French Formal Upright
Grace and flair perfectly describe
the Formal French Upright
(EUP-116FF), which is available
in an expressive open rack
design that features graceful
curves and top center hand-carved
ornamentation.
Designed by Steinway & Sons, the Essex has been created as a tribute to the idea that beautiful piano styles and finishes can and should be possible in every price range. With elegant traditional styling and museum-quality finishes, Essex will be a stunning addition to your home.
Essex EUP-116FF Features
- Highly Molded Toplid
- Picture-Frame Upper Panel
- Stylized Upper Arm Pieces
- Subtle Crown Treatment on the Arm Tops
- Relief Work on the Arm Fronts
- Hand-Carving on the Leg Fronts (with Acanthus leafing)
- Scroll Accent Pieces that Embrace the Leg Tops
- Top to Bottom Side Panel Relief
- Beautiful Overlay on the Lower Panel
- Deep Cove Vertical Molding Transitions
- Classic Bi-fold Fallboard
- Highly Figured Cherry Veneer
explore the Essex EUP-116 FF
The Essex incorporates the latest design and engineering enhancements from Steinway’s dedicated research and development team. By utilizing specially engineered materials, large-scale production techniques, and carefully selected manufacturing environments, the Essex is able to deliver a level of musical performance previously unattainable in its price range.
Essex uprights come in a variety of case styles, and are well-suited for the spectrum of home décor styles and personal aesthetics. From satin black to aubergine mahagony; brass hardware to nickel; contemporary to classic — the Essex line celebrates the marriage of form and function.
High-grade, straight-grained, quarter-sawn spruce is selected for its resonant qualities and high strength-to-mass ratio. The soundboard is solid and not laminated, which creates the best resonance and projection of sound. In 1936, Steinway patented the diaphragmatic soundboard, which is thicker in the middle and gently tapered to the edges. The Essex soundboard is tapered from bass to treble resulting in a stronger, richer, fuller tone.
Essex backposts are massive — providing a solid foundation for the resonating soundboard and tensioned vibrating strings, thus helping create a beautiful tone. Essex backpost locations are staggered — located where the string tension is greatest, instead of neatly equidistant. Massive staggered backposts help provide superb tone and maximum stability, ensuring the piano will last, tunings will be more stable, and piano tone will be enhanced for the years and decades to come.
A low tension string scale, designed by Steinway, gives a fuller, richer, warmer tone by allowing more of the lower partials to sing. It also has more sustain, is more powerful, has more dynamic range, and provides warmer and more mellow tones.
All-wood action parts, solid spruce keys, and excellent action geometry work seamlessly together to move the hammers to the strings and to create an excellent action touch. The beautiful tone produced by the Steinway–specified Essex hammers actually enhances the action touch by “giving back” to the player a beautiful tone.
Dimensions
Height: 116 – 118 cm (45½" – 46¼")
Width: 149 cm – 154 cm (58¾" – 60¾")
Depth: 64 – 67 cm (25¼" – 26½")
Net Weight: 236 – 242 kg (519 – 528 lb)
Encasement
Furniture
Classic Studio Cases Designed by Steinway & Sons. Furniture Cases designed by William Faber.
Finish
Red Cherry Satin, and Brown Cherry Satin
Hardware
Brass
Technical Specifications
Backframe/Posts
Staggered spruce backposts (5). Total CSA: 450 cm2 (69.8 in2). Thickness of post: 9 cm. Width of post: 10 cm.
Pinblock
Laminated bi-directional Maple. Thickness: 35 mm.
Soundboard
Solid Spruce. Linear taper. Vibrating area: 1.21 m2 (1,874 in2)
Ribs
Ribs notched into inner rim (no floating ribs). Ribs made of spruce and staggered/graduated. Number of ribs: 10
Bridges
Vertically laminated maple base with solid maple cap.
Scale
Designed by Steinway. 16,624 kg (36,573 lb) tension.
Plate
Cast iron, painted with Steinway Gold.
Tuning Pins
Carbon steel, nickel coating.
Strings
Roslau wire. Number of sizes of treble strings: 15. Lowest tenor note: 27. Number 1 speaking length: 108.7 cm (42.8")
Hammers
Specified by Steinway. Weight of topfelt: 6 kg (13 lb).
Action
All wood (no plastic) for all moving parts. Aluminum action rails.
Keys
Steinway design. Spruce.
Keybed
Spruce
Pedals
Brass and middle pedal is for muffler.
Features
All wood Back construction (no MDF except in cabinet parts). Solid filler blocks in backframe (near top). Backposts are large and staggered. Bench: Matching veneer-top bench.
Casters
Brass
The Essex Piano
The Steinway-designed Essex piano incorporates the latest design specifications and engineering standards from Steinway & Sons. Learn more about why the Essex remains the best choice in its price range for anyone looking for a quality piano at an affordable price.