There was a thread about the fine original Baldwin concert grands recently... it got me to thinking about Baldwins in general.

I saw this piano on the Atlanta Craigslist advertized as a “Baldwin”. Looks like something different on the fall baord... J&C Fischer maybe?

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/msg/3200446187.html

I guess the old traditional Baldwin models that we know and appreciate are gone forever, except the survivors that are still around.

Rick

The transfer of Baldwin to the Gibson family of instruments was as mishandled as any transaction I've ever seen. You had Gibson trying to apply its "custom shop" approach to the piano industry and it just didn't work. They were transferring a stage instrument concept to a home instrument that has a good bit of furniture aspect to it. I'm sure there was a lot more to it than I know, but to the outside observer it just seemed that Gibson coldly moved its production to China without reguard to Baldwins long standing tradition of producing world class concert instruments. They should have known better because the American made Gibson guitars are much more desirable than any instrument in their line made overseas or in Mexico. I went from caring about Baldwin as a brand and wanting to see them succeed to not giving a rip about them and not concerned in the least if they survive or fail. It's a shame not to have great American made Baldwins on the market place, and I haven't really played a good sampling of off shore instruments so I have no opion about their current quality, but I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be the monsters that they once were.