I adore the sound of this '09 M&H Model A. It has new Rosleau strings, Delignit pinblock, Renner Premium Blue hammers, hammershanks, and flanges. The plate has been reguilded and the polished ebony case has been refinished. Crown is in great shape and cracks do not buzz. An independent technician says: "The tuning pin torque is excellent, and it has wonderful sustain."

The action is sub-par at the moment (pianissimo is pathetic) and dealer has scheduled for it to be regulated (it was on only its first tuning after three chip tunings since the rebuild was completed late last year).

I will have another independent RPT look at it after the regulation.

Dealer is asking $16k USD.



The Perzina is ebony with gorgeous wood veneer on the fallboard, inside rim, and lid underside. It is an excellent deal at $11k (list $22,500 USD). Your standard 30% list bloat puts it at $15,750. It is only the dealer's floor model that is offered at $11k (dealer has lost his huge showroom, moved into a little more than a large living room with 12 or 13 pianos crammed into it, and must liquidate stock). It has Detoa action with Renner AA hammers, Delignit pinblock, and Roslau strings. To order a new one would be more. I prefer displays anyway as they have been broken in (this one has had six tunings and is very stable). I would be happy with this piano in my home, and very happy to slide in over six feet of great tone and acceptable action at $11k.

I did not pick the Mason and Hamlin because of the name, it simply has a magical tone. I certainly did not choose the Perzina for the name as I had not heard of it before it surprised the heck out of me with a richness of tone that blew me away. My technician advises me that in pianos you get what you pay for and would be wary of a new 6'1" piano in that price range, though he has never heard of Perzina and cannot say anything about it. I have researched Perzina extensively, both on this forum and elsewhere, and feel no need to re-open the "Is it Chinese?" debate. I could care less if my piano is built on Mars using Jovian parts, what I care most about is tone and touch. The A is superior in tone and the GX187 is superior in action at the moment though regulation could turn that around. While I am not as concerned with the name as I am with my enjoyment in front of it, I am weary of a name my technician has never heard of and has no experience with. Internet information is often unreliable, and technicians just don't have enough experience with Perzina grands to say much about them (I can get more information on the uprights, but even there we won't see how well they hold up over time until time has passed and their reputation developes).

I am afraid to admit that I have a romantic attachment to the idea of a 100 year old piano (the quality of wood likely in that piano does not even exist today), but $5k is a quite a chunk of change as well.

Over many years I have played many Perzina's both upright and grands and have had many students purchase both kinds because all of us have been so impressed and pleased with them. I have never been dissapointed yet with both the sound and performance. And the price is certainly no turn away. They have held up with no major repairs only your maintenance tunings and small normal wearings on a piano. I don't know why more people are not aware of them and have not looked into purchasing them. My understanding is that they are assembled in China to help keep their cost down because if they were assembled in Europe the cost would have to reflect that. I have also owned a Mason and Hamlin and loved it but I would purchase the Perzina Piano I don't think you would be sorry the richness of the tone is most enjoyable. Their cases are wonderful too I especially like the dual wood where you have the two colors. I think it looks very elegant and classy. Good Luck.

So...Roxy you must know Chris V. and Greg in that you are right down the street from them.

Broker,

Aren't Chris V and Greg G. the stars of the remake of The Empire Strikes Back?

Roxy,

I think what Broker is alluding to is that your pro-Perzina posts have reached the point where some who don't know you as a member might wonder if they are genuine. To be honest, after reading your last post here, I was scratching my head.

Unfortunately for Perzina, there have been some odd members here in the past who seemed to have a Perzina agenda. Some of them were so obvious it was downright amusing. Of course I'm sure you have no agenda.

Broker is remarking how you live in the vicinity of Piano Empire and may have made the acquaintance of two fine gentlemen who head the Perzina sales effort there.

There is something strange holding me back on the Perzina and I am not quite sure what it is. I fear it may be a name/date bias (I generally try to avoid buying ANYTHING new). I am going check out Classic Piano in Portland, OR, and will play every piano there blindfolded with my wife taking notes. I will be surprised if they have any Perzinas, but they have a very large selection of M&H and of course many other names. That '09 Mason sings to my soul in a way the Perzina does not, but can I be sure that I am not influenced by reputation? Further, the action on the A, at present, is not acceptable. I have expanded my search geographically and hope the blindfold tactic will give me more confidence.

“Named must your fear be before banish it you can.”
Yoda, from Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Cessnaurina,

Excuse the local humor, just playing off the Empire/Perzina reference. I do think it's good to identify your fear though. My guess is there are several fears.

a) spending serious money on a presumption of what a very old piano will sound and play like after you spend even more money

b) blowing $11k on a new made-in-China grand that doesn't have a track record of performance over time

c) allowing yourself to be drawn away from objective judgment by your appreciation of older pianos

IMO you don't need a blindfold. Sizing up all the competition (new and old) without rushing or feeling pressure will give you mastery of the Force

Just continue auditioning. At some point your subconscious will take over and you'll find that when you hum music that you like, it's being played by a particular piano.

