W. Hoffmann P126 Upright Piano

Product Overview

The W.Hoffmann Professional P126 is the largest upright available in the ‘P Series’ from Hoffmann and is a 100% European piano of incomparable value. The P Series Hoffmanns are made by hand in the Czech Republic by the top specialists (of 150) at the C. Bechstein Europe factory and offer a wealth of craftsmanship and overall quality simply not otherwise available in this price range.

The W. Hoffman P126 Upright offers professional pianists a precise touch and a clearly European yet modern/differentiated sound, in a ‘concert sized’ upright. There are less than a handful of other new pianos on the market right now that will provide the same level of playing experience for the dollar as the W. Hoffmann P126.

The Professional Line of W. Hoffmann pianos is the top line of instruments being produced at the C. Bechstein Europe facility. Though the material and build quality seem to be equal to their Traditional line, the top voicing and regulation specialists available to get assigned for the final preps of the Professional Line. The ‘P Series’ Pianos have a very different tonal philosophy than the ‘T Series’ do, and offer a very clear and precise bass tone, a beautiful blooming mid-range, and a unique ‘sparkle’ in the top end of the instrument. The tone of the P126 is very present and treble-focused, but still has a wide range of colours available to the player. The P Series Hoffmanns also receive very powerful soundboards, which are expertly prepared and cured and really allow the pianos to really sing!

The W. Hoffmann P126 features some extremely advanced features, such as duplex scaling, full range agraffes, Solid White Spruce soundboards, as well as C. Bechstein, double felted hammers with mahogany hammerheads.

The P126 upright is 126cm tall (or 49.6”) and is the largest and best upright piano made under the Hoffmann name at the C. Bechstein Europe facility. It is the perfect piano for professionals or music lovers looking at ‘best musical value for dollar’ European uprights

Action

The action which the W. Hoffmann P126 upright receives a Bechstein made and designed action which they label their ‘Silver Action’. This is the same action assembly that is used in the rest of the W. Hoffmann pianos as well as in the German-made Bechstein Academy instruments.

Bechstein also makes a ‘Gold Action’ which is reserved for their Concert level instruments, as well as a ‘Bronze Action’ which is manufactured by Hailun for their Zimmermann pianos.

For those familiar with Renner Actions, the Bechstein Silver Action is similar in feel, although does have the sense of a deeper key bed (though less deep than Japanese pianos), and seems to be designed and regulated to provide better control in lower dynamic ranges. This is likely also enhanced by the extended key-stick lengths. The repetition speed of this action is fantastic.

The W. Hoffman P126’s action gets regulated extensively – by C. Bechstein Europe’s top regulation specialists, and to similar tolerances as the Bechstein Academy line. The touch on the piano is beautifully balanced ‘out-of-the-box and is distinctly European in feel.

Tone

The W. Hoffmann P126 upright piano offers a colourful, well-rounded tone with tons of projection and sustain. The depth of tone in this instrument is certainly unique for a ‘mid-range European upright, and not far off from the amount of tone that some baby grand pianos produce.

The P126 offers a very clear and precise bass tone, with great separation and tons of core’ or fullness to the sound. The mid-range is very colourful and expressive and even has some of that coveted ‘Bechstein-bloom’ to the notes. The whole range of the instrument is more treble-focused than for example the ‘T Series’ Hoffmanns, which helps the already perfectly balanced upper register of the p126 really sing.

The soundboard on the P126 (and the other Czech-made Hoffmanns) sound way better than it should. They resonate beautifully and effortlessly and put the Hoffmanns in a category above any other acoustic pianos in its category.

The W. Hoffman P126’s tonal capabilities are tailored specifically to professional musicians.

C. Bechstein Europe uses only German bass strings of 99% copper purity in the W. Hoffmann P126 as well as full range agraffes, which although aren’t inexpensive to achieve, drastically improve the piano’s tonal clarity.

Hammers

There are only three piano manufacturers remaining today, who continue to make their own piano hammers: Kawai, Yamaha, and C. Bechstein.

Bechstein designs and manufactures every hammer found in their W. Hoffmann and Bechstein branded pianos in Europe with the finest quality felts and woods available to maintain complete control over the quality of these integral components.

It’s also interesting to note that Bechstein has a specific sized/scaled hammer set for each individual model they make (not just for the different lines) to get as much tonal efficiency out of each instrument.

All Bechstein hammers are made in Germany.

The W. Hoffmann p126 receives mahogany-core, double-felted hammers (English felt) which are carefully selected and hand-voiced by the voicing experts at C. Bechstein Europe

Soundboard

The soundboard in the W. Hoffmann P126 is made of extremely high quality, white spruce grown in the Alps, and provides the instrument with a beautiful sense of tonal clarity, richness, and colour, and retains. The soundboards are carefully cured by the wood specialists at C. Bechstein Europe for optimal tonal production.

The remarkable tonal output and overall efficiency of the W. Hoffmann p126’s soundboard is the first piece of feedback any highly skilled player provides after playing the piano.

Rim/Cabinet

One of the various things which the Concert Class, C. Bechstein pianos are famous for, is how involved in the tonal production their cases and rims have always been. It therefore shouldn’t come as a total surprise that the W. Hoffmann P126’s case is made of massive spruce and back frame made of medium-density pine wood.

Being a fully European piano, the W. Hoffmann P126’s cabinetry is also distinctly European. W. Hoffmann cabinets are finished to a noticeably higher standard than is usually seen in their instrument class, and feature among other things: straight/clean lines on the fallboard, a half-opening top lid as well as European-style double caster wheels.

The P Series Hoffmanns are specifically available in Ebony Polished cabinets with chrome fittings (logos, plates, wheels, pedals etc.)

The P126 is also available with the very popular Bechstein Vario System. The Vario System allows your acoustic piano to have functionality typically only found in digital pianos, such as silent feature, metronome, device connectivity etc.