Steinway & Boston: Closer Than Ever

Henry E. Steinway’s vision was simple: to build the best piano possible. For more than 170 years, Steinway & Sons has handcrafted instruments that have become the world’s benchmark for tone, touch, and longevity.

But Steinway also recognized that many aspiring pianists wanted an instrument inspired by its legacy but at a more accessible price point. That’s why, in 1992, the Boston line was introduced — designed by Steinway engineers, built with premium materials, and infused with many of the same scale designs and innovations that define a Steinway & Sons.

Today, thanks to ongoing design and material updates, Boston and Steinway stand closer than ever before.

Steinway & Boston comparisons

Shared DNA: What They Have in Common

Both Steinway and Boston pianos share a surprising number of key features that make them part of the same family:

• Low-tension scale design
  Both use Steinway’s philosophy of a low-tension scale, producing longer sustain and a singing tone not found in most other brands.
  

• All-wood action parts
  Boston actions are built with solid wood components (no plastic), following Steinway’s design standards. This ensures a responsive touch, long-term durability and a dendable ressourse that Steinway technicians are familiar with.
  

• Pear-shaped hammers
  Shaped for the Steinway Sound. Designed for a wide dynamic range and warm tone, both brands use pear-shaped hammers to refine voicing and sustain. Pear Shaped hammers were introduced by Steinway in 1880 to improve piano stability and sound. This exclusive design features reinforced shoulders and metal ligatures for a more powerful and expressive sound, and is still used in Steinway & Sons pianos, as well as the Boston.

• Hard Rock Maple rims
  Just like Steinway, Boston grands are built with a solid Hard Rock Maple inner rim — rare in their class — providing greater projection and stability. Because of the wood's superior density and rigidity, this is a fundamental material that contributes to sound projection, structural strength, and long-term stability. The hard rim reflects sound energy back into the soundboard, creating longer-lasting and more powerful tones.

• Sitka Spruce soundboards
  Both feature premium, solid Sitka Spruce soundboards, prized for resonance and tonal warmth. Boston soundboards are engineered and tapered to maximise vibration. In combination with the maple rim and low tension scale, the result is a longer lasting sustain and tone purity.

Boston Rims made with Hard Rock Maple

Where Steinway Still Leads

Despite their similarities, Steinway & Sons remains unmatched at the highest level:

• Handcraftsmanship: Each Steinway takes nearly a year to build in New York or Hamburg. Boston pianos are built in Kawai’s Japanese facilities under Steinway design specifications.

• Materials: Steinway accepts less than 50% of the premium woods it purchases for use in its pianos. This extreme selection process results in unmatched tonal consistency.

• Exclusive innovations: Steinway’s patented Diaphragmatic Soundboard and Accelerated Action are found only in Steinway & Sons instruments.

  
  
  Addressing the Misconception

  It’s true that Boston pianos are manufactured in Kawai’s Japanese facilities. But saying a Boston is “just a Kawai” misses the entire point of why Steinway created Boston in the first place.

  The reality is this:

  • Boston was fully designed and conceptualized prior to selecting a manufacturer. The scale design, action geometry, soundboard tapering, rim construction, stringing patterns, hammer design, and tonal philosophy all come directly from the Steinway factory by its engineers.

  • Kawai builds to Steinway’s specification. Their role is to provide the high-precision manufacturing capacity Steinway required to bring Boston to market at a mid-range price point.

  • Materials and design priorities are not Kawai’s. Every component, down to the exclusive pear-shaped hammer design, maple rim, sitka Spruce soundboard, all-wood action, is dictated by Steinway.

  In fact, the only elements where Boston overlaps with Kawai production are purely cosmetic components such as:

  • Legs

  • Music desk

  • Lid materials

  Everything that defines a piano’s musical identity is pure Steinway design.
  

The Result

For players who demand the ultimate expression of craftsmanship, Steinway remains the pinnacle. But Boston offers something truly extraordinary: the Steinway-unique musical experirence, built with many of the same materials and principles, at a fraction of the cost.

Having the ability to assemble an instrument to Steinway standard, Steineway chose the Kawai factory in Japan to help them offer their proprietary design to the world at a more accessible price point. Boston is an entirely different instrument. Its low-tension scale, Hard Rock Maple rims, all-wood actions, and pear-shaped hammers are features reserved exclusively for Boston under Steinway’s guidance.

Make it stand out

Steinway Features found in the Boston Piano

Final Note

No other brand can claim Steinway design. Whether you choose a handcrafted Steinway & Sons or a Steinway-designed Boston, you’re investing in a tradition of excellence that has shaped piano making for nearly two centuries.