Since the Perzina made a strong impression, just include it in you auditioning.

Patience and persistence.

Good advice indeed!




A powerful ally it is.

Hi Pianobroker
I've met Chris and Greg on several occassions but I was actually introduced to the Perzina pianos years ago when I was out looking at pianos at Piano City.

Hi Turandot
I am a piano teacher and was introduced to the forum by another music teacher. I've been intrigued by seeing so many of your posts. I have thouroughly enjoyed reading them. Your insight on various levels of piano information given many times with humour has been very helpful and interesting to me and I am sure to many others.
Over the years I have checked out and shopped at many piano stores, some in my area some not. I like many brands of pianos. After being introduced to the Perzina pianos and playing them I have found myself drawn to them and really like their touch and the singing quality in their tone. And so will continue to reccommend them and encourage others to try them.

Has the action only been partially rebuilt?
A few thoughts:
1. Since the piano hasn't been regulated, any judgement about the touch seems somewhat premature. It might have a terrific feel when regulated, especially if you tell the rebuilder what you don't like and encourage him to do the best regulation he can.

2. I see nothing wrong with the M&H name or a romantic attachment to a 100 year old piano as being a consideration in your purchase. I don't think you'll remove the name from the fallboard and forget it is a Mason if you purchase it!

3. I would get a very good tech's opinion about how risky it is(how likely the soundboard would have to be replaced in a given amount of time) to buy a piano with soudboard cracks.

I had fantastic time trying pianos blindfolded. What an amazing experience it was. I had no idea that I would be able to identify the shape of a room and found that such acoustics played a huge role in the sound of different pianos. I always new it was a factor, but this experiment really drove that point home in resounding fashion. I was easily able to identify Mason and Hamlin pianos and they did indeed impress me every time with their sound. My wife led me around and took notes and only one piano scored perfectly on action. It was a Yamaha. I do not know the model as my wife used "to left of ramp" to identify it and we did not get a chance to go back and look at that one due to time pressure (we spent five hours in Portland's Classic Pianos alone). It felt around 6'4" and I was surprisingly accurate on my size guesses as well. The piano that scored highest in tone was a new M&H AA (even above the M&H CC that made me swoon, though I played the CC early in the experiment before I identified that the acoustics made such a difference and it was indeed stuck in an odd corner that I am sure was responsible for the harshness in the high register). There were no Perzinas to try, but I played pianos of all shapes and sizes and am excited to play the Perzina and Model A back home as soon as I can while those sounds are fresh in my memory. I highly recommend the blindfold test just for the fun of doing it even if you are not shopping for a piano.

I wish I could bring every prospective piano home with me to test it in the acoustic environment in which it will live. While I am wishing, how about a budget that includes a M&H CC

Thanks for the update, cessnaurina. We often recommend that people do the blind test of piano brands, but you might be the first person I've read about here who actually went out and did it!

I'm curious... besides the Masons, which you so clearly (and understandably) liked, were there any piano brands that pleasantly surprised you after playing them? Or (and this may be a more sensitive question to answer) any brands that were surprisingly disappointing?

While it was no surprise that the Grotrian was the most fun to play, it was the first time I had a chance to play one. I am embarrassingly out of shape so the super-light touch was lots of fun, but I think I would want more control when I get my chops back. Still it was a great piano.

The greatest surprise came before the blindfold test with that Perzina. Only at $27k USD and up have I found superior pianos.

If I may offer my most humble opinion as I am no concert pianist, technician, or appraiser, I would value the piano between $24 - 26k. I have been shopping and researching for several months and played well over a hundred pianos in that time and many many more over the last twenty years and the GX187 is competitive to my taste with most pianos listed between $24-26k, superior to most of those listed less, and upwards of $27k I start to see some fabulous works of art that make me wish I could drop that kind of money on a piano (so much so that I am seriously thinking of stretching my piano budget to an imprudent $30k). And while I have no business appraising pianos or proffering a hypothesis as to a piano's valuation, in the spirit of imprudence, I will offer that if the Perzina were built in Europe rather than in China, the list price would be far higher (as would the cost of manufacture). It is a fine piano and if I were not so enamored with Mason and Hamlin pianos, I would snatch this one up in a heartbeat, and believe even the list price ($22,500) is fair and anything south of $16k is a great deal. I would also like to clarify that the deal I have is $11k plus trade for work I can provide to the dealer, to buy it outright is considerably higher though still a great deal in my opinion. Again, I am no authority on these matters, so I recommend consulting a credentialed authority if you are shopping for a piano. This is just my opinion, take it for what it is.

This is a really old post, but I have had two children in the interim and have only recently gotten back to Piano World and wanted to thank everyone who offered their extremely helpful advice. I ended up buying two pianos at once (neither in my original post), a 1913 M&H A and a Baldwin SF10. I played over 100 pianos in my search and covered four states and two years on I LOVE LOVE LOVE both my pianos:) I could not have done it without all of you, thanks again.