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My Digital Piano stopped working and I found a free Baldwin Acrosonic Spinet on Craigslist. I believe it was made around 1946. All the keys work and to my ears it sounds in tune (tuning app shows otherwise and keys tend to me mostly flat).

Can anyone suggest a piano tech in the Metro Detroit Area? Should I look for a tech that has experience working on this particular Piano? Aside from a tuning what should I ask the tech to check out? Do piano techs inspect the piano when tuning or would that be a separate fee?

As no one has yet answered, for what its worth, my opinion ....

I think you may actually struggle to find a tech willing to work on a near 80 year old spinet (other than someone just starting out and not experienced enough yet to know they shouldn't have). Been there done that.

The reason is, not only are they hard to work on, difficult to tune at the best of times, at that age things are likely to break while they are working on it. Then the owner expects them to fix it at no cost, or is unhappy because it sounds crappy for some reason and then the tech's reputation gets hammered.

There is a good reason the piano was free.

JohnCW speaks the truth, Sherman197111.

The Acrosonic was a good little piano in its time and place. It was never meant to last 80 years. I suggest going to www.PTG.org and clicking on “find a technician”. Put in your zip code and see what comes up.

Now that you understand the possible issues of your piano, you can have a realistic expectation for service. If the technician knows you understand what you have, they can come out and have a frank conversation about what they can and cannot do. That can take a lot of pressure off of everybody.

Good luck!

We have a 1946 Acrosonic in the fellowship hall of our church. It was donated by a parishioner (now deceased) and had been her childhood piano. Still a nice looking piece of furniture, but the sound is extremely bright (original hammers) and the piano feels quite fragile overall. As a result, the piano is rarely used . I question how much a tech would be able to do to "improve" it at this point. A moderately priced digital piano would provide a more satisfactory playing experience.

To address your original questions: you could do a search for piano tuner/technicians in your area on the Internet, or even the various phone directories. If you talk to one, that person could answer the rest of your questions, because they may pertain to the individual.

The Piano Technicians Guild website has a 'Find a Technician' webpage where you enter your zip code and it displays all members of the guild within a nominated distance.

One of the local PTG chapter meetings that I attended last year had the audience of techs more engaged then usual because they were sharing stories about the no-win situation that happens when they are asked to fix up some "free" piano, most commonly old spinets. The had a lot more patience for reviving a family heirloom than taking on a free piano.

I won't speak for JohnCW, but I would tell you to keep looking for at least a console model that would have more potential than a spinet.

Personally, at this point I'd probably refuse an Acrosonic of that age. The main reason is that these actions are a real pain to remove and replace--there is VERY little clearance in there and it's easy to mangle dampers or break other parts when you try to get it back in. (If you have no trouble with that, I salute you....)

The problem is, if you're a tech and you agree to take it on, you kind of own anything that require removing the action, such as string replacement, broken hammers, etc. So let's say you start tuning and you break a string or two, or you discover a some tight flange--now what? You either have to deal with getting that stupid action out and in or refer them to someone else, which I hate having to do.

As a European who moved to the USA and discovered the existence of the Acrosonic…. Don’t do it

For some inexplicable reason, my Dad bought a new Acrosonic spinet in 1953 even though neither he nor his second wife played the piano. I had access to that piano during my annual summer visits with him from age 7 through high school, and I was the only one of his six kids who learned to play. If the piano had limitations, they certainly didn't bother me as the instrument was as good or better than the other pianos I had access to the rest of the year. I spent many happy hours playing the Acrosonic, In fact, I was grateful for any piano I could get my hands on back then. It is amazing how popular the Acrosonics were in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, but, as has been stated previously, they had a limited lifespan and were difficult to tune.

Update on the piano...
Yesterday I had the piano tuned (found a person on Craigslist and he charged me $120). He did not find anything wrong with the piano (though did not feel it was a piano worth upgrading).

Having now played it for a few hours I am very satisfied and coming from a digital piano (Kawai l1) I'd say it's a major improvement. My children who play a Baldwin Hamilton at their Mom's also agreed it sounded pretty good after being tuned.

In any event between the mover and tuner I am out a total of $270 (much less they I would have paid for a digital piano).

I'm not the best piano player but if there is a way to post video/audio I'd be happy to demo and would welcome any comments about by the sound. (Any tips on how to record with an iPhone or where I should position my phone for the best sound).

I grew up playing a Gulbransen spinet. When mom moved (out of state) the piano stayed, and the house was rented out. During the mid '90's, I fell on hard times and mom let me 'rent' the house, in exchange for doing some remodeling. Even though I had a Roland RD-500 at the time, I found myself occasionally playing the spinet.

Enjoy!

I’m glad you found someone to tune it and that you’re enjoying the piano. Happy playing!

If you're looking for a free or nearly free piano, at least hold out for a studio sized model. They're out there.

A cannon event for sure