New Ritmuller 118 – NOW SOLD

New Ritmuller pianos are made by Pearl River in Indonesia. They offer good value for money and improved build and tonal quality in comparison to older Indonesian built pianos.

Pearl River controls every step of the manufacturing process, from the selection of woods to the crafting of actions, soundboards, wet sand-cast plates, and every other integral part of the piano. This control ensures a consistently high quality piano true to the exact scale-design.

HIGH QUALITY, SEASONED HARDWOODS

While others often use less costly woods “select hardwoods” in their “consumer-grade” pianos, Pearl River uses only the best woods for each application in every piano made.
Grand Piano rims are made from Walnut, a dense hardwood that allows for our lower tension scale design. Lower tension scale design results in a warmer, richer tone with longer sustain, and is used in the world’s finest pianos. Bridges and pin-blocks are crafted from Rock Maple, and tapered soundboards are created from close-grained, high-quality northern Spruce (100%). The use of high quality woods is critical when making high quality musical instruments.

ACCLIMATIZED FOR WORLDWIDE MARKETS

Pearl River takes pride in using state-of-the-art kilns to dry their woods. Both before and after the kiln drying, woods are expertly cured to specific moisture contents, which reduces the natural tendency for wood to swell and contract with humidity fluctuation. With over 8,000 moving parts, a piano’s woods must be “seasoned” to ensure reliability wherever the piano ends up living!

WET SAND CAST PLATES

The plate is a foundation of a piano, the strength that supports the incredible tension placed on the instrument by its strings. Pearl River uses high-quality “pig iron” which is melted in foundries and poured in wet sand moulds. Some manufacturers only use this method in their most expensive models. Ritmuller uses this method for every piano they make. Wet Sand Cast plates provide more mass for strength, and do not produce undesirable harmonic feedback like “vacuum processed” plates.

TAPERED SOUNDBOARDS

The soundboard of a piano is its voice. The careful selection of wood and the design of each piano’s soundboard are crucial in creating a piano’s tone. Pearl River’s 100% close-grained spruce soundboards are tapered, allowing improved flexibility. The freedom of movement from our tapered soundboards provides for greater dynamic range and improved sustain.

CUT-THREAD TUNING PINS

Pearl River pianos use “cut-thread” tuning pins, a superior method to “stamping” the thread as some manufacturers do. “Cut-thread” tuning pins provide more precision and control to the technician, allowing for better and longer-lasting tuning.