The Spinet Piano .. not so great
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- A brief history and circumstance with Spinet pianos and why it is not a great option for educational or recreational music making. While certain vintages of spinets like the Baldwin Acrosonic as well as the somewhat rare Yamaha Spinet can be the exception to the rule if they have not been otherwise abused (see my other videos!), most piano technicians tend to agree that the mass majority of used spinets available are as the video states: very cheaply made and should be avoided even for free. No free piano is actually free. You have to pay to move it and tune it and if you call a reputable piano technician and they tell you it is not tuneable/serviceable, now you have a huge problem - you have to dispose of it - which can also be a hassle. Always have a reputable piano technician look at any piano you are considering before you buy it or have it picked up.
I guess I got lucky with my spinet! A few years ago, I was looking for pianos when I had no idea the difference between types of pianos (consoles, spinet, etc..) and I got my hands on a Baldwin Acrosonic spinet.
It was indoors all it's life it seems and was treated with care, so when I got it, it felt great to play on and sounds great. It's great for recording on because it has a cool characteristic to it, especially with the front taken off. I only recently figured out what kind of piano it was. I always just thought to myself beforehand, "What a strange upright".
Thanks for this video though! Expanded my knowledge on spinets a lot, I didn't know there we so many poorly made spinets.
Baldwin Acrosonic is the only spinet worth having. They are a pain to tune well (all spinets are), so I hope you have a conscientious technician!
Certain vintages of the Acrosonic spinet that have been reasonably kept over the years can be ok, but the tough part is understanding whether it’s been reasonably kept! Yamaha spinets that made their way to the US can also can be surprisingly good, but the majority of spinets are genetically deficient, don’t age well and are very expensive to repair ..
My mom just mentioned she wanted one and I was like “what IS that?” Thanks for this great info and historical background. I will save my money for some quality. I love the pet analogy. Poor old pets 🐶 🐱
I am rebuilding a 1900 piano and I have come to realize there is a tough decision to make whether to rebuild or not to rebuild.
"Putting it down" is a good analogy.
This piano has an ornate, heavy case and the ivory keys are in really good shape for being that old.
That's what makes the decision to abandon and dispose of the piano in a very non-elegant way a tough one.
There's so much history in this piano, so I am rebuilding it sparingly and over time.
I now know how to realistically look at a used piano - seeing all the workings that may have to be replaced.
I understand the warnings from so many youtubes that just say "Don't do it!"
Spend your time playing, not fixing.
Glad I came across this video. Came across a deal that looked too good to be true. Learning more about the Wurlitzer spinet, yeah, too good to be true. Thanks.
Glad I could help!
Acrosonic are my favorite pianos, especially those with waterfall keys. 💜🎹🎵🎶
If it haven’t been abused and well cared for through the years, a Baldwin Acrosonic is certainly a better bet than any electronic keyboard 🎹👍🏽
Playing the piano since 1970, I can agree with you100%. The spinet was the first I played on and as a youth, could not figure out why the teacher's sounded and felt so much better, why the keys stuck, why sound was weak and thin and wouldn't hold a tuning well. Later in life I found out all the things you mention. There are better and worse spinets, but getting a touch that is most like a grand piano as well as the size of the sound board, is best at an upright or bigger.
Nice video, I've played a few Spinets and Console pianos and I definitely felt a weird difference in the action. Plus the sound was not at all impressive. I was looking around at pianos last year for my new house and my mom knew someone who had a piano they were looking to sell. I went to their house with her to check it out and as soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to be disappointed. Playing it confirmed my initial thoughts. In May I ended up finding a piano restoration shop near me and they had a beautifully restored 1975 Baldwin Hamilton Studio upright. I went and played it/checked it out and ended up going for it. I did some research on the Hamilton model before I bought it and saw a lot of positive videos and comments on them. The owner of the store sells Kawaii pianos primarily as far as new pianos go but he admitted that he preferred the sound of the Baldwin to many newer Kawaiis and other brands in his store. It's been a great addition to my house and I really enjoy playing it! I always tell people to at least go for a Studio upright piano with a full size action if they don't have the budget or space for a baby grand. Especially if they're really serious about learning the instrument.
I had an old Wurlie spinnet growing up which was horrible. The action was horrible. I culdn't really play legato or pianissimo. I drove my piano teacher nuts when I played on her grand at her studio.
Someone is offering me a 1935 Baldwin Spinet for $40. Many of the keys are down. Thanks to your vid, I ain't gettin' it.
Chavezoid .. Good call 👍🏽🎹
Both spinet pianos and square grand pianos have similar disadvantages
Was about to get a free one as my first piano…thanks for the save!
Hey! I found a Baldwin console piano(not spinet, no drop action) in pretty good condition and decent price. The action isnt "traditional" either, with a small brass capstan screw on the key end. Do you think this is a good option? Im looking for something small for my apartment and for a practice piano, since Im doing piano bachelor and I have better quality instruments at my university to also practice and perform. So far, Im practicing on a Yamaha P515 portable digital piano, due to pandemic issues, so I kinda dont have anything very good to compare with.
