experience about grand piano PETROF III

[patrickB]

Hello,
I'm new user and french people.
I have a grand piano Pleyel (range 3 bis - 1,64 meter (french manufacturer), fully restored but from 1921.
I play lot and I would like change for a modern and new grand piano.
I tested grand piano petrof III (1,97 meter). I think it's a good choice for performance and competitive price.

Anybody has some experience with the model?

thanks for your response and sorry for my bad english language,
best regards
patrickB

[Sydney]

Bonjour, Patrick.

Oui j'ai essaie le Petrof III. C'est un bon piano et tres valeur.
Lorsque j'habitais a Prague, Petrof n'etait pas cher, mais maintenant il serais devenu tres cher.
Est-ce que vous allez acheter le piano qui est neuf? S'il est neuf, il n'y a pas de problem en qualite, mais s'il n'est pas neuf, il vaut mieux avoir attention...il y avait le temps ou la qualite de Petrof etait un peu mauvais....

J'espere que vous avez compri bien mon francais...
 

[patrickB]

Thanks Sydney for your answer and effort to discuss speaking french.
I wish for buying a new piano PETROF III. In France, the prise is still competitive in comparaison with Schimmel, Pleyel or others german manufacturers.
Best regards,

Patrick

[nipon gaki]

careful, petroff is just about out of business. Geneva corperation of America had to bail out the company this year because of financial problems. Geneva now owns the company and we will have to see what the future has for petroff. they had to close a couple of their factories.

Nice pianos but the eastern europe market is so depressed that manufaturing is a problem.

Before purchasing think about warranty issues consistancy etc....maybe you should look at a yamaha

not a sermon just a thought

[Sydney]

You have a look at a piano.
You are somehow attracted to the piano.
You play some notes and the sound homehow attracts you.
There are also other pianos looking attractive.
However, you are somehow attracted to the piano.

This is the piano that you are likely to be with for long term.

Please renconrer a good one.

Bon chance!

[cysoto]

A previous poster mentioned that you should probably consider a Yamaha instead.  In all honesty the overall sound of the Yamaha and the Petrof are totally different. 

When I went out looking at grand pianos I tried the Petrof and the Estonia.  I ended up purchasing an Estonia because, in my very subjective opinion, it produced a sound that was more pleasing to my taste.  I still believe that Petrof was a true contender and I would have not had any reservations if I had decided to purchase one.

I also own a Yamaha upright and I can attest that the sound is really different than that of the Estonia.  The Yamaha I purchased to keep in my office where space is more limited.  It’s a great sounding piano but it is surely brighter than the other one (even after having it voiced).

I am very happy with both of these pianos but, if I had to choose only one, I’d keep the Estonia.  This is to say that the “European” sounding pianos are more appealing to me.   

In the end it’s all a matter of personal preference and, if you know that the Petrof is the piano for you, you’ll be disappointed if you end up buying a different brand just because you were thinking of re-sale value.

I haven’t heard anything about the Petrof Company being in financial distress but I’m not saying that this is 100% misinformation.  In the end keep in mind that there have been many piano manufacturers that are now in the hands of other companies.  There will always be a company out there making parts for your piano for when the time for repairs come.

Live free!!  Buy the Petrof and don’t feel any remorse.  It’s a great piano!! 

[Axtremus]

The Petrof III is a capable instrument. My sentiment towards Petrof is rather similar to Sydney's.

It's true that Petrof had some financial trouble in the recent past, but that's in the past! See https://praguepost.com/P03/2004/Art/0506/busi3.php and judge for yourself.

In any case, you play a piano, you feel its action, you hear its sound, and you can judge whether the touch and sound are good. It doesn't matter if the manufacturer makes a $1 Billion profit the next day or file for bankruptcy the next week -- none of this will change the quality of the piano you've played since the piano has already been built, completely. Catastrophic failures that will invoke the manufacturer's warranty are very rare, so I personally don't think factory warranty is a big issue at all.

[Sydney]

It is envious that you are living around the beautiful pianos. Here is Australia, we don't have as many choices as in other regions.

I have found a nice piano recently, that is a Kawai NX-40, and I couldn't help but getting it.

Compared with other European makers', Kawai's sound is slightly behind but this NX-40 was the piano which somehow caught my heart.

Does anyone know about this piano?? I think it is a good value and well balanced, in the perspective of price and quality.

Well, I don't really want to hear anything bad about it though...

 

[Floristan]

nipon gaki is incessantly pushing Yamaha on this forum every chance he gets, usually by sowing seeds of doubt about the piano you're really interested in to sway you toward Yahama.  In this case the rumor that Petrof is going out of business.  Take what this guy says with a grain of salt.  Many of us suspect he is actually a Yahama salesman, though he denies it.  I personally find Yahamas as a group about the most soulless instruments I've played.  They're like a Toyota, reliable and utterly predictable with a smooth ride, impeccable service record, and just as boring and unsexy as they can be.  Strictly my opinion.  I've heard good things about Petrof -- not to the extent of Estonia, but mentioned frequently enough to know they are a piano worth considering.

