What Are Some of the Most Expensive Brands of Pianos on the Market?

Pianos, as a whole, can be a pretty costly investment. They often range into the double digits of thousands for even some of the lower end models.

There seem to be manufacturers that have both an "economy" line of pianos that it would be easier for an average, middle class family to afford as well as a range of higher end pianos designed for the more serious player. Though the most sought after pianos, and those often mentioned as the favorites of more experienced players come from manufacturers that exclusively craft high end, very expensive instruments.

Fazioli

Fazioli are makers of some of the most incredible and unusual specialty pianos available - ranging in price from just under six figures at the bottom of the scale, all the way up to a whopping four hundred thousand dollars. Fazioli’s most expensive piano is beautifully hand crafted from the wood of the mighty Sequoia and is accented with jewels and mother of pearl.

Much of what Fazioli produces is not patented, they are confident enough in their creations and craftsmanship to give others a free pass to try and duplicate it. Fazioli is ever striving and succeeding to be the most innovative piano company in the world, so if you can’t live without one of these incredible instruments - you’d better be prepared to pay for it.

Steinway

Often mentioned among the most popular brands of piano of all time, Steinway also makes some of the most expensive pianos as well. Though the Steinway name is much more prominent and widely available to the general public than that of specialty manufacturer Fazioli, its Steinway that boasts the single most expensive piano ever produced - the Alma-Tadema, which sold at auction for in excess of one million dollars.

Mason & Hamlin

Mason & Hamlin is another high end manufacturer, producing some of the most beautiful and well crafted pianos in the world. With Mason & Hamlin you are sure to get a high quality instrument, but you won’t run into prices that are quite as astronomical as that of Steinway or Fazioli. Mason & Hamlin has pianos starting as low as about twenty thousand dollars, but for their top of the line instrument, you can expect to spend in the neighborhood of one hundred thousand dollars.

Kawai

Kawai is a very popular manufacturer that covers both ends of the spectrum when it comes to pricing. Kawai makes Grande pianos that range in price from just over ten thousand dollars (which is very reasonable when it comes to an instrument from a reputable manufacturer), all the way up to almost one hundred and twenty thousand for their most expensive model.

Yamaha

Yamaha is one of the most popular brands of piano in terms of both sound and quality. Yamaha has an extensive line of pianos, including several that would be considered "affordable" in the world of piano players. They have a few higher end pianos that exceed the fifty thousand dollar mark and their top of the line model comes in at nearly one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.

It wouldn’t be unheard of to see Yamaha ranked, in terms of quality, right up their with the manufacturers that produce nothing but the most expensive instruments, so the argument could certainly be made that Yamaha may pack the most punch for your dollar spent when it comes to their fine instruments.

For the most part, the old adage of "you get what you pay for" is just as true with pianos as it is with everything else. So if you want either a specialty piano, or one of the high end instruments from one of the more respected and reputable manufacturers, you should probably expect to pay top dollar for it - and with pianos, sometimes top dollar is well over six figures.