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Hi all!

I am new to the forum and am looking to purchase a piano, and seek some guidance. I have ben away from the piano for about 20 years or so, so i'm a bit rusty and a lot has changed with the market over the past couple of decades.

I have been looking for a reasonably priced grand piano around 6th in length (could be a bit bigger, and a tad smaller, but not much) and am currently looking at two pianos. One is a Boston, which is used (from 1993) and justvunder 6 feet, and the other is a new Petrof Storm. Now, after reviewing the forum a bit, I think i know what responses i may get, but the question is not a straight comparison. The Boston is priced $8-$10K lower than the Petrof. The question is - which is the better value?

I know there are some unknowns; i will try to answer them as best i can.

Thanks in advance for your comments,

I to am returning to the piano after a long absence. I am on my own quest to find my first piano, thought it might be completed soon. In my, very amatuer opinion, after almost a year of piano shopping and all the research it entails. Is that the Petrof is a better piano, because the the Petrof I played in a store had more of a character, though I ended up losing my heart to another piano. The same size Boston grand I didn't feel drawn to it. I also ran into the same issue with an new Essex grand I tried that it lacked a voice. You might like an Estonia grand?

The best piece of advice I can give is that when you go piano shopping is to keep an open mind; I came into the store wanting to find a Steinway to take home with me, but fell in love with a Schimmel. Moral of the story try all the pianos you can and you will know which when you play it. Good Luck with your quest!

If you really like the Petrof and can afford it,
the better value question,
has a lot to do with you,
which we don't know about.

when i was looking at pianos a couple of years ago
i tried both of these piano models (new ones) in the same store

no comparison for me
if i had the money for either
i would have got that 6'4" petrof
beautiful and powerful instrument.

Irene, Irene,

now where did you get this idea
inform yourself

Best wishes on either of the Schimmels you're hoping to bring home.

This is an absurd contradiction.

Well, value is hard to determine. At face value, I'd say that the Petrof is hands down a better value; it's a significantly better piano than the Boston, even if they are both new, but the Boston is now almost 20 years old. But, Can you comfortably afford the Petrof? If not, the potential financial consequences would make this a poor value. The other thing to consider is if the better performance of the Petrof is something you need. For example, if you don't practice _______ amount, will the Boston provide enough enjoyment? On the other hand, if you don't like the Boston, but do like the Petrof, spending thousands and thousands of dollars on the Boston might give you equal buyer's remorse.

I own a 6'4" Petrof and although I've had quite a bit of work done on it (amongst others things a complete Stanwood Action), I would still prefer it in its original state to the Boston. I've played many Boston pianos and don't have a good opinion of them. In particular, they don't hold up to hard work (4+ hrs a day practice).
My Petrof was made (1994) before the many improvements that have been incorporated in the newer jobs. However, it has a distinctive, Middle-European quality that I would describe as a blend of darkness and sweetness. It's not terribly loud but it sustains like crazy.
I don't find character of any kind (that I would care to describe) in the Boston.

The Boston of 1993 was a different scale design than the current Boston Line.

I too would go for the Petrof.

I'd take the Petrof. The Boston seems, at least to me, a touch lifeless.

I was unable to try a Petrof Storm, but I did like the several Petrofs we played quite a bit. I also played a much older Boston that was pretty nice. Of the two you're looking at, I would pick the Petrof.

Dara, sorry if I spoke out of turn. I edited the original post. My amateur opinion of chinese pianos having played several chinese made pianos, reading Larry Fine's guide to pianos, and talking about them to multiple sales people. I was not at all impressed by any chinese pianos even ones that supposed to be top of the line.

Chalk up one more person who fell in love with a Petrof. I tried several different pianos during my search and the Boston certainly would not have been even my second choice. I found a 2004 Petrof IV that I am very happy with (it's nearing its one year birthday and I still get up each morning and can't wait to start playing).

I too compared these pianos in my quest. The Boston IMO compares somewhat to Kawai, which I like, but the Petrof was definately a superior piano in every way, however it is also substantially more expensive.

Be sure to try an Estonia!

I tried two petof IV's one petrof III and the petof storm somewhat recently when i was searching for a piano. I played on a number petrof's through the 90's too, they noticeably different back then, so I was really surprised when I tried them more recently.

IMO the Storm is very different from the PIII, even though they're the similar in size the storm is vastly superior. The PIII was on my short list when I was choosing pianos. I couldn't afford the storm without going direly into debt, but I felt the storm corrected everything i didn't really like in the PIII, including cleaning up the action and it didn't get mushy at all when many notes were held and sustained.

I tried some of the bostons, and some other pianos in the same range (schimmel, estonia, hoffman and bohemia among others). At that level, i think it generally becomes personal preference. But I liked the storm the best (actually i loved it), my brother i think preferred the schimmel. I didn't end up choosing the PIII, but if I could have afforded it, I would have chosen the storm (I probably could have gotten a very good price on it at the time which was a factor).

One can easily picture to one's self

Thanks for your responses so far. It looks pretty one sided in favor of the Petrof. Is there no one to come to the defense of the Boston? The sound is quite different; the Boston is much brighter than the Petrof for sure, and the Petrof is more "classical" sounding (if that makes sense.) I thought a new Petrof would beat a used Boston hands down in "does is sound better", but this is why I am asking about "value". I know this is subjective, but all opinions are... Looking for opinions on the relative value given the $8-10k difference in price.

Thanks in advance,

Difficult to say anything about the value of the 1993 Boston before a competent tech had a serious look at it.

For Boston grands of that era tuning instability due to pin block issues might be expected. The pin block is something that is addressed in the latest 'Performance Edition' Bostons.

schwammerl.

I've had my Petrof IV for almost a year. I love it!! I did a year and a half of piano shopping, and tried everything I could get my hands on. In Ottawa/Gatineau, there are not many piano stores. There is Steinway, Kawai and Yamaha. Plus reconditioned instruments. I had played a Petrof a few years ago, and was enchanted by the sonority. I therefore located a store in Toronto which sold Petrofs, and found my piano there. That was a great trip, as I tried many many pianos. A beautiful Shigeru Kawai was my second choice.

Boston is good, too, but I much prefer Petrof.

The best advise I could give is to play MANY pianos, and to buy something you love.

(my first post).

IMO value is something only you can decide. Is the better sound of a Petrof worth $8-10K more? Will there be other benefits for that $8-10K?

MrMagic is exactly right. It might seem that "better value" is a quantitative measure, but...

Are you the kind of person that will sit down at the Boston an keep remembering what the Petrof felt and sounded like? Then the Petrof has better value for you.

Are you the kind of person that will sit down at the Petrof and keep feeling like you have spent too much money on your instrument? Then the Boston has better value for you.

It really depends upon you. Anyone else is only providing their opinion.

Although I suppose you could be a third kind of person who distrusts their own feelings and will only consider the best value to be that which 6 out of 8 people recommended. Actually nothing wrong with this either. What you really are looking for is the instrument that you will most enjoy. That will be the most value for you. So, just pick which kind of person you are, and you are all set!

Happy shopping!