Moutrie Pianos

The Moutrie brand originated in England in 1856 as an affiliate of the Collard piano company. In 1890, its founder and namesake, William Moutrie, relocated the piano factory to China in order to meet the demands of the growing number of British expatriates in the far east.

• Click here for Moutrie Uprights
• Click here for Moutrie Grands

Moutrie pianos were purposely built to withstand the heavy tolls of a hot and humid climate and, as such, were constructed out of solid durable materials.

150 years on, Moutrie pianos are still built to last. From a technical standpoint, they are easy to tune, regulate and voice and arrive from the factory in very good condition.

Of all the Chinese pianos I have serviced, the Moutrie piano is the only make that I would recommend to someone who actually wanted to play, rather than look at, a piano. It is a suitable instrument for any standard of pianist, from the beginner through to the concert professional.

What impresses me most about the Moutrie company is that they are truly proud of their name and products. They have a great website, in addition: http://www.moutrie.cn

The following amusing and revealing article about William Moutrie appeared in The New York Times on 2 October 1898:

"His Majesty the Emperor of China, it appears, recently approached European civilization so far as to have his piano cleaned and tuned. Mr. Moutrie, an English musician, who attended Peking for the purpose, reports that "the keys were filthy and had various Chinese hieroglyphics stamped on them, while the instrument had not been tuned for years. With very little trouble the tone was restored and the keys cleaned. This latter action, however, was against all Chinese taste, and the Emperor sent back word that the characters were to be immediately replaced, while the opinion was expressed that there was not the slightest necessity for cleaning the ivories. So great was the Emperor's appreciation of Mr. Moutrie's skill as a mechanician that, with the childlike guilelessness which is so natural with him, he sent a perambulator and jinrikisha to be repaired likewise!"

Specifications

Moutrie pianos are fitted with Louis Renner hammer and action felt and come fitted with laminated keys to eliminate warping due to weather extremes and any breakage problems caused by striking the key with excessive force. This picture shows a Moutrie key (top) in profile showing the laminations of 5 different pieces of wood to construct the key, the key on the bottom is a Yamaha key constructed from one piece of wood.

All Moutrie pianos come with soft closing fall board system. Moutrie Upright pianos come fitted with three pedals: sustain, una corda and practice. Moutrie Grand pianos are fitted with sustain, una corda, and sostenuto.

All Moutrie pianos come equipped with adjustable matching stool.

The Moutrie soundboard is manufactured using high grade Tibetan spruce. The bridges in Moutrie pianos are made of advanced grade European maple and is designed to increase the speed of sound transmission and produce extra tonal clarity from the strings to the soundboard.

Moutrie pianos strings are made in Germany by Roslau.

All Moutrie pianos are equipped with chrome plated hardware (hinges, pedals, locks etc) which gives modern brilliance in appearance whilst eliminating any future discoloration normally associated with using brass parts.

All Moutrie pianos are expertly adjusted before being sold to the highest of industry specifications.

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