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

[Farrell]

> Shulze-Pollmann 50" .... The back frame (with built-in posts) is made of
one piece and is made of
> laminated layers.

Brian Trout and I were looking at that at the NC Regional conf. The big
question we had is what do they do with the cut out pieces. That back
appears to be made out of one big piece of plywood. They have some big
strong laminated cut-outs left over from each piano. You know they don't
throw them out. What do they do with them? Pin blocks for Tom Thumb pianos?

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Neuman" <cneuman@phy.duke.edu>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2001 9:35 PM
Subject: uprights: Schlz-Pllmn, M&H, Petrof, Essex...


> 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
>
>