Thank you everyone especially Nobert and Steve Jackson!
Paid deposit final price $7200+tax

Pleyel P124
Better part is wife loved the polished black finish!

Steve Jackson can you be my technician to check the piano?


So exited I'm outside will post details later!


Thanks everyone I love this forum

Congratulations! Hope you don't have to wait too long!

Congratulations on your piano! The excitement is contagious.

Rick

Congratulations!

Call me tomorrow.

Take care

Steve

What did I do wrong this time?

Congrats anyways!!

Norbert

Congrats! The excitement is totally contagious!

Basically there are two left overs in the store, p131 mahagony and p124. From 2007, they couldn't sell it and have been left in the warehouse ever since.

Last toning was done almost a year ago.
Action is not regulated - the p131 is not in good shape while p124 is slightly better.

Both are made by Renner in Germany. I had amazing experience with schimmel and August Forster Renner upright action so I have high expectations for these. It's fairly light and responsive- easy to play pp. but p131 is very slow.
I asked dealer to fully prep and regulate the piano before I pay my full purchase.

Pedals and cabinet has minor scratches - dealer said easy no problem - will fix before my next visit. It's polyester polish black finish.

Tones are great. Best bass I have heard for an upright - clean, deep and growling. P131 is obviously better, but p124 is very close.

Generally I found the tones are extremely even and straight forward, the upper register has a very nice singing tone, the 2nd octavo has some best class singing tone - by this I meani cannot make up my mind which onei like better - August Forster, bechstein, grotrian or pleyel? I guess I would be happy with either one!
The highest octavo reminds the tone of Estonia, a bit cold to my liking, but the sustain is great - in fact the sustain is very long for every note.

The best part is I love how the lid opens on this piano - something I have never seen (which I haven't seen everything) but I'm surprised other uprights are not doing it. I will add the image later. Basically there's a sub panel in front panel, when you open the light, the upper front panel opens up - and wow, it suddenly has the grand sounding - which absent from August Forster 125 compare to the 170 grand. You really lose A LOT tone quality by only hearing the reflect sound from rear of the sound board. I almost immediately decide to take it after I heard the change when t he lid opens up half way. The difference is night and day. I think Kawai k8 has similar design approach, and Steinway k52 opens lid from buttom.

I hope the treble can voice a bit warmer without losing the sustain.


The other great discovery is - since I wasinthrSteinway gallery (formal dealer for pleyelandpetrof) I try to explain the only reason stop me liking the Steinway- the trebe has no sustainnorsinging tone. And I prefereuropean tone - and I have played like 15 stein ways in the past so I know what they sound like.

Clark (the sales representative) then insist me to try one of the many Steinway A. Wow! A bechstein trebe! ( get the joke?) this is exactly the trebe I love - singing, long sustain and full of brilliance. Clark then explain to me it's very depend on the technician - andNY Steinway requires a lot prep time than the German ones. And most people, include himself prefer the American tone (whichever the ones I played in th e past). This just bring Steinway to my love list again. And I now really get the joke between new c.bechstein andsteinway sound.

Anyways after some negotiation I settled the price tag to 7200 plus tax - a deal almost too good to miss - if the piano is in good shape. Which Steve Jackson will tell me ( I hope)

I paid a little refundable deposite to show my serious interest. I am very pleased with the dealer, the staff and helpful, honest and subjective. Which I felt free to discuss my other alternatives: the grotrian Frederick, August Forster 116 and bechstein academy a1, and Vogel/schimmel, without bashing the brands they are not selling - which is very rare but pleasing.

The pleyel by no means is better than the brands I I have mentioned - they all great instruments and stand well on their own rights. The opportunity came by and I got one of the few newPleyel uprights left on this planet. Life is full of coincidence I guess,I start to self learn piano because the love of Chopin, and crotot is my all time favorite pianist - the pleyel p124 sound quite different than the ones from decades ago - but by no means in a bad way. I think the spirit in pleyel still continues in someway.

We decide to take p124 over p131 purely for the finish. We both don't like mahagony. The pleyel cabinet is some finest I've seen.

upload didnt work

You did everything right! I'm sending my buddy to check out the kayserburg in the summer

New to the forum, but I would like to post and send a picture of my Pleyel made in 1853 case is bronze and guilted gold... how do I do this.. you will enjoy the pictures.. still working on finding out more info on it.

never been on a forum before and new to this so someone send me how I can get a picture on here for you all to look at

thanks

not for sure hot to post on this form and sent a post but don't think I did it correctly - never been on a forum before.. My Pleyel was made in 1853 if bronze with guilted gold... would like you all to see it. interested in finding out as much as I can about it.

so I need to know how to put a picture in posting. thanks for your help

Hi Robert A - Welcome to Piano World!

Go back to the main page of Piano Forum - the page with the list of the active topics. At the top of the page you will see the FAQ topics. Click on the "How do I post a photo?" thread. That should help you out.

