This list will serve as a guide to some of the more familiar brands being manufactured.

YAMAHA

The world’s largest musical instrument manufacturer operates piano factories in Japan, Indonesia, China, and Taiwan and has been building pianos for over 100 years. Yamaha owns and controls all of its factories. All factories use modern machinery, much of which was custom built by Yamaha, along with Yamaha trained staff and quality control.

Grand pianos are manufactured in Japan sans the smallest grand piano which is manufactured in Indonesia.

Vertical pianos 48” and taller are manufactured in Japan.

Vertical pianos under 48” are built in Yamaha’s newest factory in Hangzhou China and in Yamaha’s oldest non-Japanese factory in Taiwan.

Yamaha uses its vast acoustic piano knowledge in producing the fine line of Clavinova digital pianos.

Click here for Yamaha factory information.

Wm. Knabe & Co., Sohmer & Co., Pramberger, Samick

All of these brands are owned by Samick Music Corporation. Samick operates piano factories in Korea, Indonesia, and the United States. All factories are owned and controlled by SMC. Most brands feature pianos that come from any of the three factories. Samick has been been producing instruments in their Indonesian factory for more years than any other Indonesian piano factory. They are also the largest shareholder in Steinway and Sons.

Samick in certain years has earned the title of  largest grand piano manufacturer and largest guitar manufacturer with many of these instruments coming from their Indonesian factories.

Baldwin

One of the most well known U.S. piano manufacturer has recently, under direction of parent company Gibson, ceased building pianos in the United States and has moved production to China. Baldwin has manufactured pianos with many brand names over time. Names such as Chickering, Howard, Hamilton, Wurlitzer, and D.H. Baldwin. Depending on model and vintage the piano may have been built in a Baldwin factory in the United States or China, or may have been built for Baldwin by other manufacturers in Japan, Indonesia, or China. Some of these manufacturers include Samick, Yamaha, and Kawai.

Steinway & Sons

Steinway is the oldest piano brand still operating in the United States. The company has changed ownership a few times through the years with the current ownership belonging to Conn-Selmer, our nation’s largest manufacturer and distributor of band and orchestral instruments. Steinway operates factories in the United States and Germany. The Samick Musical Instruments Co. has been steadily buying Steinway stock and at last check held the largest single ownership with 33% of Steinway’s stock.

Pianos with the Steinway & Sons logo are built in the New York factory which has recently installed some modern piano manufacturing equipment.

Pianos with the Boston logo are manufactured by Kawai. They generally have a wider tail and a wooden vs plastic action compared to their Kawai counterparts. It is interesting to note that Steinway does not elect to use the wide tail in their own pianos.

The leader piano line is Essex. In an attempt to get into a lower price point the Pearl River piano company in China builds these pianos.

Kawai operates piano factories in Japan and Indonesia. Founded in 1927, the company has focused much of its efforts into developing ABS-Carbon actions for its pianos.

RX and GE series grand pianos are built in Japan.

GM grands are made in Indonesia.

Vertical pianos 48” and taller are manufactured in Japan.

Vertical pianos under 48” are made in Indonesia.

Pearl River and Ritmuller

Pearl River manufactures and sells pianos under its own name and the Ritmuller brand. Pearl River’s factory and headquarters are located in China and have been in operation for just over 50 years. In 1999 they opened their first foreign subsidiary in the United States.

All pianos are manufactured in China.

Schimmel

Schimmel was started in 1885 in Germany and is currently in its fourth generation of family management. They build their top of the line pianos under the Schimmel brand name with they Vogel and May brands rounding out their line. Schimmel made large investments in their company and technology in 2011.

Schimmel grands and verticals are manufactured in Germany.

Vogel pianos are built in Poland.

May pianos are built in China.

Mason & Hamlin

Mason & Hamlin began building pianos in 1881. The company has changed hands numerous times in its history with current owners Gary and Kirk Burgett acquiring the company in 1996. The Burgett brothers also own the PianoDisc player piano mechanism company.

Mason & Hamilin pianos continue to be manufactured in the United States.

Bosendorfer

Bosendorfer started in Austria in 1828. While going trough a handful of ownership changes, including the Kimball Piano company for over 35 years and currently is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha, they continue to manufacture pianos in Austria. Some notable models include 97 and 92 key pianos.

Kimball

Kimball pianos were all manufactured in the United States with the exception being some later model console pianos that were assembled in Mexico. Interesting to note that the made in Mexico instruments were short lived due to the fact that consumers didn’t want a piano, with a U.S. brand name, that wasn’t manufactured in the United States.

There are currently other brands that are still manufacturing pianos along with relatively unknown factories producing “stencil” pianos with recognizable names on them. The brand names are always in a state of flux and must be researched at the time of purchase.

Information subject to change.