uprights: Schlz-Pllmn, M&H, Petrof, Essex...

[Charles Neuman]

I played a few nice uprights today.

I found the Shulze-Pollmann 50" to have a really nice sound. European, but
not without some richness that my American ears appreciate. Bright, but
not tinny. Has anybody serviced any of these? I'm curious what you think.
The back frame (with built-in posts) is made of one piece and is made of
laminated layers. I guess it's supposed to be better support. Any ideas on
whether this is a good feature? Is it true that a piano coming from Italy
will be cheaper than if it came from Germany?

I also got to play one of the new M&H uprights! Very powerful sound, and
of course rich. However -- and I'm curious what you might make of this --
some parts of the tenor were too "boomy" and even muddy. The notes kind of
resounded too much. I wonder if this had to do with the accoustics of the
room, which was pretty small, or whether it was a voicing problem. This
problem got better when I closed the lid. Any ideas? Has anybody
experienced the new M&H upright? There aren't that many out there.

Here's my opinion on the Essex: I arrived at Steinway Hall at 4:45, and
they close at 5. They demonstrated their typical friendliness and wouldn't
let me in the front door, even though I asked if I could just look for a
few minutes. That's my opinion of the Essex.

Fortunately, that gave me some time to check out the Petrof upright (their
tallest, 50" or 52"), which I had played more at another time. Their bass
is stronger than the Shulze-Pollmann. But the Petrof doesn't have as rich
a sound (more fundamental vs. harmonics), making it impossible to play
jazz on, but classical sounds great on it. In fact, I have a hard time
playing jazz on any non-American piano (I like the warm, rich, American
sound for jazz-- lots of harmonics and not digital and Yamaha-sounding).
The Shulze-Pollman did OK with jazz, though. I have heard that the Petrofs
can be a bit inconsistant and that they take lots of preparation, which
some dealers dont' do so well. Any personal experiences to share?

If you want to share opinions or offer advice, on- or off-list, I'd love
to hear from you. I've been "shopping" for an nice upright for a few years
now. So far, nothing has really grabbed my attention. But aside from the
perpetual "shopping", the more I learn about pianos, the more fun it is to
try different ones and to think about them. That's really why I'm
discussing it here.

Charles Neuman
Plainview, NY