why is petrof not popluar ........?? in uk?

[gxero]

what is there anything wrong with petrof?
actiually i am a fan of petrof.....& i would like to get one .........
but how come it seems nobody owns one in this country? or finding any dealer of petrof? is there any reason for that? r they not good?? weather?
=================================================
also i have found brodmann has such a good quality of sounds but selling in a unequal price to the quality..... is there any worries or disadvantage................??
--------------------------------------------------------------------

[PianoGuy]

what is there anything wrong with petrof?
actiually i am a fan of petrof.....& i would like to get one .........
but how come it seems nobody owns one in this country? or finding any dealer of petrof? is there any reason for that? r they not good?? weather?

OK Let's be fair here. I've never been a fan of Petrof, but in all honesty, the pianos are not really all that bad.

When Petrof were built in Czechoslovakia, in the good old days when we knew who our enemies were, the Communist regime in that particular country under Alexander Dubček was pleasantly liberal, encouraged free thinking and hence interesting design. Consequently, we had the production of the rear-engined Skoda models and a few other individual projects good enough to withstand World scrutiny. Petrof pianos (always excellent quality pre-war) produced a number of new designs from this time (mid 1960s) which sold well in export markets because they were generally decent and at a very low price compared to Western European offerings. The build quality was slightly gimcrack, but nobody minded at those prices. They were streets ahead of the USSR crap from factories such as Belarus or even Estonia.

Fast forward to the present day, and the same piano designs by and large are being offered, with a massive price hike bringing them into line with the best Japanese and European products and with only a tiny improvement in build quality. Now. If the supplying dealer should care to prepare them properly, (and in some cases this can mean a total recentring and regulation of the action, especially if a Detoa is fitted) and pays careful attention to alignment of hammers (and their strike-position in grands) they can actually perform very well. They're not the bargains they once were though.

Since most dealers really either can't be ar**d or are incapable of this depth of work, and quite frankly should really not be expected to do so on a brand new product, they either sell them unprepared or semi-prepared or shy away from them altogether, hence the combination of dislike and unavailability you may find on internet forums.

=================================================
also i have found brodmann has such a good quality of sounds but selling in a unequal price to the quality..... is there any worries or disadvantage................??
--------------------------------------------------------------------

The only disadvantage is that Brodmann UK is in receivership and warranty problems may be difficult to sort out. The pianos themselves are superb.
Perzina products are even better though, and the company is healthy so any warranty issues should not be a worry.

[Jerome]

The only disadvantage is that Brodmann UK is in receivership and warranty problems may be difficult to sort out. The pianos themselves are superb.

Is this a little local difficulty or is the whole Brodmann group in trouble? (Didn't they try to buy Bosie?)

[PianoGuy]

Think the Austrian bit is still extant.

Yes they did try to buy Bosie. It would have strengthened their rather dubious "historic" connection to that firm! Lucky escape for them maybe that they were beat to it by Yamaha?

[piano heads]

Petrof piano now theres a piano which if had not been for the greed of the distributor,would have still have been available today at a reasonable price,problems case work dried out and patchy lacquer finishes,used aggrafes instead of pressure bars,hence string breakage,due to angling of bass strings,cheap actions,and cabinets that where stuck together using cellotape,if you spent 2 days prepping and ironin out defects you had a nice sounding piano,and the warranty supplied by wholesaler was always honoured,a wee bird has told me the company wii be supplying direct to uk without distributor,and if they become more affordable they may have a place in the market place to challenge the chinese brands.Can hardly believe the reputable well known sellers who try to punt them,msut need the profit,to keep them accustomed tae there lifestlyles,the price does not reflect the quality thats on offer.

[NewAge]

This question is very timely, as only yesterday I tried out a new Petrof that was on display at a spring exhibition fair. (I had started my browse around the stand by briefly playing a new Yam U1 and U3 - which are always pleasing).
Then I seated myself at the Petrof which was a new 5ft 7in. model grand which I wasn't familiar with - having bulky round legs and a very ornate music stand. Priced at around 16500 euros (almost 15000 GBP)
As Del Boy Trotter might say (if he played), "Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, quelle horreur!
The touch on this particular example was shocking, and barely up to par even with a cheap and cheerful digital piano. The tone could only be described as 'disappointing', although mercifully the instrument was in reasonable tune.

Now I have no doubt that this piano was straight out of the box, with no dealer prep whatsoever. And as with some motor vehicles it may well have been a Mon morning or Fri afternoon produced specimen.
In an attempt to be fair, I'd like to think that extensive preparation could transform that particular instrument into a good piano. However perhaps other UK dealers have witnessed similar stories with this brand, resulting in refusal to carry them. Comments?

As a comparable footnote, I recently tried a new Wendl & Lung 178 (similar size to 5ft 7), which was a truly delicious surprise - both the touch and the tone were stunning. And at some 6000 euros (5400 GBP) LESS than the Petrof, a superb bargain IMHO.

[PianoGuy]

In an attempt to be fair, I'd like to think that extensive preparation could transform that particular instrument into a good piano. However perhaps other UK dealers have witnessed similar stories with this brand, resulting in refusal to carry them. Comments?

Thereby hangs the problem. Few dealers are prepared to rebuild them to a standard where they are decent. If comprehensively reworked they can be rather nice!, but often this means deep repairs such as recentring and bass string replacement.

[Straight-strungout]

I'm glad that after so many Petrof-bashing topics being posted (dare I add by the same two or three posters), that there is at long last a more constructive critique on this manufacturer. By saying this, I don't mean to come across reactionary or combative in anyway but we are all aware that alot of resentment was generated by the introduction of a UK distributor for these pianos around the very late 90's. The simple fact is that alot of our customers come to our showrooms to try the more obvious brands and decide (without any prompting from us) that they prefer the sound and touch of a czech-made piano, as to them it sounds more European/refined/German/posh etc. Now I am no doubt playing into the hands of the venerable Mr Venables by saying that I am a lowly piano salesman with no formal training in the technical aspects of pianos (incidently, does Steinway trained mean Steinway employed? Is there an actual formal Steinway accreditation?), but they sound and feel very nice to me as a player (RCM graduate).

Granted, we get them with the Renner actions and do a proper job (yes, we have a workshop and use Steinway trained technicians etc) but its hardly the transformation that is implied. It might also be worth mentioning the Larry Fines book (I hear the groans) which in its latest edition pegs Petrof uprights with Renner above the comparable Yamaha in the performance category, and level even with the so called 'crappy Detoa' action.

Like I say, I don't want to stir the nest further, but thought it right and fair to comment.

[chrisvenables]

Yes, the higher end Petrofs are certainly better than they were, no doubt about that. Those larger models do have and always did have a sweet tone - it's just that the earlier models didn't have the best of build quality and the very small uprights were indeed 'budget' models. Nice to see the improvements.

Regarding the Q re Steinway training and employment, (although nothing to do with the topic) no, I was not employed by Steinway in the same way that I am not, and was not, employed by Yamaha, but I received training from them both in addition to numerous factory visits. I was initially a dealer and later a distributor and importer for Steinway in the 80's and 90's.

[Straight-strungout]

I realise my comment about Steinway technicians may have come across rude. I know Chris's work to be exemplary so it wasn't meant to be. Just always wondered thats all...