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Post by whitneymm4 on Sept 14, 2011 10:20:53 GMT -5
It is amazing. I wasn't planning on purchasing it until I saw it in person. There is an on/off switch and volume control. Each piano key (including the black ones!) actually works, and they are tuned properly. It plays like a regular piano although with a much shorter keyboard. The piano comes with sheet music with very simple instructions and songs that can be played. My only complaint is that the volume on the piano doesn't go up enough for my tastes. In the store I had to put my ear close to the speaker to be able to hear anything, and that was with the volume as high as it would go. There is a lot of noise in the store, though, so I'm sure it would be better at home, and if you have a little girl who wants to play on it all the time it might be nice that it doesn't get so loud  |
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slou61
Historical Dreamer
Bow Tying Tutor
Posts: 2,701
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Post by slou61 on Sept 14, 2011 11:36:53 GMT -5
I, too, saw it at the store last week and was really impressed and THAT was before I realized that you can actually play it! When I saw the buttons on it, I just assumed that it played pre programmed music, like the steps to Molly's camp tent and the campfire. It IS a juge piece but if you had the space and especially had a child who was taking piano lessons, it would be an amazing gift!
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Post by melangell on Sept 14, 2011 12:16:05 GMT -5
Now, see, I wanted it and was really excited to see it. When I saw it at the store in DC last week, I was disappointed. It is PLASTIC! and looks like plastic. Also, I found that the sound wasn't like a real piano, but sounded like a toy piano, plink, plink. I can't see spending $150 for something that sounds like that and is plastic to boot.
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Post by windsongfarmgirl on Sept 14, 2011 18:58:59 GMT -5
I have the piano and I absolutely LOVE it!!! It's fine that it's plastic. The white and black keys work. I even played Mary Had A Little Lamb on it. The on key lights up so you know when it is on and it has three buttons on it that play different classical music. The only problem is the seat. It is hard to get the doll to stay on it. You can do it but it takes a little balancing work with the doll. The music sheets are great and easy to understand. Overall, I think that it is a great buy! It is a little steep with the price but as a Christmas present, I think you can't go wrong!
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lwheeler
American Girl Prototype
Posts: 4,630
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Post by lwheeler on Sept 15, 2011 8:29:27 GMT -5
I personally would not want it for my collection however I think a child would love it and I have it on my list for my granddaughter.  |
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Post by felicityelizabeth on Sept 16, 2011 21:04:26 GMT -5
From the AG website photos, I see that the three buttons to push to "play" the music are behind the music stand. It seems they were on the side of the original piano, but I'm not sure. Any help on this? And what would be the reason for the change?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2011 23:52:17 GMT -5
From the AG website photos, I see that the three buttons to push to "play" the music are behind the music stand. It seems they were on the side of the original piano, but I'm not sure. Any help on this? And what would be the reason for the change? They're behind the music stand in the original too. The volume and power controls are on the side. |
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Post by Sew_Sweet on Nov 9, 2011 11:36:21 GMT -5
My daughter and I looked at the piano at AG MoA. I hate to say but even my 7 year old daughter thought that the piano felt and sounded cheap. It's all plastic which you probably guessed, but very thin plastic at that. I feel like it could be easily broken if played with by younger children. The dolls do not sit on the seat very well and need to be balanced. The sound coming out of the piano is horrible - sounds like a cheap children's toy keyboard. It could be fun and would make cute scenes but to me it is not worth anywhere around their price of $150. I'd say $50-$75 tops is what I'd pay and that's only because of the AG tag which is kind of lame. Probably cost them $10 to make in China.
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Post by dragonflybg on Nov 22, 2011 11:36:26 GMT -5
I have a black grand piano (still at my parents house) and played from 2nd grade all the way through high school. I missed out on the last piano so I knew I had to have this one! It's plastic, and has a few issues, but I still love it. It's a fantastic display piece! Piano - It's plastic, but still pretty solid. The legs are hollow, but seem sturdy enough. The innards are a combination of plastic and thick paper/cardboard. The 3 buttons on top play songs. The power switch is on the side, and emits a red light when it's on. I don't have a picture, but it makes a glowing red dot on the wall of my dollhouse when it's on. Overall I think it looks very nice. Bench - This is my least favorite part. It's really cheap, hollow and light weight. The construction and material is very similar to the table/drawers from Julie's bedroom accessories. I have it sitting on a rug (placemat) in my dollhouse to prevent it from sliding back when I sit a doll on the bench. It just needs to have more weight to it. Books - Very cute, just like the piano books I had as a child. They fit nicely in the bench and sit on the ledge of the piano as well. |
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Post by Dragonslovedolls on Dec 25, 2011 5:31:08 GMT -5
I am SO thrilled to have this piano for my dolls. I love it! It's a great display piece and I think it has great play value as well, since as was mentioned upthread, each piano key plays and the piano is in tune. That was the first thing I checked after putting the batteries in.
I was quite impressed with the sound and had fun picking out melodies remembered from my own sheet music. Yes, the sound is 'electronic,' but quite a decent quality especially for the small size of the toy. I do think there is scope for it to sound off key and cheap as the batteries run down, as many (most?) musical toys do when their batteries are going flat! As I plan to replace mine often if the piano is being played with and to take them out between times, I don't think this is going to be a problem.
I have to say that the three pre-recorded pieces of music didn't impress me at all: they reminded me of 'music' played on door bells, or on the phone while waiting on hold, uniformly played, totally unappealing and uninspiring.
Yes, the piano is plastic. You can tell when you touch or lift it of course, but visually the finish is not really different from the glossy black found on real instruments. I cannot imagine how fiddly and therefore probably expensive it would have been for AG to put real, if 'dummy' piano wire strings, pegs and hammers under the lid. Remembering that this is a toy marketed to children I think the frame and printed decal are a fair compromise.
The stool IS rather thin plastic, it's my least favourite part and I wish the stool lid hinged rather than lifting off but that's just a little thing. Everything else seemed pretty substantial: I didn't feel afraid something was going to break as I clicked the legs and pedal arrangement into place, and these required a rather firm push into the body of the piano.
Alex had no trouble sitting on the piano stool to play.
Apologies for the cruddy lighting. Any appearance of marks or scuffs on the piano is probably due to my fingerprints, reflection and/or aforementioned cruddy lighting.
The pedals:
Side view:
I'd give this an A for Awesome. Did I mention how much I love this piece?
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