Baldwin

For current-model, new pianos: North American Music, Inc. 11 Holt Drive Stony Point, New York 10980 845-429-0106

For parts and warranty information on older pianos: Baldwin Piano Company 309 Plus Park Boulevard Nashville, Tennessee 37217 615-871-4500 870-483-6111 (parts) 800-444-2766 (Baldwin 24/7 consumer hotline) www.baldwinpiano.com

Pianos made by: Baldwin (Zhongshan) Piano and Musical Instrument Co., Ltd., Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China; Parsons Music Ltd., Yichang, Hubei Province, China; and Samick Musical Instrument Mfg. Co. Ltd., Bogor, West Java, Indonesia

Baldwin Piano & Organ Co. was established in Cincinnati in 1862 as a retail enterprise and began manufacturing its own line of pianos in 1890. Throughout most of the 20th century, the company was considered one of the most successful and financially stable piano makers in the United States. Beginning in the 1980s, however, the quality declined, especially as a result of the relocation of action manufacturing to Mexico. In 2001, a combination of foreign competition and management problems resulted in bankruptcy, and purchase by Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Baldwin currently manufactures vertical pianos for the U.S. market in a factory it owns in Zhongshan, China, where it also maintains a major presence in the Chinese domestic, and other international, piano markets. It also contracts with Parsons Music, a large, well-respected manufacturer associated with a chain of music schools and stores in Hong Kong and China, to have grand pianos made under the Baldwin name. In 2007, Baldwin purchased a formerly government-owned piano factory in Dongbei, China, and for a while made grand pianos there, but due to a dispute with the Chinese government, production at that factory has been temporarily halted.

The company ceased regular piano production at its only remaining U.S. factory, in Trumann, Arkansas, at the end of 2008, though the facility remains open as a U.S. distribution and service center. Pianos sold in the U.S. now bear only the Baldwin name; all other piano names Baldwin owns and has recently used, such as Hamilton, Wurlitzer, Chickering, Howard, and D.H. Baldwin, have been retired, although some pianos bearing those names may remain on showroom floors for quite some time until sold.

Baldwin has re-created versions of most of its former U.S. vertical models at its facility in Zhongshan. In most instances, both the cabinet styling and the musical scale designs of the former models have been copied. Models B342 and B442 are 43" consoles, in attractive furniture styles similar to those of the former Acrosonic models 2096 and 2090, respectively, but with updated scale designs. Models B243, BPE1, and BPC3T are similar to the famous Baldwin Hamilton studio, the most popular school piano ever built, with toe-block construction. Model BPC5 is a replica of the former Baldwin model 248, and model B252 is a nearly exact replica of the former 52" model 6000 upright, with Accu-just hitch pins, though with a bass sustain instead of a sostenuto pedal.

The Baldwin grands made by Parsons Music, known as the Professional Series, have some similarities to the former U.S.-made Artist grands in terms of cabinet styling and material specifications, but the scale designs have been changed. Premium features include a maple rim, sand-cast plate, solid Alaskan Sitka spruce soundboard, duplex scaling, real ebony-wood sharps, German Röslau music wire, German Abel hammers, and a slow-close fallboard. All grand models are now available in a hand-rubbed, satin ebony finish.

Baldwin recently introduced a lower-priced Academy Series of grand pianos, made in Indonesia by Samick. The differences between the Academy Series and the Professional Series are as follows: the 4' 9" model B146 does not have duplex scaling; hammers on most models are not sourced from Abel; sizes and scale designs are different; the sharps (black keys) are synthetic rather than wood; the rims are made of Mercanti and beech rather than maple; and the soundboards are of veneered spruce. However, the 7' 1" model B217 grand, which was introduced in 2021, has a beech rim, ebony sharps, and Abel hammers.

Baldwin has licensed the Magic-Lid (formerly known as Safety-Ease) slow-close grand lid system, which is now standard on the 5' 10" model BP178 and the 6' 3" model BP190.

Baldwin sells an electronic player-piano system called ConcertMaster, available only on Baldwin pianos.

Warranty: 10 years, parts and labor, to the original purchaser.