Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum 1993 Baldwin L 6'3"- Fair Price ?

I'm about to buy a 1993 Baldwin L S/N L319954 for $9,000. Apparently, this is at the tail end of the period the pianos were made in Ohio. The piano has had just one owner, has not been moved. It's got a satin finish, is slightly out of tune, but has been maintained by the same tech since it was purchased. Any idea whether this seems like a fair price ?

If the piano is in good condition, that's not a bad price.
Any serious seller of a piano worth several thousand dollars would do well to have the piano serviced by a good technician prior to showing it to potential buyers. How can you fairly evaluate the tone of a piano when it isn't in tune?

Have you called the technician who services the piano to ask about its service history and condition? Are the bridges (sometimes troublesome on Baldwins from that period, if memory serves) in good shape, and is the pin block and soundboard free of issues? Was the piano in an extremely dry environment that can hurt its longevity?

As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider, which is why an independent tech inspection is often suggested for used pianos.

You should have the piano inspected by a piano technician that you trust who has no connection to the seller.

If the piano has no problems and less than 20% wear-$9K is a very favorable value for a pianist. Don't know where you could get more piano for the same or less cost.

In good condition, that would be a fair price. Do have it inspected. Also, Baldwin stopped making pianos in Ohio well before 1993... by several decades.

Hi HomeyCat - Welcome to Piano World!

If the piano passes a thorough inspection, I agree that it would be a good price.

B-986 questioned where the piano was built, and he is correct that it would not have been built in Cincinnati. By the end of the 1950's, Baldwin was moving their production facilities to Arkansas. Eventually they also opened a plant in Mexico. If it is from Arkansas, that's good.

Your piano was built before the unfortunate reign of "The Soap Lady." It was a rather dismal period. But, the piano you are considering is before Baldwin went down the drain and those instruments can be very fine, indeed.

Keep us posted and ask all the questions you have.

Cheers,

Wow- thanks for the help. I appreciate the friendly tone of your responses.
I'm having my jazz teacher go with me to take another look at the piano tomorrow, and see what he thinks about the voicing, and instrument quality. I appreciate the feedback you've provided, and might see if I can find another tech to take a look at it.

Thanks again.

Unless your jazz teacher is extremely knowledgeable about the insides of pianos, not having a tech inspect it is taking some risk I think. Your teacher could certainly help you evaluate the touch and possibly the tone(difficult if out of tune). For a 9K purchase on a used piano, I think $100-200 is a very worthwhile security investment.

I just had a strange idea. All too common is this situation where the seller has an out of tune piano. And it's somewhat understandable. They're trying to make money from it, not spend money on it since there's a risk they don't sell it or it goes out of tune before they do and they have to do it all over again.

And we're always here saying "get a tech to inspect it..." Getting a tech to inspect it costs about $100. Getting it tuned costs about $100 ($135 in my town). Why not hire a tech to tune it. Would it be that much more effort for the tech to "inspect it?" My guess is a lot of it's visual, see if bridges are cracked, strings are rusted, etc...? They'll be hitting the keys while tuning anyway which I assume is part of the inspection. WDYT?

...and part of me thinks, I'm going to have a tech work on it after I buy it anyway, so I'm not really sure I want to pay for work to be done on it before I move it. I like how you think MichaelHa :-)

Hello again, HomeyCat.

Well, tomorrow is the big day. The best advice is to form your own opinion when you get to play the piano. If the tuning is not absolutely horrible, you will get a feeling for the piano and then decide if you want to have a technician do a thorough inspection.

Keep us posted and let us know your reactions and those of your teacher.

Have Fun !

Well, I bought it. Based on the history I knew about the seller and her piano student daughter (now grown and away) we figured it had probably been played most frequently from 1993 - 2000 about an hour a day. Since then had been played only occasionally, while remaining in a room with a north facing window.

My piano teacher really liked it, and pointed out some things to look for. He crawled underneath to look for cracks in the soundboard, examined the hammers for grooves in the felt, etc.

Here's a clip on YouTube. It sounds pretty good for being out of tune and recorded with my phone. (I'm not in the picture other than my voice). http://youtu.be/JBbT8GpHK2k

Congratulations! Looks and sounds lovely, and seems it's been lightly used.

Thanks. Can't wait to have it in MY living room :-)

People like seeing pictures, even of the delivery and set up. Just saying......


and congratulations.

Congratulations HomeyCat!

You have found a fine instrument and that one really has the "Baldwin Sound."

Well, you shared the asking price, and even if there were no negotiations, you might have found the bargain of the century.

Now comes the worst part, waiting for delivery.

Congratulations on the purchase of your Baldwin L... a fine piano!

Rick

Congratulations! I am sure you will love your new piano and what a great price!

The L was a personal favorite. '93 was a good year at the Conway plant. Congratulations!

Here it is- This things looks and sounds AMAZING in my living room :

Delivery and Setup: http://93baldwin.tumblr.com/post/79079191855

Ready to Play: http://93baldwin.tumblr.com/post/79079361924

Here it is- This things looks and sounds AMAZING in my living room :

Delivery and Setup: http://93baldwin.tumblr.com/post/79079191855

Ready to Play: http://93baldwin.tumblr.com/post/79079361924