Petrof grand piano
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Petrof grand piano
I spent some time in a music shop in Bristol last saturday. My prime reason for going was that I was looking for a digital piano to use in my jazz band. However whilst I was there I took the opportunity to try a selection of their grands. They had a selection of Yamahas and other restored pianos plus a few Bechsteins and a Petrof. I've never heard of Petrof before and wondered what you folks think they are like? It was a 6 foot, not sure of the exact model but it had a Renner action 'cause I took a sneaky peak. It was pretty special to play, with a nice even touch and a good sound across the whole range. I have to say I was very impressed - it beat the Yams straight away, and at £13k I thought that wasn't bad. I then tried a Bechstein of the same size. This was the best thing I've ever played but was over 2x the price of the Petrof which given its price competed pretty well. The action in the Bechstein was better and the sound was more stringy and richer. My only real criticism of the Petrof is that if you started playing lots of complex chords the sound tended to get a bit muddled. Other than that it was very good and had a good balance between richness and brightness. Anyone got any opinions on these pianos because I would seriously consider one?
Re: Petrof grand piano
Opinions?jamesp wrote:Anyone got any opinions on these pianos because I would seriously consider one?
Yeah. Petrofs (and the near-identical Weinbachs) are in general very badly set-up out of the box, so to get even a vague semblance of performance out of them you need to buy from a dealer who is meticulous with preparation. Most are fitted with the ghastly Detoa Action which is made by a Czech jigsaw puzzle and wooden toy maker. These often need a dealer recentring job (hopefully under warranty) in the first year or two of their life. Renner action versions are marginally better, although it's a bit like fitting a Mercedes engine to some tatty old banger.
They are by and large old designs from the Communist era fitted with indifferently assembled actions. The uprights are exactly that. Those which are Renner equipped have actions assembled by Petrof using Renner components. They lose value faster than a Lada and every single one that I've ever dealt with has had reliability issues. Some grands have an impossible strike line in the extreme treble and casework which fits together badly. Build quality is amongst the most variable in any make of piano, so it's possible you've played one that's OK (I saw a roadworthy Lada on the road yesterday too) and the casework design is rather simplified and 'Eastern-bloc' with a total lack of flair or attempts to add styling........ On second thoughts, probably just as well.
I've never been too impressed by the sound either. The muddling of chords is typical.
I'm assuming you're using the word 'special' in the same manner as Network Rail use it in conjunction with the word 'bus'.jamesp wrote:It was pretty special to play
Oh!
PS:If you're unimpressed by Yamaha, try a Kawai.
I took a choir to Prague for a singing competition, and in one of the warm up halls, there was a Petrof Grand.
I must confess that I thought it was singularly awful in almost every respect. In the end I had the choir singing unaccompanied (even though it was not supposed to be). That improved matters no end.
I must confess that I thought it was singularly awful in almost every respect. In the end I had the choir singing unaccompanied (even though it was not supposed to be). That improved matters no end.
Otto
So everybody was happy. 
There we are then.
Musicians and technicians alike all agree that Petrofs are sadly not up to the mark. Leave them on the shelf unless you're after a spot of Ostalgia.
Decided against sticking a new set of hitters on the Rogers then Jamesp?
Musicians and technicians alike all agree that Petrofs are sadly not up to the mark. Leave them on the shelf unless you're after a spot of Ostalgia.
Decided against sticking a new set of hitters on the Rogers then Jamesp?
Harrods had the same three makes of piano last time I was in - Bechstein, Yamaha, and Petrof.
I agree with jamessp in that I quite liked the sound of the Petrof grands and thought they might be good value for money, though I like the action of the Yamahas better.
Interesting hearing a tech tear them apart.
I agree with jamessp in that I quite liked the sound of the Petrof grands and thought they might be good value for money, though I like the action of the Yamahas better.
Interesting hearing a tech tear them apart.
Had the misfortune to have to work on a 2001 model Petrof grand this week. Absolute heap of junk fitted with a badly set-up Renner action (This was badged "Petrof-Renner" so maybe Renner were trying to distance themselves from it!) the usual badly-fitting casework and indifferent finish. It was owned by a professional musician, God help me.
It was fitted with a slow-close fall, the mechanism of which there was no attempt to hide, and a plastic closing unit and its associated Philips screws grinned at me from the bass end of the fall. Shoddy. Ugly too, with no attempt to style the casework at all.
The hammers (some Czech Specials, no doubt) were just slightly too narrow for the string spacing, and occasionally I had to use the una-corda pedal simply to get the third string to sound in spite of the hammer spacing being as correct as the poor factory Czech-Tech could have adjusted them. The outer string marks were just on the edges of the hammer felt and this resulted in a piano which was as much of a pain to tune as I can ever recall.
Sadly, the owner had spent every last penny (over 9K) on it, buying it brand new in 2002 (judging by the state of the house, the priority should have been 1k on air freshener, 2k on paint and carpet and 7k on a nice second-hand Yamaha C-something, but no, that "European Sound" (and a sharp salesman, no doubt) persuaded her to part company with all that cash for a pile of dung. Actually, that's not far off onomatopoeia for the noise the bottom half dozen bass strings made.
Dreadful.
It was fitted with a slow-close fall, the mechanism of which there was no attempt to hide, and a plastic closing unit and its associated Philips screws grinned at me from the bass end of the fall. Shoddy. Ugly too, with no attempt to style the casework at all.
The hammers (some Czech Specials, no doubt) were just slightly too narrow for the string spacing, and occasionally I had to use the una-corda pedal simply to get the third string to sound in spite of the hammer spacing being as correct as the poor factory Czech-Tech could have adjusted them. The outer string marks were just on the edges of the hammer felt and this resulted in a piano which was as much of a pain to tune as I can ever recall.
Sadly, the owner had spent every last penny (over 9K) on it, buying it brand new in 2002 (judging by the state of the house, the priority should have been 1k on air freshener, 2k on paint and carpet and 7k on a nice second-hand Yamaha C-something, but no, that "European Sound" (and a sharp salesman, no doubt) persuaded her to part company with all that cash for a pile of dung. Actually, that's not far off onomatopoeia for the noise the bottom half dozen bass strings made.
Dreadful.
I have experince of a Petrof grand. Same as others are saying, I'm afraid. It started quite well in 1992, and in fact lots of people enjoyed playing it. Lots of people enjoyed playing it more than the neighbouring Yamaha C3.
But by 2007 things are very different. Its tonal qualities seem to have deteriorated beyond belief and it simply will not hold its tuning. The neighbouring C3 has come into its own!
But by 2007 things are very different. Its tonal qualities seem to have deteriorated beyond belief and it simply will not hold its tuning. The neighbouring C3 has come into its own!
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chris_connelly
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Joseph Brechstein
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Petrof piano
Our college has a Petrof piano which I use on a daily basis and I am never satisfied with the sound as they are so quiet and damp! If its for a jazz band you'd be better off with something that will produce a louder sound.
Re: Petrof grand piano
Since this thread started I've seen a number of Petrof grands (three, to be precise) and personally I thought that not one of them beat a Yammie (and certainly not a C3). There was one which reminded me of the one I used to use daily which was once pretty good, but they were all a bit dead.... I guess the one which you found simply may not last....jamesp wrote:I have to say I was very impressed - it beat the Yams straight away, and at £13k I thought that wasn't bad.