Help re buying upright piano

[drifter]

Hello,
I have been looking into buying an upright piano. My choice have settled on a Petrof 118 or a Kawai K3 which over here are in the same price range.

Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Thank you
Regards

[silverwoodpianos]

In the same price range, names are not the important part of the equation. Purchase the instrument that has the tone you like to listen to. If you do not like the sound of an instrument you will not feel compelled to play it.

[fnkyazn]

I agree.

Kawai and Petrof are two very different piano brands.  They sound different from each other, and they feel different from each other.  Neither is necessarily better than the other.  The only way to determine that is to see which one YOU prefer.

If you're having trouble looking for aspects of the piano to examine, try looking at the following:

1. The key action - is it heavy, is it light?  Is it fast, is it slow?  Really experiment and see what you can do with both piano actions, and see which one allows you to be most expressive.

2. Sound - is it warm, is it bright (or in between?).  Try your favorite piano genre on the piano.  Or, if you don't have one, try playing music from the various genres you typically play.  See which piano renders the respective genres best, and go from there.

[drifter]

Thanks a lot for your opinions. Actually I do not play piano myself but am looking for a piano for my daughter. She is still in the initial stages of learning. From what I've seen so far I think Kawai keys are somewhat lighter and the sound of Petrof warmer. The Petrof is 118 while the Kawai is 122 is this difference in size significant?
Thanks once again.

[littletune]

Kawai keys are lighter?? That's funny! I have a Kawai piano at home and I also play on Kawai piano at my piano lessons (most of the times), and the keys on all other pianos that I've played on were  easier to press than on Kawai. And I've also played on Petrof piano at my recital (on june 1st) and the keys were a lot lighter... But I like that the keys on my piano are not so easy to press I think it's good exercise for my fingers!   
And I think my Kawai piano is the best anyway of course! and I LOVE my piano!!! have I ever mentioned that? 

[silverwoodpianos]

Thanks a lot for your opinions. Actually I do not play piano myself but am looking for a piano for my daughter. She is still in the initial stages of learning. From what I've seen so far I think Kawai keys are somewhat lighter and the sound of Petrof warmer. The Petrof is 118 while the Kawai is 122 is this difference in size significant?
Thanks once again.

I expect that you are referring to the cm in height? Not much difference there. Small instruments are basically the same thing with a few variations in cabinet style and tonal qualities. Remember that a 42 inch high upright can become a 44 inch upright with a different cabinet style. Some makers put a riser in on top of the pin block to make a different height instrument. But the scale mathematics are the same.