What a beautiful beast!
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A local church hosted a number of big piano concerts back in the day, so back in 1981 they purchased a 9’ Baldwin SD10. 44 years later and they are renovating and traded the piano towards a 7’. The SD10 sat in our warehouse for months with us arguing about whether we should rebuild the piano, refurbish the cabinet, or sell as is. I argued to keep it exactly as is and price it low. So they finally brought it to my store today, and it is a beautiful beast of an instrument, with signatures on the plate from Ferrante and Teischer, Walter Noona (more than a few of us had to play his exercises), and (one for @Jolly ) Billy Graham… The insides are in fantastic shape, so rebuilding would be a waste of an incredible piano, and I’m worried that a cabinet guy would refinish everything, including the plate.
Damn, if I had the space, I would be tempted.
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Funny you should mention Baldwin...
The wife was pulling an ox out of a ditch last night and playing in the next town for a church choir practice. The church had a well-maintained L and great acoustics. She had to sit on the soft pedal, close the lid and watch how she leaned into the piano or she would "walk" over the small choir.
After they got through and it was just us visiting with the Music Minister, I put the lid up on the high stick and told her to lean into it. She played an old quartet tune, Goodbye, World Goodbye.
Good piano...
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I’ve always loved the Baldwin Artist Grands. The M was maybe the best baby grand ever built, and the R-L could go up against a lot of great mid-sized instruments and hold their own. The SF10 and SD10, though? Yeah, those are special.
Had to watch the QC in the mid to late 90s through the end (I haven’t tried one of the Parsons instruments), but when you found a good one, it was very good. Quite frankly, they are likely the best value on the used piano market. Used SF10s are very inexpensive compared to a comparable Steinway, Mason, and such…
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Just another note...You hear the song played at a tempo where you can sing it (Wally Varner in this case) or you can speed it up just a hair for an instrumental.
Link to videoI associate the song with Jake Hess. Jake has a small solo in this version...
Link to video -
$26,250 for this 1981 model
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$26,250 for this 1981 model
@Copper said in What a beautiful beast!:
$26,250 for this 1981 model
Does it have Noona’s signature? How about Ferrante and Teicher?
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Sold!
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One of the nicest pianos I ever played was a new SD10 - sitting right next to a 9 ft Bechstein. No comparison - loved the SD10. About a year ago, I could have had an SD10 for $1,500 - decent shape. It was a case where the owner had passed - and they needed it out ASAP. If it had been at a different point in my life, I'd have grabbed it in a nanosecond.
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One of the nicest pianos I ever played was a new SD10 - sitting right next to a 9 ft Bechstein. No comparison - loved the SD10. About a year ago, I could have had an SD10 for $1,500 - decent shape. It was a case where the owner had passed - and they needed it out ASAP. If it had been at a different point in my life, I'd have grabbed it in a nanosecond.
@kluurs said in What a beautiful beast!:
One of the nicest pianos I ever played was a new SD10 - sitting right next to a 9 ft Bechstein. No comparison - loved the SD10. About a year ago, I could have had an SD10 for $1,500 - decent shape. It was a case where the owner had passed - and they needed it out ASAP. If it had been at a different point in my life, I'd have grabbed it in a nanosecond.
Thank you! For some reason there has been this story floating around that Bechstein designed the SD10. I have heard both sides, but the reality is that there is nothing that I have ever heard on either piano (and remember that I did sell Bechstein for a time) that was similar in any way. I just don’t see, hear, or feel it.
By the way, that brings up another point. I hear A LOT of people talk about how they LOVE the European Sound. So “full and warm” with depth!
7 out of 10 European pianos that I have played were screamingly bright. They sounded like glass.
The Brad
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But I have always been a fan of Baldwin. Love the pianos.
And if it wasn’t for Baldwin, I probably would never have met Karla.
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@kluurs said in What a beautiful beast!:
One of the nicest pianos I ever played was a new SD10 - sitting right next to a 9 ft Bechstein. No comparison - loved the SD10. About a year ago, I could have had an SD10 for $1,500 - decent shape. It was a case where the owner had passed - and they needed it out ASAP. If it had been at a different point in my life, I'd have grabbed it in a nanosecond.
Thank you! For some reason there has been this story floating around that Bechstein designed the SD10. I have heard both sides, but the reality is that there is nothing that I have ever heard on either piano (and remember that I did sell Bechstein for a time) that was similar in any way. I just don’t see, hear, or feel it.
By the way, that brings up another point. I hear A LOT of people talk about how they LOVE the European Sound. So “full and warm” with depth!
7 out of 10 European pianos that I have played were screamingly bright. They sounded like glass.
@LuFins-Dad said in What a beautiful beast!:
I hear A LOT of people talk about how they LOVE the European Sound. So “full and warm” with depth!
Are they piano salespeople?
