Our baby grand F 156 is based on a traditional Schimmel design. It was a bestseller for decades until the model was replaced by new and larger designs.
The piano was designed to enable smaller rooms to house a quality grand piano. Redesigned and enhanced this very small grand piano is now an attractive Fridolin model, re-establishing it in our grand piano range once again.
This design was originally developed by Arno Wilhelm Schimmel in the 1930s. The idea was to manufacture a new type of piano in which the tone volume of the large-framed designs was to be preserved, but the appearance was to be much more gracile. The design idea was revolutionary at the time and was patented several times. The success of these design ideas led to Schimmel becoming the biggest German manufacturer of upright pianos. The designs were refined over the years and perfected with the help of an in-house developed computer software called CAPE in the 1980s. A timeless design in tone and touch proved to be the result.
Our hammer heads are made from highly elastic merino felt with high flexibility and low damping properties. The felt is made from the highest quality merino wool in a traditional fulling process in Germany. For the hammer cores, we use hardwoods in combination with tension-regulating under felts. The result is a great richness of tone colours in the different dynamic levels, as well as long-lasting tones due to low damping effect on the strings (short contact period due to highly elastic felt).
We use pin blocks made of thin hardwood layers so that the instrument keeps its pitch optimally and is easy to tune. These pin blocks were developed by Schimmel in the 1950s as so-called "tropical climate resistant" pin blocks and have proven themselves over the decades.
Schimmel offers an extended manufacturer's warranty through its network of appointed dealers. Because we trust and stand by the quality of our instruments.
As early as the 1980s, Schimmel worked with computers to improve the design of its instruments, making the company a pioneer in the piano industry. Since then, the use of computers for research and development has been constantly further developed and today, under the name CAPE (Computer Assisted Piano Engineering), it represents a unique and all-encompassing software solution into which decades of development work and research results have contributed. On this basis, new ideas and designs are constantly being created that set standards in the industry.
On this basis, the use of CNC machines for the production of precision parts has been promoted since the 1990s. These are then added to our instruments exclusively by hand and are a prerequisite for achieving the highest quality.
Environmental protection and sustainability have been part of the company philosophy at Schimmel since the company was founded in 1885. This starts with the quality of our instruments. With a Schimmel instrument, you are purchasing a durable product that will be used for many years, often for generations. Which industry can say that it repeatedly receives requests for spare parts for its products that are more than 100 years old? Durability conserves resources. In addition, we manufacture our instruments from predominantly renewable raw materials - domestic wood from certified forestry and wool - and our cast iron plates are made in an elaborate process from recycled scrap metal. Wood leftovers and shavings from production are used to heat production in winter, and we generate solar power on the roof of the factory. Biofilters and a modern heating system complete our production. And of course, we produce according to high German environmental standards. This is true not only in our manufactory in Braunschweig | Germany, but also in Kalisz | Poland. In China, the production of our Fridolin instruments is environmentally certified according to ISO 14001 to ensure our high standards of environmental protection and sustainability here as well.
| Model series | F 156 |
| Model | Tradition |
| Length (cm | inch) | 159 | 5’1″ |
| Height (cm) | 101 |
| Width (cm) | 153 |
| Weight (kg | lbs) | 289 | 637 |
| Finish | Ebony high gloss | White high gloss | Mahogany high gloss |
| Standard hardware | Brass |
| Manufacturer | Guangzhou Pearl River Kayserburg Piano Co., Ltd. |
| Country of origin | Guangzhou | China |
| Action | Schimmel action |
| Keyboard | Production Guangzhou |
| Keyboard coating | Polymethyl methacrylate | Ebony |
| Number of keys | 88 |
| Approx. keybed height from floor to underside keybed / keytop (mm) | 650 | 720 |
| Pedals | Una corda (left) | Sostenuto (middle) | Sustain (right) |
| Installation of self player possible | no |
| Installation twin tone ex works | retrofit at dealers workshop* (* since manufacturing year 2019) | no | no |
| Steel strings high performance spring steel with precise partial tone development | made in Germany | high performance steel strings |
| Bass strings | exclusively made for Schimmel |
| Duplex / Triplex scale for definition see product details | – |
| Rim Laminated molded wood with mostly horizontal wood grain for greater stability. Material: Sapeli for optimal stability and sound support through energy reflection. | yes |
| Three-dimensional crowned and tension loaded soundboard | Parallel ground |
| Dynamic soundbar for definition see product details | – |
| Bridge solid beech capped by a 5 layers of maple wood crosswise glued | standard bridge |
| Cast iron made traditionally | yes |
| Castor type | one piece standard roll |
| Soft close fallboard standard | yes |
| High gloss finishes are made of premium piano lacquer by layering process and hand polished | yes |
| Manufactured according to following standards | ISO 14001 |
