Sykes & Sons

The Kemble Piano Company was established in 1911 by Michael Kemble in Stoke Newington, North London, and became one of Britain's most well-regarded manufacturers. The company is best known for its innovative, modern instruments which boast a warm, rich tone with a superb dynamic range. 

 

Robert Kemble took the business over in the 1950s and, with sales growing rapidly, moved the company to a new factory in Bletchley, near today's city of Milton Keynes. The new factory boasted state of the art, modern equipment which allowed Kemble to satisfy the ever-growing demand for their pianos with a steady supply of new instruments.

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The Classic quickly grew to become one of Kemble's most popular models because of its small size and level of performance.
While the Classic was designed to be as compact as possible, the company were very careful not to include any of the problematic designs which were associated with many other compact pianos being produced around the same time. Kemble maintained a good key length and action height in the Classic, to retain a good quality of touch. With this unique achievement, Kemble satisfied the demand for small upright pianos (which didn’t dominate the room) yet still met with the expectations of discerning pianists.

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Kemble carefully created a full-perimeter, cast iron frame especially for the Classic, which was strong enough to fully bear the tensile stress created by the strings on its own. This allowed the designers to construct the piano without large wooden back-posts, which shaved a considerable amount off of the external dimensions of the piano.

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Kemble maintained a good key length and action height in the Classic, to retain a good quality of touch. With this unique achievement, Kemble satisfied the demand for small upright pianos (which didn’t dominate the room) yet still met with the expectations of discerning pianists.

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The Classic has always been a firm favorite of our customers, so we always aim to have at least one available at all times.

 

This Classic is housed in the signature cabinet, finished in ribbon stripe mahogany. The piano was purchased new in 1966 and has been owned by the same family ever since, enjoying a life of little use and regular maintenance. Classics of this vintage, in such good condition, really are a rare find in the market.

 

Like all of our pianos, this Kemble has been reconditioned in our workshop - with a full technical service - and comes with the backing of the Sykes & Sons Guarantee.