Dear Piano World,
I need advice. I bought a brand new Perzina 129 two years ago and from the beginning have had problems with the keys in the octave below middle C, from Aflat down to E flat. I monitor the humidity in the house, keeping it between 45-50% and I've had it tuned 6 times since buying. I play every day for at least an hour. These keys have various degrees of ringing, flatness of tone, buzzing and distortion. Last week, I had the piano tuned by one of the piano dealer's technicians and after he worked on the piano for almost 2 hours (I went over the piano with him before the tuning, especially these keys), I sat down to play and pointed out to him that these keys continued to ring and distort. He claims that these keys are a common problem with all uprights and some grands, that the problem occurs at the metal frame transition between the bass section and the middle and treble and that almost all pianos experience problems such as mine in this area.

He also suggested that I go to other piano dealers and play what they have in their showrooms, and I will find the same sound problems.

Is what he is saying true? I have not come across this in any forums on pianos or Perzinas. I like a good many things about this piano but I can't accept the state of these keys.

What should I do? I welcome any advice and suggestions.
Dusty Dale

There's cases where some people hear stuff others don't.
In a case like that there a big distinction if you are playing the keys singularly, listen in "to find stuff" or if you can hear things by playing actual music.
Don't take me wrong but we all can torture ourselves sometimes by "looking for things". When pressing keys, all kinds of noises and 'distortion' can become noticable one would not normally notice when playing continuous music. If it disturbs you while playing on piano, it's quite another matter and may well deserve another look. Keep us posted.
Good luck!
Norbert

"Ringing" and "flatness of tone" seem to be opposite conditions: one too loud, one too soft. It's very hard to describe sounds in words. When did you first notice this problem? Was it like this in the showroom? If you go back to the dealer, do you hear the same thing on other 129's?

The Perzina 129 is a full-sized upright, with a good scale, and an excellent bass (floating soundboard). There should be no problems at the break. I service them at a local dealer. As tuners, we get to listen closely to several different pianos a day, every day, all year. So we can quickly spot things that sound out of the ordinary.

I'd visit the dealer, and see if any other 129's have the same problem to you.

--Cy--

Thanks for your reply, Norbert. About the sound - I have had people who couldn't hear it and people who mentioned it right off hearing the piano. That the technician admitted that he heard this flatness - the Eflat almost sounds like a small bullfrog, a kind of 'gulp' along with the sound of the note - tells me that this sound is being produced. My wife can't hear it. I will visit the dealer where I bought the piano and play the Perzinas and other pianos in their showroom as a comparison but this will have to wait until the holidays.
Cheers

Thanks for your advice, Cy. I will visit the dealer and play the Perzinas in the showroom and post the outcome here.
Cheers

If I were the dealer would have long exchanged the piano.
It's a real small thing in my mind not worth 2 cents...
Keep us posted!

Nobrert