Advice on a Kimball Baby Grand.

[cristomike2]

First off, I already have this piano in my posession and have done a bit of research but was hoping someone with a lot more knowledge here could give me some advice being that I do not know much about pianos (not my primary instrument).

I was given one of the Kimballs used in the 1984 Olympic opening ceremony. Its a glossy white 5'8" Baby Grand that has a small plaque on the inside giving a little bit of the history of that event, ect. Mechanically, it seems to be fully functional with no dead keys or anything like that. There is some pretty considerable damage to the lid where years of sunlight has caused the finish to peel and crack on the lid and music rack.

I've read a bit about the history of the company and mostly gotten that Kimball pianos are not necessarily known for their quality instruments, especially newer pianos. What I'm more concerned about is whether or not this piano is worth keeping as it takes up quite a lot of space. If it is a decent instrument I would consider getting a professional to do repairs(if necessary).

I CAN supply pictures if necessary, but it might take a while as I am currently away from home.

[j_tour]

I can't say, obviously, without playing the instrument, but if it were me, I'd sell it and, if desired, basically swap it for as much Yamaha acoustic as you can get.

When I was a teenager and lived with my folks, we had a Kimball (I don't remember the year, but it was pretty old) supposedly from a deceased grand-aunt who was some kind of piano teacher out in the sticks.

I don't remember the exact length, but you could call it a baby grand size.

Very loud.  The voicing of the hammers was terrible, at least to my tastes, the sustain and una corda pedal mechanisms were not good.  I don't know if the pegs were all messed up from age, but it wouldn't hold a tuning.

The best piano tech in town, she couldn't even do anything with it, and basically said forget about it, let me only play and work on the old honky-tonk upright on the other side of the room.  She could tune it, of course, but that was her opinion as well.

I guess it was a good piece of furniture, and I've visited back there a year or two ago and did a little session on it, just me alone doing some jazz stuff, and it still had those qualities, but I could get a bit of music out of it.  Probably just from years of experience playing on bad pianos.

The action was heavy, but I kind of like a heavier action, just for the tactile feedback.  Not sluggish, but heavy.

So, the action was OK, and it made for good furniture, I guess, is my summary.  And I restate, it was appallingly loud, even for a pretty good-sized room, but you're going to get that anyway.

So, I don't know for your case, but that's what I know about Kimball pianos.