I'm a piano-buying rookie, and am just becoming familiar with some makers I'd never heard of before. Yesterday I tried a Bohemia, loved the sound and feel, and the price is right. After searching this forum, I've found plenty of favorable comments about Bohemias. What I'm looking for now is a devil's advocate: are there any drawbacks to this instrument? I'd love as much information about this piano before I make a purchase.

There's a rumor that Bohemia has been bought out by Bechstein, an d they have stopped production of the "Bohemia" line of piano. I doubt that will affect anything, but the name may be gone.

I took delivery of my Bohemia Janacek 185BR 4 weeks ago, and I am delighted.

Hi rjz,

I just bought a Bohemia Concerto 132 upright and love it. I need to post pics and tell the story, but I just fell in love with the Bohemia. I did see a post that Bechstein has bought them and like George K I don't think it will affect anything. Good luck with your search.

John
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Bohemia Concerta 132

From what I've learned, I think Bohemias are on par with Petrofs and Estonias. They haven't experienced the "buzz" that Estonia has enjoyed, so they are not as well known or appreciated. The only negative I can think of is that Bohemia does not seem to have as well developed a support and service network as the other 2 brands. And resale value, fairly or not, will likely be less for the Bohemia. Larry

Thanks for the feedback!

I really liked the Bohemia grand I played at Altenburg's (in New Jersey, I think? My memory may be faulty here.) I would actually be sorry to hear they're changing the name of this piano to something other than Bohemia.

The one I played had a nice tonal quality and wonderful sustaining qualities and a nice action. My impression is it's a quieter instrument, not as loud inch-for-inch as some other pianos. I would say a Bohemia would not be as loud as the same size Estonia for instance. But louder isn't always better. I, personally, preferred to tonal quality of the Bohemia to that of the Estonias. I think a Bohemia is a charming instrument well suited for the home. You don't have to worry as you do with some other pianos, about it being way too loud (see the other post here running now about pianos being "too loud"!!!)

There are so many GREAT pianos, though, to choose from. It's just too hard to choose when you're looking isn't it? Just buy a handful of pianos and take them home with you.

Jeanne W

Maybe my information is dated. It was my understanding that Bohemias were built in an older factory on dated equipment that used to belong to Petrof. They were built along side the Reiger Kloss pianos. I have only worked on four Bohemia uprights and was unimpressed.
I would be wary of investing in a brand that may become extinct.

I work on many Bohemias. They are indeed manufactured in the same factory as Rieger Kloss, but they have lost the RK name to simplify matters.

Bohemia pianos have been steadily improving over the last 10 years that I've seen them coming from the Czech republic.

Lack of tech support in the US is the only possible drawback, but the dealer that I contract for has been good about backing up his product. And Bohemia has always come through for the dealer. They don't want to deal directly with techs, but that's okay as long as the parts get where they need to go.

All the technical issues I've had with these pianos, both uprights and grands, have been easily remediable.

Subjectively, I really like the tone and touch of these pianos and I think they offer a great value. They are a nice change from the many clone pianos so prevalent in the marketplace.

Hope this helps,

I hadn't quite thought about it that way, but I think you're right--there are many clone pianos out there.

The workmanship I saw on the Bohemia uprights I've played seemed quite good to me though I am not a technician. I liked the tone and feel of the action as well. With Bechstein ownership I would not be concerned about warranty issues but I'd just make sure I have a good tech service the piano.

Rich

Bechsteins's investment should increase Bohemia's chances of surviving.

Estonia has benefited from a distinctive tone and agressive updating by an active CEO. It'll be interesting to see if an active executive will emerge from Bohemia.

Bohemia are build in Jihlava in The Czech Republic (bohemia.com)

Klaas