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I'm pretty ignorant of a lot of the esoterica of pianos. I only know
that none of my customers owning a Petrof has done other than praise
it highly.<br>
les bartlett<br>
<br>
Bruce Dornfeld wrote:
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<div>I have worked on many Petrof pianos and would add a few
observations. Petrofs have been imported from Prague for many years
now. Early Petrofs show Czechoslovakia, later ones the Czech Republic
as country of origin. The quality of the pianos improved a lot over
the years. I would not make a recommendation about a new Petrof from
experience with older models. Geneva International was until recently
the only legal distributor of Petrofs in the USA. Joe Swenson, when he
was their head of technical services, visited the factory frequently.
Not long after the fall of the iron curtain he noticed such
improvements in the pianos that he asked the factory workers about
why. After consulting each other in Czech, they laughingly told Joe in
English, "We could be fired now." They have had a R&D department
which has taught classes about their research at PTG seminars and
technical institutes.</div>
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<div>If I recall, the new 7' Petrof was called the Passat. It had
not only a new scale, but is the only Petrof I've seen with all
individually tied (looped) tenor and treble strings. It was a very
impressive looking and sounding piano. I won't try to compare with the
Kawai; both are excellent pianos, the Kawai is a better known commodity.</div>
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<div>One thing I always recommend for Petrofs and most European
pianos is a complete Dampp-Chaser system. If your climate is anything
like here in Chicago, the Petrof will suffer from it more than the
Kawai.</div>
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<div>I would also make sure of the source of the warranty of the
Petrof. Geneva International was involved in a legal battle over
distribution rights for the Petrof in the USA. Geneva has since closed
their doors. I do not think they will handle warranty claims in the
future. Currently the importer is Petrof U.S.A., LLC. Paul Rea is
listed as the contact, their address is in Liburn, Georgia. The
website is <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.petrof.com">www.petrof.com</a>
and email: petrofpianosusa.com. If the dealer bought the piano from
Geneva, will the warranty be honored?</div>
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<div>For my money, the Petrof is a great piano and value. I would
let the buyer choose by playing, the tone and touch of the Petrof and
the Kawai are different enough for this to be a big factor. </div>
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<div>Bruce Dornfeld, RPT</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:bdornfeld@earthlink.net">bdornfeld@earthlink.net</a></div>
<div>North Shore Chapter</div>
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