I plan to buy a new piano soon. I'm deciding between a petrof ( 125cm )
and a U1 yamaha. :

My former teacher has the PETROF (131cm) & I really love its tone & touch but is it true that it is unsuitable for tropical & humid countries? ( like Singapore ). I've also heard that it will need repair job rather soon.

The Yamaha u1 is a very 'safe' & popular piano but I find its keys a little too light & tone not rich enough. Besides the new ones may not be fully manufactured in Japan & some people say that the Yamaha of today are NOT as good as the older ones. So is it a good idea to buy USED Yamaha instead??

Are no other brands available? For example if you are considering Yamaha, is Kawai unavailable?

It sounds like the Petrof must have improved in recent years.

I have a Petrof, I love the Petrof too for it's touch. I tried many of them in lots of shops. However when mine arrived it was damaged and so they ordered me another that was delivered direct from abroad I think. I still have it but it is not as good as some that i have played. I liked the Yamahas but the touch is too light. If I was to buy another piano I would probably still choose Petrof but one that had been in the country for longer.
You live and learn. I have had mine over 4 years now and is still good enough to teach on.

I think I have the 115 II in black polyester

In my opinion go for a Yahama U3....second hand!

hmm..i have a yamaha one at home and its really good...but its an old one..about 18 years now

I personally don't like Yamaha pianos. I had a brand new one about 15 years ago but only kept it for a few years. I don't know much about the Petrof pianos, but I currently have a Kawai and it's fantastic. I'm not sure if i'm allowed to do this, but if you need further help I can give you an address of another piano forum which has a whole section devoted to instruments, a lot of the people on there are professional pianists and can give you more advice.

Yes ! can u give me the website? Thanks!

no problem

http://www.pianoforum.net/

Go on instruments and ask a question, good luck

I'm not sure about the humdity effecting it but I would say that Petrof are far better than yamaha pianos.

I have a Yamaha U3 (I know you were enquiring about the U1) and I LOVE it!! I bought it brand new about 7 years ago and have had no problems with it. I tried many pianos when I was looking to buy including the U1 which I also like, I chose the U3 simply because it is that little bit bigger and so has a deeper bass. I cant comment on the the Petrof as I'm not familiar with that model but can highly recommend the Yamaha.

Good Luck

I agree with you that Petrof is much richer tone and better control compare to the Yamaha. It is a very personal thing. I owned a P131 myself.

It is not true that it is unsuitable for tropical & humid countries. Any wood based product will have problem if it is placed in an extreme dry or humid for a long period of time. Wood shrink if too dry, wood expand if too humid. If you are able to maintain the relative humidity between 50-55%, the piano will be stable. When the piano is stable, it will require less tuning and servicing. If not any pianos will just have the same problem in just matter of time. Oh Singapore is humid averaging 75-90%. Just imagine how much it can damage a beautiful piano.

Regards, Jasc.

Hmmm - I agree, Kawai is far superior to Yamaha.

New Petrofs have a wonderful, romantic timbre, but be warned : this beautiful sound could get harsh and metallic sooner than with Yamaha, and the quality of it's action is not quite as durable. If you can find a Yamaha that you like from the beginning, it's probably a better investment.

Either you like it or you don't. There is nothing wrong with these 2 pianos. They are both fine instrument.

Every piano gets brighter when it aged. Reason is because the felt compresses and harden over time. When this happens, get a tech to voice it down. It is not difficult if the tech knows what he/she is doing. I think it is the opposite, Yamaha sound brighter and metallic sooner. Again, it all depends to environment and how often it is played. If piano A is played 2 hours a day and piano B is played 8 hours a day, piano B sure to get brighter/louder sooner than A.

Durable? If you refering to the Pe131, it uses full renner action. I wonder why great builders are using it on their grands or uprights, if it not durable. Infact, Renner is one of finest action maker in the world. Uses hornbean wood, a dense wood that is strong. (www.rennerusa.com). Detoa action (I think is Czech Action) was used on other Petrof models. A tech told me that it just needed some extra work to before it feel nice. In the recent years Petrof have switch to Petrof/Renner action on certain models of their uprights and grands. (something about Renner Parts on Petrof Frame). It is better and smoother. I read in other forum they did some test on Detoa, Langer and Renner. All these 3 actions were regulated and the result was non of the pianists find any different between these 3. All played well.

There is no good return investment for piano if you decide to sell it in future. Any piano will depreciate. What is important is that you should buy a piano because you like the tone and the touch. Good tone & touch will give you the best return investment.

Regards.

I agree too. I choose the Kawai if is between the Japanese pianos. Tone is mellower and touch is little heavier.