Baldwin Acrosonic pianos

[mahlermaniac]

Does anyone have any specific thoughts on this brand? I am a total newbie, looking to get a piano in the next 12-18 months.  There seem to be several used Baldwin brand pianos available in my area on Craigslist, in decent condition.

I am a complete piano newbie. I do not need top of the line. My goals are fairly simple: obtain an instrument that does not need any work done on it; ready to play basically (and I know I should have a piano technician inspect before I buy). My main interest is playing classical; though I'd be interested in delving outside of that into other styles a bit. My son is two and a half, and I hope for him to be exposed to it as well.

So for a newbie who doesn't have specific requirements out of the piano, do you think a well maintained Baldwin upright would be a fine starting instrument?

[hfmadopter]

Just don't get a spinet, most everything else will work fine for you given decent condition. Baldwin is fine. Acrosonic has a fourth open string, makes it sing a little differently. Personally, for a first piano I'd try to get a standard piano more so than one of those but again, at this stage it's not a biggy. Later on you will know exactly what you want for yourself and your then 10 year old..

Baldwin uprights have nice tone, are well made and in good shape have decent action as well, even console sized are nice sounding. Forget spinets because they are just too short and goofy to tune.. I have noticed a few Baldwins in our areas craigslist as well. With craigslist just be careful of spammers. My daughter is looking for a used piano too. I'm stearing her clear of Wurlitzer and kind of focusing on Baldwin. The local dealer has two consoles, one is $499 and the other a bit more. The problem with him is the moving charge, it's more than the cost of the piano to my daughters town. Now all of a sudden that $500 piano is more like $1200. Rent a van with a ramp and piano dolly ( her husband used to be a funiture mover) and buy a used one for around $300 and I can tune it, she will be good to go for about $500..

Edit: hold the phone on the fourth string, I believe I've mixed up the term acrosonic.

[hbofinger]

The Acrosonic is a fine spinet, I'd prefer it pretty much over other spinets. However, I deeply agree with the previous poster on spinets in general. There are just too many compromises in design to keep the space footprint down. I do not like them.

[hfmadopter]

The Acrosonic is a fine spinet, I'd prefer it pretty much over other spinets. However, I deeply agree with the previous poster on spinets in general. There are just too many compromises in design to keep the space footprint down. I do not like them.

I read someplace that Baldwin also made the Acrosonic at 40 " for a while and it's a console. If that's the case it may be worth looking into should the OP hit on one. I know nothing about it though personally ( personal experience 0), just what I read online. I've played their consoles and they sound nice, the action quite decent for an upright.

[keys60]

Baldwin Acrosonics made the best spinets. The have a more than slightly different action than most spinets and play fast and solid. They project really well. The midrange is quite decent, but like all spinets, suffer in the lower registers and sound like glass breaking in the top octave. I have one as a second piano that I use for piano tech learning. Its newly restrung and pinned as well as regulated, hammers shaped and voiced. It sounds quite good and projects better than my Charles Walter, but again, the tone is no comparison. A Baldwin Hamilton from the 80's is a fine workhorse and sounds good. Its a well made machine. I recommend it for a first piano.

[indianajo]

I've played both Baldwin Acrosonic's and The budget line Howard.  I've liked all that I played, but the Acrosonic line tends to be a little louder and more brilliant in tone in my opinion. The action was fine on either line.   They have made 36" tall spinets, 39 or 40" consoles, and 44" studios.  With the price of moving and tuning being much higher than the piano itself, I would look for a 40" or 44" if I was starting out.  The 36" spinets I have played sounded okay with the limited bass, but any 36" action is not as fast as a 40" or 44" action.  All these old pianos have held up better than some other old US brands, indicating better wood and temperature control in the hammers, for example.  Other competent 1941-1978 pianos I have played were Wurlitzer, Mason & Hamlin, Sohmer, Goodman, and of course Steinway.  
This experience is limited the the pianos from the US Baldwin factory.  The name has been continued by an importer of pianos and I have never played one of those  I understand the recycled US brand names are used as budget lines for the premium oriental made brands.  
I've also played some pre-1940 Baldwin upright pianos, that tend to be taller than 44".  These were also competent pianos, but have a "tinkly" tone more suitable for ragtime or jazz piano.  I used to disrespect this tone quality, but I heard a Beethoven concerto from Deutche Velle radio on an "authentic period" grand piano, and it had a tinkly tone that sounded similar to me to the pre 1940 US upright pianos.  The biggest drawback of the uprights is the weight in moving. They weigh about 600 lb compared to 400 or less for postwar console or studio pianos. 

[asuhayda]

Does anyone have any specific thoughts on this brand?

Great pianos.  Can't go wrong with a Baldwin really.  They are owned by Gibson (the Guitar company).  I don't think they make pianos anymore, unfortunately.  So, you're going to be hard pressed to find a new one.  But,  even a used or rebuilt one would be a fine choice.

Good luck.

[mahlermaniac]

It turns out, most of the acrosonics available on craigslist are spinets. No thank you. Looks like we'll be doing a Knabe console (I don't remember which model number). It's brand new and has a warranty so that's a bonus as I wouldn't know where to begin if a used piano needed some work.