New Petrof 52" upright"

[Richard Brekne]

DGPEAKE@AOL.COM wrote:

> I
>
> I serviced a Petrof Upright today, though I do not think it is 52".  She
> purchased it new about 3 years ago. I pitched raised and fine tuned, and
> except for the killer octave which had some false beats, it tuned rather
> nice. I believe some of the falseness is at the termination points.

Take a good look at the bridge pin placement, also a good job of sting leveling
followed by mating the hammer to the strings often does wonders for Petrof's
false beats. Make sure also the strings are seated well to the bridge. If you
have the time to fool around with the agraffees you can certainly make
improvements there as well.

> I
> noticed that the action was poorly regulated with the strike distance sitting
> at almost 2".  By raising it to 1 3/4 inches I believe it will create a
> better aftertouch.  The damper spoons were not well regulated, most dampers
> not lifting soon enough, causing some of the travel to be too close to the
> strings, not allowing a good tone.

Typical Petrof. I also find the bushings in the hammer centers are poorly sized.
I also get the impression the quality of felt used in bushings is not so good.
Feels mushy.

>  The pin torque was good and even.

You probably have a relative good pinblock installation. My experience is that
there is about a 60 / 40 percent chance in favour of this.

>
>
> I believe the problems exist due to negligence by either the factory or the
> dealer.  If proper dealer prepping takes place, I would not find the problems
> at the customers house.

Exactly my point. Petrof could easily do much better and given the Petrof "sound"
its kinda a shame they dont take better care. Course there is only so much a
dealer prep can accomplish, and only so much a dealer is going to pay for.

> She likes the piano and the way it plays but also
> after showing and explaining how I could improve it, she will most likely
> have me do it by next summer.

Thats the kicker. In spite of everything most people I know (aside from very
accomplished pianists) like them. Again I suspect this has to do with the general
sound picture which I have to admit isnt bad (false beats aside)

>
>
> Next week I am tuning a Petrof Grand.  I would let you know how it goes.
>

Please do.. how old is it, how much use does it get ?

>
> Dave Peake, RPT
> Portland Chapter
> Oregon City, OR

Richard Brekne
I.C.P.T.G.  N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway