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Hello! I am looking at a Baldwin Hamilton 5028, serial# 389439. The seller says he is the original owner, and that the piano was purchased in 1985. As has been noted in other threads, Baldwin serial numbers are a bit confusing, so if anyone can verify it's age, I would be grateful.

We are planning to go look at it tomorrow (Sat). The cabinet, at least, appears to be in pristine condition. Assuming it is in as good of condition as the photos suggest, is $600 a reasonable price for this piano?

Thank you.

According to the BlueBook of Pianos website, it shows the serial numbers for 1984-387119 and 1985-394421. So, the age of the Baldwin/Hamilton you are looking at is on par with the owner's information.

If the piano is in good condition, and is serviceable, $600 is a very good price. Keep in mind you will need to pay for moving and tuning. It is always a good idea to have a used piano checked out by a qualified piano tech, which cost around $100 or so, more or less. But in this case, since the cost of the piano is relatively low, you could just check it out yourself when you look at it, and save that money for moving and tuning.

Make sure all the notes play, no keys sticking, and no particular notes are way out of tune compared to the rest of the piano. Check the sustain pedal for proper operation. Open the top and look at the hammers to make sure the string grooves are not excessive. Make sure you like the looks of it and how it plays and sounds.

Good luck!

Rick

Thank you! Yes, we looked at an antique Mason & Hamlin yesterday with a technician, but we decided that's not the right instrument for us. The roads are icy today, but hopefully we'll get to see the Baldwin before someone else snatches it up.

So we got to see the Baldwin today. It looks like it has been beautifully maintained, and the inside has very little dust accumulation. All of the keys played easily, the felts have minimal indentations on them, no cracks in the soundboard. It hasn't been tuned in 2 years, but the pitch sounded good. The one issue was that the sustain pedal worked unevenly across the keyboard. Some keys in the middle register didn't sustain at all, some did a little but sounded muffled, and some sustained normally. Just so I have an idea what to expect when I have a tech look at it... Is this likely to be an easy fix, or a costly budget-breaker?

Probably better posted in the tech section, but I'll risk embarrassing myself and give it a shot. Maybe the damper lifter rod (or whatever it's called) is a little loose from the rail at one or more points along it's length. If only loose screws, then no big deal, I'd guess. Do all the dampers work ok when you don't use the pedal?

+1

I'm no pro either, but my guess would be it's a relatively simple/easy fix, as tend to rush mentioned. I wouldn't think it'd be a costly deal breaker, but your tech can say for sure...

All the best!

Rick

Yes, they work. Thank you for the response.

It's tough to say without seeing the piano in person. What's your budget for tuning and repairs? Figure a pitch raise and tuning since it hasn't been done in a couple years (did you measure the pitch of a few different As with a chromatic tuner, by any chance?), plus whatever it costs to fix this other issue. Most techs I know charge $60-100 an hour for repairs, and tuning rates vary just as much, based on location and the level of experience/business acumen of the technician. Within an hour of my location, a standard tuning (without a pitch raise) costs anywhere between $100-150.