of the fall or fallboard, which can sometimes be locked shut. On other pianos it can be mounted on the upper panel of the piano. On taller, traditional pianos, the keybed, also known as the key slip or key-bottom is supported by two legs. Most instruments with these legs have wheels, known as castors – two at the back, and two under the toe blocks. Upright cabinets also have a lid, which can be opened to make everything sound a little louder, brighter and more direct.

Tomorrow… What’s behind your piano?

Most pianos have eighty-eight keys divided into alternating groups of two or three black keys. This grouping makes all the notes easier to find. For example: the white key just to the left of two black keys is always a C. And the white key to the left of a group of three black keys is always an F.

There are always eight white keys from one C to the next. This group of keys is known as an octave. The keyboard on a piano always covers at least seven octaves.

Each of the keys operates a separate hammer inside the piano. When you press the keys down, the hammers strike the strings. The harder you play, the harder they strike, and the louder theh sounds. When you release the keys, the sound stops.

Tomorrow… pedals & cabinets.