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Hello. I am new to pianoworld. I need your advice on the petrof piano. I tried Petroff both upright (p125 50inch) and baby grand (5'3)at the piano store.
The dealer gave the the price for upright 9,000 and the baby grand 20,000. Does it sound about right?
I like the tone of Petrof being warm and mellow and the touch was incredibly soft. I own Yamaha baby grand (c1).
Is the Petof made of better material than Japanese pianos - Yamaha (U3 and C1) or Kawai? Petrof is more expensive than Yamaha. Pls give me more information on the company of Petrof and its warranty and service and the quality, etc because this Piano is still very unfamiliar to me.
Thank you.

where is this petrof 's origin？ made in Czech?

YEs. Petrof is from Czech republic. As far as i know, it's hand made piano.

as far as I know, the prices kinda do sound about right. petrof is handmade piano, and handmade pianos are usually more expensive because of labour costs and other things. petrofs are quite good pianos based on the ones I've played (I haven't played that many) and have a good action and tone. I liked them (as you may have guessed). sorry if I wasted your time as I have only a small amount of limited knowledge.

Rotom

Go to www.pianobuyer.com and read the ratings, Company profile, and pricing information on Petrof. It should provide you with what you need.

Prices sound normal for Petrof these days. Bear in mind that most dealers are prepared to negotiate down from their initial asking price if you really want to buy that specific piano.

Petrof pianos cost about a third less in the US a few years ago before the company changed distributors. There have been steep increases since that time. The current distributor is Petrof U.S.A. out of Atlanta. You should ask to see the warranty document to make sure that it is through the current distributor. If it is through Petrof America, then verify that the warranty term begins with the date of sale and not the date of manufacture.

More expensive materials? The cost of the materials is relative to where the maker is building pianos and in what quantities it buys its materials. Also there's a difference between basic materials and finished components. Yamaha makes virtually everything in house. Petrof does not.

Hand made vs. mass-producted? That's really becoming less and less relevant. For whatever it's worth, Yamaha pianos have greater consistency than Petrofs, but if you find a Petrof with a good even action and a tone that pleases you, that's all that matters.

Could you describe more precisely what you mean by an incredibly soft touch?

If you own a Yamaha C1 which I think is 5' 3", why do you want to buy another small grand of the same size? What do you not like about the Yamaha?...and approximately where do you live?

Keep the C1, much better piano.
The quality control of yamaha is much better.
I think you will regret swapping your C1...

Just my thoughts

I disagree that the C1 is a "much better piano".

These are much DIFFERENT pianos, with very different tonal qualities. One might appeal to you/your repertoire more than the other.

I know that they are different pianos.
Maybe Yamaha hasn't the most lyrical tone but the Japanese sure make very good end products. Better then most so called European brands.

A piano is not all about tone, they can be nightmare when the quality control isn't perfect....

All this is just my opinion ..

Hello. I am not a fan of piano with bright tone but Yamaha C1 is not "too" bright, which is ok. However, in terms of touch, it is pretty hard to touch especially when I play classical music.
I don't have much space for piano over 5'3. I live in southern california.

Maybe you can have your action lubed and regulated, how old is it?

Yamahas are know for their great actions, I had a GC1 myself, their actions are flawless.... The Petrof's I played were quit bright and severely overpriced. Since the last 3 year Petrof had such dramatic increases in their prices, it seems they have gone overboard.

Why don't you inform yourself how much a good technician can do for you and save yourself the money on a new piano?

I'll stay out of the tone wars except to say that for many classical musicians, piano teachers, and vocalists who want a piano on hand, the Petrof tone is very pleasing.

However, if the only serious objection you have to your Yamaha is the hard touch, I think you should see about regulation before you sell or trade it. Yamaha grand actions are not ordinarily considered to be stiff or hard.

There are still some Petrofs around in SoCal that pre-date the change in distributor. For this reason especially, be sure to check out the warranty coverage if you get serious about a purchase.

Petrof is not some unknown iffy brand. A few years ago it was Europe's largest piano maker. I don't know if that's still true because the company has needed to cut back on production in the last couple of years due to slow demand, but don't get the idea that it's some obscure company that pales in comparison to Yamaha. That's not the case. It lacks Yamaha's consistency, but so does almost every other maker.

Vive,

Your other thread here is inaccessible. The link isn't working. That's why it shows only 18 page views.

For everything you want to know about buy back (and much more probably), go to the piano forum main page, go to the page top where it says FAQS Piano Forum and click on the thread "How Does Buy Back..".

My piano is 13-14 years old. This is when Yamaha started making C.
Maybe i can have my action regulated and see the difference in touch.
Thanks very much for the great information.

I have a 2004 Petrof IV (5 ft 8 in) which I bought used last year. Petrofs are known for their "bell-like" sound, which I can affirm is true for my own piano.

I adore my piano. I do find the tuning is not yet stable - but the original owner had the piano for looks, and never played it or tuned it, so it sat unloved for 6 years. I am hoping that having it tuned every 3 months will not be necessary for long!

I find my Petrof sounds best when playing Chopin or jazz.

I can't compare the Yamaha C1 with the Petrof, as the only Yamaha I have played a lot is an upright.

HTH

For what it's worth, I compared a Petrof P125 against a Yamaha GC1, C3, and U3, Kawai uprights and small grands (not sure of the model numbers) and bought the Petrof without hesitation. The action is obviously not as good as that found on a grand, but for me the tonal qualities of the Petrof destroyed anything I have ever encountered in any Yamaha, short of a C5. I paid $9000 Canadian about a year ago.

Last year I bought a Petrof IV "Klasik". It was "new" as it had been sitting in the piano showroom unsold for a couple of years. I just fell for the sound and also the touch. I am aware of the warranty issues but I figure that the first 5 yrs. of warranty are through the dealer and then I'll take my chances.

Tone preference is personal. Go for the sound you like best.

I've got a pre-owned Petrof on the floor. It is beautiful to look at, but I have yet to find anyone who likes the way it plays.