Hello. Looking at purchasing a baby grand. Locally, a private party is selling a Weber WG-50 for around $4000. We have not seen this piano yet as it is an hour drive. From what we know, the piano has been well cared for and tuned regularly. From a few old posts around 2002-2004 at this site, it appears that this piano was made in Korea (from what I can tell - a good thing).

My questions:
1) Is $4000 a reasonable price? Actually listed as $4200 OBO
2) Posting by David Stahl on this site (velopresto) comments about faulty expansion brakets. Do such faulty brackets apply to this model Weber? If so, how can I tell if they have been replaced? And if they need replacing now, are parts available? Prior to any purchase, we plan on having a RPT evaluate. However, I don't know if same RPT would have knowledge / experience re: aforementioned expansion brackets.
3) Any other issues to think about?

We also went to a local piano dealer. He was selling a supposed "great deal" on a Baldwin BD-152. Price was $8000. From what I can tell online, $8000 seems reasonable for this piano. However, I've also read that Baldwin is not what it used to be.

How is the general quality of the BD-152? I assume this is made in China?

Used Weber WG-50 vs. new BD-152 (for 2X price).

If neither of the above are reasonable quality pianos for price, we can certainly keep looking. Not in any rush.

Thanks in advance for all the help.
Chad & Wendy

I have a Weber WG-60... Korean made and just a foor bigger than the WG-50. I bought it new 8 years ago and have been very happy with it. Great sound, stable and has a great feel. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the input Scotty-Boy

I'm by no means any kind of authority on pianos, but I'd lean toward the YC Weber for half the cost of the Chinese/Dongbei made Baldwin.

What matter the most is what you think about the piano?

Good luck, and keep us informed of your decision.

Welcome to the Piano World forums, by the way!

Rick

Would you believe I just tuned/serviced one of these today? I've been the technician for this piano, purchased new in 1991, for about the past 17 years. It is a very small grand, but I'm always impressed with the tone.

Weber grands were made by Young Chang in Korea, starting in 1986. Yes, the faulty action brackets do apply to this model Weber, but not to every year. The original brackets were gray in color. The replacements are gold in color. One of the biggest symptoms of "action bracket expansion" is the hammers will block against the strings. Your technician can check the serial number, then check with Young Chang to see if the Weber falls into the correct time frame. As far as I know, Young Chang is still providing replacement action brackets. If you aren't sure if the action brackets have been replaced, Young Chang should be able to inform you of that, too.

I replaced the action brackets on the WG-50 I mentioned above. It was not a difficult repair, and the results were great.

Neither does anyone out here in cyberspace. That would be a good question to ask him/her.

The Chinese Baldwin is a decent piano, but the price is a tad on the high side to me. Any new Weber W150 baby grands in your area?

Thanks for the input Rickster.

I will check more into the expansion bracket issue.

Gnuboi:
Probably not, but I can do some checking. We went to the main (or perhaps only) local piano dealer yesterday and found the Baldwin. They didn't have a single Weber in the showroom (but perhaps they have access to Weber anyway). In your opinion would a Weber W150 be supperior to the Baldwin? Is the W150 Chinese made?

Thanks.