Low end baldwins (was Wretched S&S & Yamahas)

RustRazor@AOL.COM RustRazor@AOL.COM
Sun, 24 Dec 2000 13:43:32 EST


In a message dated 12/24/00 12:34:54 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
RNossaman@KSCABLE.com writes:

<< 
 They sure seem to be, don't they, but then again, how wonderful do they
 start out?  Maybe the short warranty is indicative of something here. The
 warranty for the grands has been five years, but the last new vertical I
 tuned had a sticker under the lid that said "one year warranty", or
 something to that effect. I haven't chased this down to verify, but a one
 year warranty on a new piano in this price range seems just a tad on the
 slim side to me. Maybe I'm just living in a warm and fuzzy fantasy world.
 Anybody have any information on this? - That's the warranty, not my fantasy
 world. -
 
 Got to agree about the Yamahas too. Even if they don't reflect my ideal in
 tone quality, I am vastly impressed with their tunability, durability,
 serviceability, tuning  stability, regulation stability, and overall
 playability. Warranty support, and the willingness of the company
 representatives to communicate with the field techs and take them seriously
 is, in my opinion, a model for the rest of the industry as well. Kawai too,
 for that matter, though I don't deal with them as much. 
  >>

I would like to chime in about low-end baldwin pianos.  I haven't really come 
across any newer high-end Baldwin grands but I have heard that they are 
supposed to be pretty nice...at least comparable to the older Baldwin grands 
- from the days when Baldwin made a really respectable piano.  However I have 
had the (mis)fortune of working on lots of their new uprights and low-end 
grands which I feel I can sum up in two words: pretty lame.   Everything from 
bad tuning scales to inferior quality in parts.  If Yamaha can produce such 
quality across the board in their products - doesn't that say something about 
a company that puts all efforts into their high-end products, but leaves 
truckloads to be desired in their studio uprights and cheaper grands?

Matt in Suffolk County, NY


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