Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kimball Upright Console Piano

I realize that Kimball was a furniture store at one time and well here's the page.
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/msg/3796001014.html

The serial number is: T64478
The model number is: 404P

It might not be a great piano.
I've seen around this site that throughout the 1960s, 1970s and up until the mid 1980s that Kimball made nice furniture pianos and well not the best sounding pianos. I've done a little bit of research... The guy included the model number and serial number in one of the pictures. It was made in 1987 and it's a console upright piano.

So basically all I know of it is a few pictures and that it's a 25 years old console piano and made AFTER the kimball doomed age (or maybe just at the end of it).

I'm going to check out this piano later today but I'm just wondering what I else should look for? Aside from the action of the piano for signs of abuse, the time of its last tuning and how well it still holds a tuning since they claim it was tuned recently, the felt on the hammers, the location it was placed in the house, etc.... When I get back with more info, hopefully you can help me make a more thought out decision to pass or not.

Also if it helps I'm on a lowish budget of anything up to $700. And I might be thinking more digital but I figured maybe an upright would work IF it was kept in good condition. And so this just happened to be in the area.

Welcome to Piano World!

That piano looks like a console (but you knew that already ). It may well be a nice sounding/playing piano to meet your needs for the moment.

The thing about real pianos is that they need periodic tuning and maintenance... but you know that already.

The price ain't bad... if you like the way it sounds and plays. You could likely do worse for 200 bucks.

Good luck and keep us informed!

Rick

Hi JasonV - Welcome to Piano World!

Hey, for 200 bucks, if it plays OK, sounds OK, and stays in tune, how can you go wrong?

Yea, Kimball was never the greatest piano in the world, but it might suit your needs very well. It certainly did for thousands and thousands of people.

Let us know how everything went.

Thanks for the welcomes!

I failed to mention that I'm actually capable of tuning pianos so that much on maintenance I can do.

I found out that the man selling it actually was the one who recently tuned it and that he tuned it two weeks ago. I don't believe he is qualified to tune it though because in two weeks, the A440 flatted to A433.5! I also asked him to demonstrate his tuning ability but this young man wasn't setting the pin at all!! I'm not sure if its the fault of the tuner or a combination of the tuner and the pin blocks though but I'm more inclined to believe its just the tuner. He says he got it from his uncle's friend about six months ago and I couldn't find out much more about the piano's history. And I'm still not sure if it'll hold a tuning even if the pin is set properly. It was cleaned but nothing had been done to renew it.

Pros: - It's $200 unless I bargain teaching him some music theory!
- Soundboard is in good condition.
-Possibility that the pin blocks are in a functioning condition and it's just his tuning job.


Cons: - The first Ab in the bass section has a problem with the damper felt slightly rubbing against the string even after the key has been played. Because of this the sound of that specific note and ONLY that one is hampered and more a THUNG! noise than a THUUUUUuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg!

- A few of the strings in the Treble have the slightest bit of rust but no complaints with metallic rustling of any sort.

- The A3 to Ab4 region has a slightly weird phenomenon with the action. It's like the keys are already half-pressed and require a little extra umph to play loudly but also make it more difficult to play softly.

-The sustain pedal makes a creaking sound up in the action which he thought WD-40 would do the trick on... WD-40 is not a lubricant!!!! It's a water displacement tool/ repellent!!!!

- If tune able, it would need a pitch raise and then another tuning.

Thats pretty much what I learned about the piano. Sounds nice and would be perfect for $200 but I'm not sure how much the cost of ridding of the creaking noise and that Ab would cost and maybe the cation for that section of the piano. I'm perfectly willing to tune it myself though. I also got some footage/pictures.

So what do you guys think?

My advice is to buy the best piano you can afford. If you're willing to search a little bit and maybe wait a little bit, you will likely find a better piano than this Kimball.

Sounds to me like you’ve already made up your mind. You’ve found some issues you don’t like and are wondering what it would take to rectify them. You are uncertain about the tuning stability and pin block. You are just not sure, but the temptation of a cheap piano is gnawing at you.

Or, on-the-other-hand, it might be a fun project to tinker with.

I’ve bought my share of cheap pianos (usually old clunkers ) and tinkered with them… some with good results, and I learned a lot along the way. However, I’ve learned to appreciate a really nice instrument that is ready to play.

Good luck, and keep us informed.

Rick

It sounds like it doesn't it. I'm just not sure because I do intend on having a piano to practice on and not just a project to tinker with. It definitely might be playable but as much as I'd love to have a tinker toy, I'd rather have both or just a playable one.

Consider that I'm not limiting myself to an acoustic piano. I just happened to catch this searching around. I really just want a practice piano/keyboard since I've played on a Yamaha DGX - 205 for quite sometime and it's only 76 keys with no weighted keys. I'm really searching for either a real piano in good condition within my price range or a good digital portable keyboard with 88 keys, GHS weighted keys, sustain and all.

So far I've only come across this one Console piano but in terms of digital pianos I've come across the Yamaha P35B, P80 , P155B , a Casio PX150 and well maybe you can even suggest a few as I'm stuck on the P155B?

Kimball has a long phase where the placement of the tuning pins led to the strings rubbing on other pins between the pressure bar and the pin itself.These are impossible to tune accurately or easily.

You can pretty easily see it when you look closely at the tuning pin field.

I never really quite paid attention to that but I took a few pictures of the pin field and I see what you mean. Would that be any reason for the piano to go out of tune so quickly? I managed to show the owner how to properly set a pin and my chromatic tuner for the temperament and the unisons was pretty accurate. Definitely within ten cents on each.

Really those were the only problems with the piano. The sustain, the Ab0, and the octave of slightly awkward action on the keys. It could use a more full sound but it's a console piano.

I going to go out on a limb, and I'm sure that many will saw it off behind me, but: ---

When looking for a low cost upright, at less than $500, that is fully functional and basically decent, in the 30-40 y/o range, I would scour CL or local shopper papers looking for a Baldwin product. They would carry the names of Baldwin, Acrosonic, or Hamilton. Howard is a Baldwin product, but it does not have the same quality as the others. Out of the build era when the piano would now be sold at low cost, the Baldwin products have proven to hold up exceedingly well.

The Baldwins and Acrosonics were built and targeted to supply home instruments for the young boomers just starting their lessons. Often, usage was very light, and lots were built and lots are available. The Hamiltons were built for institutional use, and schools were flooded with them. They are good, solid, workhorse pianos. However, many have been beaten to death. Caution!

To answer a question in advance - Yes, there are Acrosonic consoles. There is a false assumption that they are all spinets. However, a good Acrosonic spinet can be a very serviceable piano.

Good advice, Marty!

Now, where is my chain-saw?

I have an older Baldwin 243 studio; I got it pretty cheap, it sounds great and I pound it hard. It works for me...

Rick