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For a long time when calling the Baldwin dealers and asking about a 7 foot or nine foot grand they would say it is not made.. Finally the 7 foot is now available.. The once known SF-10 is now the BP-211.. I understand only 20 have been made.. The dealer in my town received 2 of them and before they arrived one had already been sold. The pictures linked to the gallery are of the one left that is in the showroom.. Some details I found interesting: the hammers are from Renner and have a green underfelt, the other smaller grand's use Abel. The lid and key cover is on hydraulics so it will not slam shut or fall. Gone are the accu-just hitch pins. the string scale has changed on the new model, the sound holes on the plate are redesigned, bracing of the plate from underneath is similar in design to the Steinway B. The down weight was in the 52 to 54 gram area , lid prop has 3 sizes and fit into each other. decal on the soundboard, differently tapered sharps ..
Since the piano had just arrived not long ago it was still settling into its new home and it needed prep and tuning, so a critic of the sound and feel would not be valid yet. But I could hear a good potential and feel out of the box. So after prep and tuning will have to post a video and recording.. The pictures are not the greatest but at least for now until I get a better camera its something. As of now I cannot find anything on this piano and this may be the only thing for the moment until others show up at the dealers.. I was hoping to see and take pictures of the action but as it was late. Maybe next time. The price on the 7 foot is around $40k.
The new Baldwin grand models are according to centimeters..BP-148= 4'10", BP-152=5',BP-165=5'5",BP-178=5'10", BP-190=6'3", BP-211=6'11"..BP-275=9'1"
So this is all I have for now on this piano that until recently did not exist. Hopefully someone with a better camera can get some better pictures and post more info on it...



PS- Not sure how to post pictures to the form so here is the link to the photo gallery..

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/galleries/2691145/new-baldwin-bp-211.html





bp-211

Judging by the hydraulics on the lid I would guess this piano comes from the hailun factory. It is Chinese made?

Yes, it is Chinese made. Ill add that to the post.

Thank you for the post. I had not known about this model.



This is not meant as a negative to this piano, but it is a totally new design to Baldwin. It looks like there is no visible influence from the SF-10.

To my knowledge, this is not produced by Hailun. The Magic Lid/HLPS/whatever you want to call their lid assist mechanism is something that’s starting to be offered by other makers, if memory serves.

This model was supposed to be on display at NAMM last year, and I’d bet we might see one this time around.

I thought that Baldwin grands were made by Parsons Music, but "sroreilly" thinks that this one might be made by Hailun. Can you tell us the name of the manufacturer?

It looks like a Steinway with squared off sound holes

It is made at Parsons.

Finally. This has been rumored about for a couple years and now there are some real pianos to examine. Given that Parsons builds the other Baldwin grands, I can’t see them using another maker for the 211.

It does look more Steinway-ish than Baldwin-
With an SMP of just under $41k (current PB), this one could prove a formidable competitor IF the tone and action live up to the expectations of the best SF-10s. Time will tell.

I must express some sadness in knowing this piano is not built here. I a also not sure about calling this a Baldwin. If it can stand on its own merits, why not use a new name. Hailun does this.

Thanks for posting this information. Please keep us updated.

Perhaps they should call it a Bald-way, or a Stein-win.

To go with a Mason & Hambone?

It will be interesting to see the reviews for this one. Will it be up to the level as the SF 10? Time will tell... I notice it had the Steinway bell underneath to stabilize the sound board. I thought that was only a Steinway feature. Thanks for passing along the info and pictures.

I never got to crawl under a Yamaha CF4 or CF6 but I heard they also have these treble bells.

My understanding, from reading posts from Mr. Del Fandrich on this forum, of these treble bells is that they stiffened the cast iron frame further in the treble section, therefore vibration energy of treble strings won't dissipate (through capo bar) to the frame.

Correct , as I understood it that treble bell is to stabilize that part of the plate. Interesting to note, If you spray painted that bell black it would look exactly like the one on a Steinway B .. It also looked like they might be interchangeable. Another thing that I found was that the agraffes that are used have a pin going through them horizontally so the strings are in contact with a pin rather than a chamfered hole. Someone might know more about this and give some more info on it. I also wanted to correct something as to how many BP 211s were made. I had wrote that 20 were made, actually only 12 have been made.. So a correction there. I will be getting more information on the specs and will post for those interested as it gives comparisons to the Steinway.. I also got information on the models and it listed a BP-275. So it looks like a 9 foot is on the way at some point.. Will see...:]

Very interesting. I don’t suppose you would care to identify the dealer who was fortunate to snag two of these, would you?

Dear William:

I don't know if you're familiar with that famous quote: "There is no Garbo. There is no Dietrich. There is only Louise Brooks."

In a COMPLETELY different context, one might say: "There is no Mason. There is no Hamlin. There is only Bruce Clark."

- at least to these old ears.

Karl Watson,
Staten Island, NY

The information poste by 7naturals is very informative given that Baldwin itself has not even listed this piano on its website. They do list all the US made Artist grands, along with list prices, and the home page still touts the praises of the pianos that are built in Arkansas. Moreover, the main Gibson site makes no reference to Baldwin being part of its product family.

Interesting that you should make this observation about the appearance of this new Baldwin BP211, which is the same length as the Steinway Model B. A knowledgeable acquaintance of mine in the piano business said that the pianos made in China by Parsons Music (Brodmann, Wilh. Steinberg, Friedrich Grotrian, etc.) are very close copies of Steinway designs. As Parsons makes the Baldwin grands, it is only logical that these Baldwin-branded instruments also resemble Steinways.

Ah Karl, yes, I am indeed familiar with that quote and "Lulu".

And one might also say that, "There is some Mason. There is some Hamlin. There is even still some Gertz. There is not only Bruce Clark, although sometimes it may seem that way."

William:

With great respect, I can't agree.
A nameplate, a full perimeter frame, and a spider do not suffice to make them Masons.
BC has admitted that absolutely NO, repeat NO reference whatever was made to the former BB and A scales.
They are new pianos. I actually LIKE the new B and AA as they are good pianos, in my opinion, although not suggesting Mason tone in any way.
I owned an A from the late Boston period and spent hours every day for years working at that piano. It was characteristic in every way, complete with an ORIGINAL W,N&G action (never my favourite). When it comes to Mason tone, I can't be fooled, fooled by out of control yelling tirades, two inches from my nose, spit flying everywhere, or by promotional literature that suggest that the new pianos have Mason DNA. They don't.
Can you name a single pianist of international repute that is welcome at Haverhill ?
When I was a boy at the National Music Camp (Interlochen), I often played a rather elderly Lester concert grand (it had two sticks). Although most of the concert pianos were Baldwins, good ones, the Lester was in an out of the way venue that meant that I could work at it rather often. It was better in every way than the new, so called CC.
Sorry to be intense about this, but, there you have it.

Karl