[LJC]

Hey Floristan, I think you are being a little tough on Yamaha. There are lots of people who like the sound. Having owned a C3 for 20 years I can tell you its tough to beat it in its class. yes they are a bit bright but they are powerful, something that is lacking in many other piano's in its size range. I think Yamaha made a mistake with their cheaper pianos as people tend to group those in with the C series and perhaps the S series as well. I don't think of my C3 as the equivilant of a Toyota, its more of a Lexus. There is not a piano action out there that is better. 

[nipon gaki]

um...I happen to like yamahas...i've played on all the pianos you guys are talking about and still prefer yamaha...like most players. Look on TV what is everybody playing...steinway or yamaha. there has to be a good reason....hmmm, maybe they are good pianos??

I've owned a steinway ...big deal it was a new M...it would never play in tune, and it was a marshmellow...no sound or power. the dealer said they'd voice it custom in my home....never got it to sound the way I wanted. My couisin has a petroff in long island...the most colorless piano I have evr played...all of the pianos in the showroom were colorless ad emotionless.

I only could fit a C3 in my home or Id have a bigger piano. and I have NEVER had any problems or issues, other than needing a normal tuning here and there. its consistant ...all of the new C3s I played were so close in sound that I would have taken any of them...the sound is clear..each note is defined instead of  being all mushy in the midlle range.

also Yamaha has NO financial trouble, not owned by anybody but yamaha....pook kawai had to close their factory in the US petroof is closing factories....the only company doing well is Yamaha...why is that???

[Sydney]

This is just for the reputation within Japan though...

Besides the quality, YAMAHA have been very good on the promotion.
YAMAHA, they are really good on promotion and their sales persons in Japan have been like stock brokers. KAWAI, compared with YAMAHA, hasn't been so good as YAMAHA in the perspective of promotion.
Both of them produce good quality pianos, however, YAMAHA's piano have been top share in Japan, so KAWAI is considered a bit behind and there is difference of the prices. (YAMAHA is always slightly expensive than KAWAI in the same type of models)

Looks like Steinway. They had a factory in the States during and after the World War II, so they could expand the sahre in the world rapidly. It is true that their quality is really good but there are other piano makers that produces as good pianos as Steinway. Just different kind of sound but the prices of Steinway are always more expensive than others.

I am waiting for the time when this kind of Steinway/YAMAHA legend to be  disapperaing....

The funny story is, Steinway dealer both in Japan and Australia have said to me, "Hambrug Steinway has always had better quality or, at least, the re-sale value is better than US made." They are competing in the same company too...

 


 

[dawalta]

I have a Petrof Model III that I purchased new in 1999.   Love it.    Took a lot of time playing other pianos.   Plus, over the years (I'm 59) I've had the opportunity to play lots of Yamahas, Baldwins, and Steinways.    I live in the Dallas area so I had a lot of options to look at.   Estonia, Schimmel, Pleyel, Yamaha.    Even took a trip over to Steinway Hall in Dallas.    To be honest, I liked 'em all.  But the Petrof III was different.   I prefer a softer touch on the keyboard and the Petrof was exactly what I was looking for.   Sound was beautiful.    It was the only piano that I kept going back to play again.   This went on for several months.    Haven't regretted it one bit.    At the time I purchased mine, the Petrof Model III used the Renner action although it was assembled by Petrof, not Renner.   Not sure what they are using today.     Great piano.

[pianolive]

If you like the Petrof go for it!
They do make good instruments and you can get it with a Renner action.
Petrof is the biggest manufacturer in Europe and you do not have to worry about warranty questions.

[ionian_tinnear]

Yamaha has been a maker of instruments for a very long time.  They make very good instruments, but I'd never buy an acoustic piano from Yamaha as I can't afford one of the really good ones..  Best piano around here is a Yamaha 9' concert grand.  Tears up the 9' Steinway at the other stage.

All the little grands and uprights from Yamaha I've used have the same issues, and no, not the brightness, that can be adjusted by a quality tech.  Action, too light and get loose if they are used much.  They break too easy, whether it be strings, or hammers, too fragile.  I've not broken one myself but have been there too many times when they have broke during performances.

Their synths, I use an S90-ES and love it.  My electric bass is a Yamaha, I love it.

[Derek]

My parents have a Petrof Model III. I played it for a couple of years back in college when I still lived at home, and I still get to play it every now and then. It's a beautiful instrument.

[petam667]

Looks like there are problems with Petrof Australia- this message from Petrof names Michelle Conway and Paul Ellaway as dubious- not sure what the rights and wrongs are here but does not look good:

https://www.petrof.com/pobocky-petrof-australia.html

[richard black]

I have no idea whether the concerns mentioned above about Petrof's long-term viability have any substance, but if you find a Petrof you like at a price you can afford, buy it. The chances of you needing the company to exist in the future are slim. In my life I've owned four pianos (one from brand new for nearly 30 years now, the others second-hand) and not once have I gone back to the original manufacturer for anything, nor wished I could have done so.