Playing on a Spinet

[lisztmusicfan]

Hello all,
I'm an aspiring pianist who has been playing piano for about a year. I'm a very ambitious student and I love to tackle harder pieces such as Debussys Estampes and Chopin nocturnes and waltzes. But the only piano that I have access to on a regular basis is a very old spinet. It's sounds ok to me, but I'm not sure that I should keep it if I'm just shooting myself in the foot by playing it, because I heard that they are cheaply made and are basically awful. So should I get a new piano, because I would really love to go far in music.
Thanks,
Logan

[iansinclair]

It rather depends on the particular spinet, doesn't it?  I occasionally play my sister's Steinway (1930s) spinet, and it's fine -- good control, nice action, reasonable range of volume (not a grand, but something's got to give).  Lovely piano to play.

On the other hand, years ago I had the opportunity to play on a Baldwin Acrosonic (I think -- not all that well maintained as it was in a practice room in a student union in an engineering school) which was horrible.  (NOTE: before someone screams, I'm not saying that all Baldwin Acrosonic spinets are horrible -- just this one).

So... if the piano has good action and good repetition, decent tone and control, I wouldn't see a problem with it at all, for a good long time.

[indianajo]

In our market, pianos under 39" tall are designated as spinets, according to the website "how to buy a piano" or something.  I played a Baldwin Acrosonic 36 spring a year ago, and it was a pure delight, for a tiny little piano.  I played a Mason & Hamlin 36 at Goodwill resale store 2 years ago that had a great tone.  The bass notes on these are interference mixtures of two tones, but I find them quite pleasant.  The bass notes on my 39 Sohmer and 40 Steinway consoles are also interferance design, and I really prefer their sound to a fundamental like an expensive Yamaha 44" at my church.  
36" pianos won't repeat a note as fast as a quality 39", 40",  or a grand, but few pieces require that actually.  don't try Night in the Garden of Spain on one, but then that piece is way beyond me on any piano.  
People love to sneer at the 36" ers, but they often go for <$200 and are way easier to get up the stairs and into the trunk of your car.  For 95% of the repretoire, IMHO, they are fine.  The Mason & Hamlin was $40, and if I ever get a park band gig, I'm going to wish I had bought it.  
I played a Baldwin Acrosonic 39" at a charity dinner Dec 7, and it was a delight to play on.  Those are some of the loudest consoles I have ever played; this one filled a fellowship hall that could feed 200 people at once.  I have fond memories of an Acrosonic I played in a school cafeteria at Piano Guild competitions in 1964.  
By contrast, the worst piano I ever touched was a Winter spinet, a low priced brand of the Kimbal factory I believe.  The hammer shafts were all warped where the felts didn't hit the strings, the sound was awful,  the action was uneven.   I helped the family that owned it cut it up with a body grinder and power saw and fit it into the trash can over several weeks.  Kimbal 39 consoles don't wear all that well, they were fine in the first year or two I suppose.  But the Kimbals in US Army clubs I have played were both showing serious signs of breaking down due to wear. 
BTW, I have read that Steinway refused to make Spinets, ie 36" pianos.  I have a 40 made in 1941, the shortest model they ever made I read according to a former salesman Handyczech from Chicago,  and am delighted with it.  Fast, great tone, hold tune like the pins are glued in.  It has holes in the front to project the sound out at me instead of out to some mythical audience out behind the back.  
Furthermore, I've never played a console piano newer than 1982 that I liked.  I tried 3 brands at the store in 82, Steinway, Everett, Sohmer, liked them all and bought the Sohmer.  The 2005? Yamaha 44 at the church has a boring tone.  The Yamaha 44 I played at a potential teacher's house had a fakey sound damper as the middle pedal, instead of a lower half sustain, or the last note played action I really want to try out.  The Yamaha also had a dippy electroplay mechanism.  If I want autoplay I'll use LP's on my US made stereo equipment.  12/26 I had a chance to play my high school friend's  "superior" four year old Pearl River 39 console.  Besides the low volume of the bass string that has broken 3 times in 4 years, the sound was unmemorable.  He has decided his Yamahe electric keyboard is his final choice, and I have to agree with him if he is unwilling to cart around a wood piano made in the classic years on his travels in his motorhome. His *****y sound amplification system is not a problem to him as his daughter requests him play on headphones the minute she walks in.  

[hfmadopter]

To me a spinet is a small ( short, as in not tall) upright piano with drop action in it. I played a small Baldwin years ago that was quite good. Spinets are not inherently bad pianos, they are inherently a little different from regular uprights and a little tough to tune. They generally have a bit slower action , which may or may not show itself when you get to about grade six level work, some pieces around grade six or seven level can get some speedy repeats in them.. But some folks love a good one. No upright would be my first choice to go out and purchase to begin with and a spinet my last choice but that isn't to say that they are all bad pianos. I certainly would play on one and practice on one if that is what was available to me. I have the room for a 6 ft grand so I own one an inch short of that. And I own a digital keyboard, both work well for me regardless of other peoples opinions of either. Play what you have access to !!

If your piano holds it's tune and plays pretty decently then you should practice on it. You will know when you need something different in an instrument.

[keys60]

Spinets are on the bottom of the food chain as far as pianos go, but frankly, I love the Baldwin Acrosonic spinet Ca. 1950. The action is light, fast and responsive. The piano really projects well. I have a few pianos, that being one of them. I actually restrung it which is a rare find. Since I did it as a learning project while apprenticing as a tech, it really didn't cost much to do. My daughter play Chopin pieces on it, Henle editions. Since her hands are small, the lightness of the keys keep her from getting fatigued. Of course the lower register is week and the upper register sounds like broken glass, but overall, it gets the job done. i really do need to get at least a baby grand in here someday. Space is at a premium.