The history of American pianos is extremely rich. This is especially true in the nineteenth and twentieth century, when keyboard instruments such as spinets, consoles, upright pianos, square grand pianos and classical grand pianos were mass produced in the United States. Between 1830 and 1885, a large number of factories were established (e.g. the legendary brands
Chickering,
Steinway & Sons,
Mason & Hamlin,
Wurlitzer). Currently, only a few factories produce their instruments from beginning to end in America. Much more of the originally American brands are nowadays produced in factories in Asia. And the Walter Piano Company is the only family business still manufacturing pianos in the USA.
It is a relatively young brand (however also the oldest of the current American manufacturers), which was established in the USA - more specifically in Elkhart, Indiana. They have been producing Janssen upright pianos since 1969 (a brand acquired from C.G. Conn, where Charles worked). Since 1975, the upright pianos produced by the factory are called Charles R. Walter. Its founder, engineer Charles Walter, is also a designer specializing in piano construction and innovation. Charles R. Walter pianos are top quality instruments, produced in a slow process of thorough manual work. For this reason, less than 2,000 instruments are produced annually. They are described by technicians and specialists as very solid pianos, well constructed, durable, created with attention to every detail. The sound of the instruments is sonorous and the bass is full, resounding.
For the sake of style, the Charles R. Walter piano line is called consoles, although their size corresponds to that of studio pianos. They are in fact 43" pianos (109cm) and 45" (114cm). We have a choice of different styles such as Italian, French or country. The pianos are characterized by individually weighed keys and relatively long strings, which results in deep sound. For more than 20 years only Charles Walter upright pianos were made in the Charles Walter Piano Company factory, while in 1997 the first 6’4" piano was produced (190cm) as a result of many years of construction work and preparations. Dal Fandrich, a highly regarded designer, also participated in its creation. The second model of the piano is slightly smaller - 5’9" (175cm). All instruments are made mainly of American and German materials and parts.
Charles R. Walter upright piano models:
model 1520 – 43”
model 1500 – 45”
Charles R. Walter grand piano models:
W190 – 6’4”
W175 – 5’9”
Interestingly, the production of each instrument is supervised by one of the members of the Walter family, and the piano is marked with a quality mark and the signature of the person who supervised the creation of the grand or upright piano.
If you are looking for a Charles Walter piano for sale, you should definitely
look in the Klaviano search engine. There you will find offers of new instruments straight from the manufacturer’s factory, and used Charles Walter pianos. You can also ask about the Charles Walter piano price - you will find a new Charles Walter upright piano for less than $20,000 and a grand piano will cost 4/5 times more. This is a very general price range, so it is best to ask the seller.
If you own (or intend to own) a used Walter piano, are you probably interested in the date of manufacture of the instrument.
