Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum 1994 baldwin sd 10 concert grand

Hey everyone. I have been away from the forums for quite some time,however I have checked in from time to time. I had the opportunity to play a 1994 Baldwin sd 10 concert grand that was rarely played.It sat in the exclusive Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine Florida for years.It is in great shape and shows little wear,however the cabinet is in poor condition because mgt.and guests were not very careful of it's finish. It was never used on the concert circuit from what I understand.It is being refinished and getting new strings and any thing else it needs to bring it back to concert quality. It is still being gone over. I have a couple of questions. I have read that Baldwin put everything they had into this model because it was their flagship piano.It was built at the factory in Truman Arkansas.What type of reputation did the 1994 Baldwin sd 10s have as far as their quality and sound?I was told that the year 2000 and on they started to decline because of Baldwins financial problems.My second question is that the harp on this piano have the signatures of Joe Cocker and Kevin Costner. How crazy would I be to have them removed? To me the sigs. in black marker are not very appealing to my eye but the refinisher seems to think that I should keep them.He seems to think they would add some type of value to the piano.If i ever resell it, I think the only value would be if a Kevin Costner or Joe Cocker fan were to be in the market for a huge concert piano. The chances of this seem pretty slim to me.Anyway the piano has to be done to my satisfaction upon completion. Any comments as far as quality,signatures and any thing else regarding this piano would surely be appreciated.

Sounds like you'll have a winner! I say, keep the signatures Will the piano be kept in a home (personal use) or used in a public setting?

Did I miss you saying you were actually thinking of buying it?

It will be in my home.

If I like it when it is finished,yes I will buy it.

If it were me, I'd ditch the signatures. I'm not a fan of them on musical instruments. I know in some cases that they can increase value, but my gut feeling is that those particular signatures will not, and, as you pointed out, the likelihood of finding a fan who's looking for a concert grand is slim.

I'd say keep the signatures, as the decision to remove them would be irreversible. They can't hurt, and might help....

If I were in your position, the signatures would go. Dyed in the wool classical guy, here. Could be a great bargain piano, but I'd most definitely be replacing shanks and hammers with WNG shanks/Ronsen Weickert hammers, using quasi-Stanwood protocols. YMMV.

Keep the signatures. Joe Cocker was a musician, so there's a connection with the piano there. Kevin Costner is a big name. You might never sell the piano but you know it's nice.

I wish I could get someone famous to sign my piano. Perhaps I could sign it myself and then become famous ....

At this point,I am still weighing my options.anyone else have any opinions?

Signatures on a piano can add interest, but rarely if ever add value. I'm guessing Joe Cocker signed a few pianos but I wonder how many Kevin Costner signed? Is there a crazy Costner fan club to advertise to?

If the signatures weren't significant to me, I'd remove them.

I think the Baldwin SD-10 is too much piano for a moderately sized house. It is likely to be very loud when you play it and the sound will permeate the entire household.

But, with carpeting and other sound dampeners it might be fine. But do you really want that elephant in your living room? Resale is likely to be difficult.

My 2 cents but I think 6-7 feet is just right.

There are a few of us who have 9 ft grands at home, with no problem. They're not inherently loud, like a powered machine. They can just transfer more energy to the air before they overload and distort.

Get a decibel meter; "Larger" does not equal "Louder." - Larger pianos (pun intended) usually offer better quality pianissimos.

True - my 6' Schimmel grand was no louder than my YAMAHA UX (a U3 basically), and my 7'4 Grotrian is easier to play softly than either of them. Though - if I do want to play fortissimo, I suspect that is louder than either.

I have a very large living room. According to the formula laid out in the Piano Buyer,My room could accomadate up to a 10 ft piano. I will still have plenty of room for my 5ft Yamaha digital grand. Believe me,the room is not crowded at all.

Thanks to all of you for your responses!

I have a 9 footer in my living room. My sound level meter shows it no louder on average than any other piano. What it does have is more dynamic range and can play louder. No, there is no where in the house you can escape it. Does it dominate my living room? How could it not? Yet the foot print from that extra 2 feet over a 7 footer is only about 15% more. Resale value? Fugitaboutit. Used nine footers is a buyers dream market. No one but someone obsessed with pianos wants one and that's a small market. Ask the dealers how new concert grands they sell vs. used every year. Now for the good news. No other piano can do what the nine footers do. I don't know what it is exactly, but I can tell you I'm spoiled beyond belief as few instruments can even come close to what I'm now used to. I can't tell you how rewarding and inspiring it is to have a concert grand to come home to.

Having a long speaking length is everything. Better scale, less inharmonicity, nicer action ratios. Bigger is a bit better when it comes to pianos.

When I was searching for my current (probably my last!!) piano, I seriously considered 2 Hamburg Steinway Ds. They were amazing. I could fit it. I could afford it.

The only thing which put me off was - what happens afterwards? If I needed to sell it, maybe to move into aged-retirement home etc. Or, if (huh? - call that "when") I died, my children would most probably be able to fit my 7'grand - but maybe not a 9 footer.

The one I particularly liked (15yrs old, refinished, new hammers, dampers strings etc - a dream to play) was in the technician's carpeted studio/office about the same size as my living room. I suspect that it was softer than my Grotrian 7'4", though never put a sound-meter on it. It had a more controllable action than the Grotrian. The only problem with playing it for a few hours - everything else felt like driving an old Model T. If that's a problem.

Over 3 years later, it's still there (price has reduced too) - indicating how difficult it is to sell a 9 foot piano.