Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Is $7900 a good price for a 1998 Baldwin M?

It looks to be in very good condition, however I haven't visited to play it yet, but I am trying to get a sense for the price before going. We live in NY/CT area. It has printed inside "M" followed by the serial number underneath, but it also has M2 embossed/imprinted in the metal. Is this a true artist series M Baldwin?

Any other thoughts on this piano? I grew up with a Yamaha baby grand, but have some interest in this one. I appreciate you input since while I know how to play but I really don't know much about pianos themselves -- this is the first I will purchase.

Thank you!

The M is a very nice little piano. I have one myself (click the link in my signature below if you want to read about my search).

My understanding is that the "2" in M2 only signifies subtle design changes over time in the plate, not the piano design or model itself.

The price seems to be in the range one might encounter at a dealership. Some private sellers will also ask prices in this range, but my experience is that the pianos sell later when the price drops. To some extent, price will be dependent on where you live/buy, condition of the piano, etc. I followed one M from $8000 down to about $4500, from a private seller, but ultimately bought one for even less.

Baldwin experienced some quality issues in this time period, so if you consider purchasing, then be sure to have it inspected by an independent technician. He or she can tell you much more about its value than we can here.

Thank you for your thoughts. Nice price on that piano and a nice story too! I have not been able to find any in that range -- and many that are older go for more. You mention quality issues during this time frame -- how did you learn this. I've seen Baldwins online from the 20s, 30s, 50s, 70s, 90s... Some of the older ones are refurbished which I don't know if that is a good thing either. This is why I was inclined to a "newer" one but still when they were made in the US. Wish I had the time to research like you did!

Yes, I will plan to bring along a technician if serious. Thanks!

I have a '98 M and I just love it. I think you can't beat the tone and expression available in this 5'2" piano. I'm space limited so I really looked for an M and found one I just love, happens to be from 1998.

Make sure to buy the piano, not the "deal." Be sure the sound and feel excite you, since you'll probably live with it for some time.

Good luck with yours.

I learned about quality issues at Baldwin in the late 90's right here on this site. Here is one of those posts. There are probably more, but I'm too tired to search.

Don't let that stop you though--if a given specimen had issues, they've likely surfaced by now. Just be sure to have it inspected.

If you want to learn more, or do more research on the M, just put "Baldwin M" in the search box in the upper-left corner, and peruse the links that come up (be sure to include the quotation marks to focus your search on the M model).

It's a very highly regarded small grand!

Oh, and regarding the price I paid, I'll admit that I got a little bit lucky. The one I looked at for $4500 was certainly worth the asking price. I just got lucky and came across someone who didn't want to wait and wait and wait to sell their piano. It had been very well maintained. The only real sign of it's age is the finish, and, to be honest, I really like the aged finish.

Thanks to both of you.

jrcallan, I too am space limited and was originally considering going with a "petite baby grand" (under 5') but I figured the quality and base sounds would be impacted so I will instead go up a few inches and squeeze it in.

And I agree with you -- not trying to buy a "deal" its just I'm not familiar with pricing. If I play it and love it and it a technician says its OK then I'm inclined to go with it -- but I just don't want to grossly overpay. Its a lot of money for us!!

I did a lot of looking a couple of years ago, dozens of pianos, and saw nothing even halfway decent for under $10,000. I did play a Baldwin M, 1950s vintage I believe, and was very impressed with what the piano could do for its size. Lovely sound, even in the bass. The owner was asking $17,000, as I recall. I have no idea whether it sold for anything close to that--but I passed and eventually found the R for less.

If this one checks out, I would certainly not wait for a better bargain. My impression is that Baldwin pricing has been edging up as the new ones are getting good reviews.

In my market, the number of private sale quality grands is down tremendously from as recently as three years ago. If the economy stays on it's present trajectory-the CL deals/steals will be very rare.

Thanks all.

Good to know jdw -- I am certainly NOT buying this for resale, but its good to know they are well regarded. Basically I'm looking for a quality, yet compact, baby grand -- and the Baldwin M model seems to be a good option. I hope this checks out! I am not seeing it until the 2nd week in May though. In the mean time trying to find a technician in the area since the one I know cannot travel as far as where the piano is...

In keeping with what Ed McMorrow said, I don't encourage people to look for steals as much as I did in the past. As the supply of "great deals" shrinks, the value of some pianos will increase. I've also read some speculation (here on PW) that Baldwins will increase in value due to the quality of the more recent imports with the Baldwin name on them. I'm not sure about that, but you never know. Frankly, I think it's the historical quality of Baldwin that has them continuing to use the name (but I do hear good things about the latest Baldwin imports).

In any event, a traditional Baldwin model that's in good condition will be a nice piano. And the M in particular is a great piano for its size.

I'm not a great pianist, but everyone raves about ours. We've had two Christmas parties since bringing it home, and I thought the best way to keep people from putting stuff on it would be to have someone playing it. It worked! Everyone at the parties loves having the piano music, singing along, etc, but more importantly the pianist we hired loves the piano. This year, when the party wound down, he stuck around 90 minutes extra and basically delivered a jazz master class for our more musically inclined friends. And he kept raving about the piano. My brother-in-law is a phenomenal pianist, and he loves it. Unfortunately, he lives in Jakarta, and doesn't get here often, because I could sit and listen to him play for hours!

If you need a small piano, then you can't go wrong with a nice Baldwin M!