Hi Robert, I own a 1862 Pleyel,and organizationg some concerts in Barcelona with some restored Pleyels (1839,1832..) very interested in this brand speccialy the old pianos. Contacte me via private message!

are thoese dings?

Last time I played French made Pleyels was about 10 years ago at Frankfurt Messe: liked them a lot.
In fact it showed how close the French and Germans had grown over the years....
Norbert

I think is it amazing that you are able to find a new Pleyel piano! I searched several years ago to find out information about my Pleyel piano, sent an emails and slow mail to them without hearing back from them only to find out they were out of business. Then I just recently started searching again and this forum appeared.

So thanks for your patients in my becoming familiar with a forum - never been on one before.

I guess I must be illiterate - the directions make no sense. I only have the pictures of my pleyel on my compluter. I did send some of the pictures directly to Lluis. Would like to post them here - if there are simple directions I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Got my picture in but don't know how to post it directly on here so here is the info


http://www.pianoworld.com/Uploads/files/DSC04117.JPG

Looking forward to hear what you have to say about it.

thanks

Wow!

Robert, your piano is spectacular and in such fine condition. Rococo to the max. Would it be possible to post an additional photo with the fallboard open?

(I posted the image for you Robert)

Wow Beautiful! Probably the finest finish I have seen for an upright piano.
Does it still sound good? You have to restore this one
Great grandpa of mine pleyel haha

Wow, that's a beautifully ornate credenza. Can't wait to see the piano. ...Wait, what?

Thanks I thought you would enjoy looking at it. Yes it does play, needs tuning. Since I am not a piano technician I am not sure what you mean by fall board open. I do have a music degree and played piano since 1st grade, but that is all I know about piano. Has an interesting history - my Aunt left it to me in her will. So it has been in the family I know of from at least from 1970. (but I think I know where she got it from) I used to play it for her every time I visited her. Lucky me - I know. Was surprised actually. Her secretary told me that Libarace had inquired about buying it many years ago - not for sure that is true however.

It is amazing to see the outside of the piano in almost perfect condition with only the small flaw on the front below the key board. Just working on finding out as much as I can about it.

Any information would be helpful.. Thanks again

Fallboard open = Showing the keys

I suspect that all the value of Robert's piano would be in the case. Old Pleyels like that were pretty primitive inside. Chances are it will not hold its tuning, and it is probably a birdcage action which no longer plays well. But it is an impressive piece of furniture.

Thanks Steve for having it to appear in the forum for me.

There are two numbers on the piano. The case number is 19223 and the guts or number on the inside playing is 20224. So the questions is did someone replace the interior with a piano that was made at a later date. Not for sure what you meand by a birdcage action. I have several pictures not on the computer I am on at the present, but when I return home will be able to post more if you would like.

Thanks again

A "birdcage action" refers to the "hindering" wires in elder uprights to agitate the dampers above the hammers. For tunings you must put the tuning hammer between the wires. It is an elder construction principle around year 1900 +- 20 years and disappeared later on.

In "normal" uprights the dampers work in a better position under the hammers. (The damper function is better there.)

Birdcage actions can be (..) quite good but need often some diligence for a fine adjusting.

But!!: They are the utmost preference for ragtime playing which often takes profit from a "not-so-good" damping..


Normally a "dampers-above" piano should not be the one and single piano which one owns. But it can be a marvellous second piano. I'd like to own one (..but mylady is of another opinion..). <shy>

It will be delivered to my condo tomorrow morning!
Its nice to meet Steve Jackson from pianoworld and he made sure the Pleyel is in good shape.
The action is a little heavier than other Renner actions ive played (Schimmel, A.Forster) Steve said the piano needs more playing.
Here is a bonus: mid pedal is sostenuto! I didnt expect that feature at all since it is usually an "option" to add in high performance uprights.
Paid full amount! So excited! Posting pictures tomorrow

Glad to see you are really excited.

Steve Jackson has an outstanding reputation, I'm sure you'll end up with a magnificent instrument.

Awesome! I am in for the picture show!
Congrats!

Birdcage action along with the english schapement action are for me the best action ever done for pianos, the control of the sound is absolute, the melodic and cromatic possibilities If you know how to play a birdcage action is just awesome. I'm feeling very sad for the comments here describing the construction of Pleyel as primitive... because was in this pianos where the sound was more rich and complex... For the serial number this fortepiano is dated between the years 1857 and 1859. In my personal opinion I dislike the design is too much "Rococo" , also the condition is just outstanding, I'm sure that this piece had been in great hands and probably restored (Furniture only), I'd love to see how it does looks inside, the inside of a piano can tell us many things about his life!.

I've checked the Pleyel archives and looked for that serial number, it wasn't done for someone special, just made to be exposed and surely then someone bought it, but it is not a piano that was pre-ordered.

Robert, look what I found :-D:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LRlPU_E5W7s/UC3o_X8v2oI/AAAAAAAAAoo/LXSCJPuPfas/s1600/IMG_7523.JPG