The smallest Boston grand by size at 5' 1½" (156cm), there is nothing small about the sound of GP-156 Performance Edition, which benefits from a wide-tail design.

Features and Benefits

The Boston piano features a duplex scale, adapted from the famous Steinway & Sons design, which adds a harmonic richness that simply can’t be duplicated by other instruments in a similar price range.

In comparison to other pianos, the Boston has less string tension. This reduced string tension allows for a larger, tapered soundboard, creating longer sustain, and more singing quality in the tone (as well as longer piano life). A wealth of other engineering enhancements, including optimal placement of ribs, braces, and bridges, also contribute to the Boston’s superior tone and greater stability.

The Boston grand piano offers a larger soundboard in comparison to other pianos of the same length, due to its innovative “wide tail” design. This wider construction of the case means that a 5' 10" Boston grand has the same soundboard area as a typical 6' 2" grand piano, creating the power, richness, and feel of playing a much larger piano.

Each Boston piano soundboard is crafted of Sitka spruce, long proven to be the most resonant material available. Boston soundboards are also precisely tapered, which allows them to vibrate more freely. In conjunction with a number of special technologies — unique patents of Steinway & Sons — the result is a powerful, sustained tone.

Fine veneers underlie the elegance of the Boston pianos — available in walnut and mahogany satin or polished finishes, as an alternative to the classic ebonized — all designed to delight the eye and enhance the player’s experience.
 

Dimensions

Height: 102 cm (40")
Length: 156 cm (5' 1½")
Width: 151 cm (59¾")
Net Weight: 311 kg (684 lb)

Encasement

Furniture
Ebonized over an outer substrate of phenolic resin. 

Finish
Polyester (polished finishes) or polyurethane or nitrocellulose lacquer (satin finishes)

Hardware
Solid brass  polished and lacquered.

Cabinet Style
Classic
 

Technical Specifications

Rim/Backframe
Laminated hard rock maple (Acer Saccharum) inner rim. Laminated Philippine mahogany outer rim. Continuous bent rim. 11 outer rim laminations, 17 inner rim laminations. 23 mm (⅞") outer rim width, 38mm (1½") inner rim width.

Braces/Posts
Radiating braces of laminated Philippine mahogany provide stronger triangular support than parallel designs. This rigid support increases tuning stability, soundboard, crown retention, and longer piano life. 2 braces + 1 treble.

Pinblock
Octagrip pinblock made of 11 layers of hard rock maple — glued in different grain angles of 60 degrees — affording the tuning pins greater stability under tension and enabling the piano to stay in tune longer.

Soundboard
Close and straight-grain solid (not laminated) Sitka spruce. Minimum 3 annual growth rings per cm (minimum 8 per inch). Tapered from treble to bass, which allows a greater freedom of movement thereby creating a richer and more lasting tonal response. Tapered from 8 mm to 6 mm. Vibrating area: 1.09 m² (1,683 in²)

Ribs
Made from durable spruce to assure strong and constant support of the strings bearing down on the soundboard. Ribs are fully let-in to the inner rim to support the important soundboard crown and prevent the piano from losing its tone. Number of ribs: 10

Bridges
Treble: Vertically laminated (alternating maple and mahogany) with a solid maple cap, curved to fit the crown of the soundboard. Bass: Solid maple mounted to cantilevered base.

Scale
Overstrung: combination agraffe; with front and rear duplex. Lower tension scale for longer sustaining tone and longer life of the whole piano. 17,565 kg (38,684 lb) tension.

Plate
Cast from grey iron, bronze-painted and lacquered. Vacuum cast.
Tuning Pins Nickel-plated steel, cut threaded.

Strings
Treble: Highest grade steel (in half size increments). Number of sizes: 13. Lowest tenor note: 33. Mapes Bass Strings: Steel core wire wound with solid copper. Made by Mapes in Tennessee, U.S.A. Number 1 speaking length: 114.2 cm (45")

Hammers
Premium wool topfelt over premium wool underfelt. Weight of topfelt: 9.5 kg (20.9 lb). Compression-wired to retain permanent shape. Mahogany moldings. Tapered hammer-shanks from select resilient maple or horn-beam. Computer-designed pear-shaped hammers with reinforced shoulders result in superior tone, increased durability and greater voicing ability.

Action
Solid maple (all wood, no plastic) for all moving parts. Steinway profile-shaped flanges, extruded aluminum action rails for increased stability and less frequent regulation. Steinway action geometry provides superior touch.

Keys
Genuine spruce, individually balanced and weighted. Synthetic ivory and ebony key covers. New synthetic ebony has ebony-like surface texture and appearance that absorbs perspiration from the fingers. The fine synthetic ivory of the white keys has the same properties of friction, porosity, conductivity, and appearance as ivory.

Keybed
Made from laminated hardwood faced with spruce. Strong, rugged construction provides a solid mount for the keyframe and action allowing for precise and prolonged action regulation. Large maple dowel ends provide a solid mount for adjustable brass touch-regulating glides. Keybed thickness is 42 mm.

Keyframe
Spruce with hardwood inserts in the balance rail and front rail for added stability.

Pedals
Heavy solid brass castings. Soft, full sostenuto and damper (sustaining).

Other
Music desk positions: 4. Fallboard: Soft fall fallboard. Casters: Heavy-duty double-wheel solid brass casters. Locks: No locks. PropSticks: Double top prop sticks. Bench: Matching wood-top bench for all wood finish pianos; matching artist bench (cushion, adjustable height) for all ebony finish pianos.