Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Brodmann 212 Adventure...

I'm sorry. I'm honestly grateful to you, to Norbert, Dara and Mr.Kraus.

I'm just dismayed that a polite trade mark put physically their customers in danger.

From everything I heared about "Italian dealers" I am starting to believe it's to a large extent an "Italian dealer issue"....

Yours is not the only one, often involving a number of different makes. Anyone here remembering the Seiler piano few years back?

This is no excuse not to be looked after but I'm honest when saying I still haven't understood your situation.

In North America/Canada I am in contact with many other dealers and nobody has ever had a situation any like yours.

In fact there have been very few if any problems in much tougher climates than Italy and those have been of a very minor nature, virtually same as all other makes have from time to time.

So your case is truly intriguing, one would like to see it through.

Yours is so exceptional that I have never have heard anything like this - regardless of make!

Getting quite curious what exactly is going on here...

Hang tough, we're here for you!

Norbert

I just say that the truly intriguing fact is that the factory still have that kind of distributor.

If you would be in my country, you could spend afternoons reading the disappointments and the "adventures" happened in that store on forums.

My case is normal.

The problem is obviously a "store" - not a "distributor"

Brodmann distributes its pianos directly.

P.S. I heard about your case once before, you're right, the "store" was mentioned in that connection...

Norbert

As far as I know, the "direct distribution" passes rightly through him.

He is the direct distribution (here).

In the U.K Brodmann go through Chris Venables, a reputable dealer with an excellent and proven track record. The pianos are prepared to the highest level, and I think that if one arrived at his dealership in that condition it would be sent back to the factory before it got anywhere near the shop floor.

This experience you have had is deplorable.

No warranty support, no preparation (just to mention on thing, the key lateral movement was of 1,5mm about) and even not a simple cover on the piano during the delivery.

Dave:

What made you buy this piano?

Norbert

1) Beautiful sound and quality built (in the store)
2) Brand new at 1/3 of the price list
3) 5 years warranty
4) The distributor underlined that it was a "Viennese" version of the Chinese one.

But when delivered, all problems in few days.
He also said: "technicians will work for two days on your piano before the delivery". (Why? They have tampered it?)

Dave:

We once had 2 "Viennese" 187 grands and they were absolutely beautiful. They did have slightly different hammers [Renner] than the regular series which has Abel.

The owners for both these pianos have been extremely happy with their choice, one being a well known teacher giving piano a great testimonial.

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1821759/1/Brodma

Very sorry to hear your experience has been somewhat different, as promised will help you see this one through.

Norbert

I have only seen good pianos and service from Brodmann, either direcly or thru forums, your is a quite strange situation. I checked their web site and only shows a dealer for Italy: http://www.brodmann-pianos.at/index.php?id=373&L=3%20[0%2C0%2C17398] is that the one?

also have you tried to contact Colin Taylor who is top responsable for technical aspects?

Yes, a lot of promises, but unfortunately nothing seems to happen or change.

Thank You Mr.Norbert, very kind.

I choosed my piano because was totally different from the same brand grands (perhaps because it is a "prototype" and virtually identical to the viennese version except for the marks).

I'm quite sure that it could need that renner hammers... but even at Renner factory nobody knows anything about the brand.

Norbert - can you be more specific about the difference in the hammers? Shape? Weight? Size? Impregnated? Underfelt? and as important, prep voicing and any follow-up voicing you (or your technician(s)) have done since then.

In my experience, I have found hammer head shape (relatively round and pear shaped at one extreme) to pointed (Renner Blue Points come to mind), **does** make a difference in the quality of the tone produced where "quality" is not an indication of better or worse, but more related to "color", "intensity", etc.

The famous hammer heads brand said me these words in the morning (I delete the brand here for the respect of the privacy):

"Thank you for consulting us in this matter.

Unfortunately we don’t know the manufacturer of the B. grand pianos because this is a product produced in far east and manufactured from a company who uses the brand “B.”.

Therefore we have to know the name of the manufacturer.

Best regards"

So they seem to be not a direct customer of both the well-known hammers brands (the second one answered me the same just in different words).

Dave,

You could try Wilh. Steinberg, Eisenberg Germany as the manufacturer, because of:

Brodmann Artist Series

see post "1692359:



schwammerl.

It's interesting...

Compare http://www.wilh-steinberg.com/eng/wst-grandsp-212.html

with http://www.brodmann-pianos.at/grand_piano_2120.html?&L=6

Or the same pictures are very similar or the pianos are so...

Pattie and I just spent a week at Steinberg ... Very interesting and well done. Kevin, head of manufacturing is a sharp guy.

Steve Pearson from Chicago is now head of all grand piano production ...

It might do to get some facts here ...

What is the question again ??

I think that Steinberg and Brodmann have some of the same people in management. It's fairly well known in the industry that Wilh. Steinberg were making some of the Brodmann uprights at one time - quite expensive pianos but good quality.

The Steinberg 212 is probably the same piano as the Brodmann 212, in the same way that the May Berlin is the same as the Brodmann. The name on the fallboard matters less than the quality of the instrument and the follow up service you get from the dealer.

It's no secret that there is a factory in china producing pianos with several different names on the same instrument.

I am vigorously pursuing to get to the bottom of things here.
The mystery will be solved and from first accounts received, is starting to unravel.

Dave's piano is definitely *not* a Steinberg made model.
This would be impossible considering the piano was sold even below the price of a 6'3 grand.

There seems to be more to the story with all fingers pointing increasingly to the dealer.

If he is indeed a *dealer* any longer....

Norbert