Greetings Thiago! I would recommend you hire a reputable piano technician local to you to go look at the piano and advise you before you take it in. You can get a referral from a local piano dealer to find a technician, look at Yelp reviews or find out who piano teachers near you are using to service their piano and referring their students to. While it sounds like it might be better than a spinet, there are a lot of other factors to consider: How worn is the action? Has it had any rodents in it? Has it ever whether it’s ever been dropped (any moving damage)? Ever been in a fire or flood and has been regularly serviced and cared for over the years? Realize too that a piano that sits idle for years can develop a nasty case of “arthritis” and have a lot of “sticky keys” (sluggish actions) which can be a bit of a chore to reverse. You don’t want to get it to your place and then find out it needs a ton of work - you want to know that before. Hope that helps!
My aunt has one that somehow has less than 88 keys as well. It ends at the upper F at the high end and at a C on the low end instead of an A. weird thing and it looks ugly too
Cool!
“A monstrous compromise” LOL
And if it's a good brand spinet piano, like a Yamaha? Would the inferior quality materials still apply? Should one avoid them too?
Generally Yamaha spinets, along with the Acrosonic by Baldwin, are better made, but there are a number of other things that have to be considered regarding its condition, age and wear. It is always wise to hire a reputable piano technician look at any piano you buy or take from someone else first. Hope that helps!
@@thepianoappraiser Cool, thanks for the info.
Here I am in Germany looking for infos about wurlitzer pianos and find this. The more or less funny thing is, I have been to Fallbrook many times. So greetings over there!
Thanks for checking in Ray 🎹👍🏽
Thank you! Agreed with everything you said
Thank-you.
Depends on your purpose with it. In my case, i love it. To me its great for creating music bc its kinda out of tune. You dont always need a perfect sounding piano to be creative, so for me it works extremely well. Ive been playing piano for 15 years. And it still sound a hell of alot better than a digital piano.
There are musicians that find how you are using an older or spinet piano has an artistic appeal, but for the budding young pianist in a family or someone hoping to get into piano recreationally, a spinet is not a solid place to start for the reasons I mentioned and many more I didn’t. Thanks so much for stopping by!
🎹👍🏽
@BrianJaney you right in that case you always have to go with the best. Trying to build a strong foundation to be a great player with great technical skills. A spinet definitely will not work at all.
there is nothing like a Baldwin Acrosonic, greatest spinet in the world, biggest fattest sound
Acrosonics can be ok if they have not been abused and well cared for through the years .. the rare Yamaha spinet was also one that was well made, but the mass majority of American made spinets outside of that are pretty terrible 😁
Apparently Wurlitzer invented the spinet piano, as far as spinet pianos go how do they compare to the others?
Wurlitzer was a very “affordable” make of piano when it was new, and as the video explains, is cheaply made and does not age well. It is really about condition and whether or not it has serviced through the years. As you may read in other comments and in the video description, there are a couple of other makes of spinet that could be better.
In 2016 I bought a used Wurlitzer spinet made in the early 1960’s for $150. The external condition of the piano is excellent but it was of course very out of tune when I bought it but the keys and the action all worked fine and continue to work fine. It fits nicely in my living room and looks great. I tune it regularly myself and it stays in tune quite well and has been quite stable in that regard. It’s light, takes up very little space, and two adults can lift it easily and move it short distances without even having to use the rollers. The only real down side is it of course has an inferior overall sound quality compared to higher quality uprights and grands. It’s not the greatest piano but for $150 I’m happy with it and there’s a lot to be said about the convenience of having a small and light piano that looks nice and stays in tune.
I keep looking for a video to tell me how to open the damned thing. It may be easy for all of you but I don't know what I'm doing. Give me a url for a video please.
Baldwin Acrosonic's are great pianos but they are OLD and spinets are diminutive in sound. If you are looking for a piano, save your money and buy a Yamaha U3. Don't waste you money on old junk.
Craig Saunders Thanks for your input! A U3 is certainly a very reasonable upright, but most folks that are looking at spinets probably couldn’t afford a nicer Yamaha. My comment about Acrosonic and Yamaha spinets was meant to be along the lines of “.. if your gonna get a spinet, those are a couple versions that might be ok for the very basic beginner and very occasional recreational player - if they are otherwise found to be in good, serviceable condition.” Those two makes are generally better made than the mass majority of spinets out there, but of course, if someone can afford something better - than by all means - don’t be looking at spinets. Thanks for helping me to clarify my point 👍🏽🎹
Most spinet pianos do not make good pianos for people to practice on. The overwhelming majority of spinet pianos were low priced pianos that were not a good quality to begin with. I suggest people to stay away from them with the exception of the Baldwin Acrosonic and a few others that were acceptable.
alterman156 I've had my Whitney spinet for 11 years with no problems, if you take care of your stuff, your stuff will take care of you
@@jackspade6270 and there it is!!!
Do you have the same opinion of the Whitney by Kimball ?
Hengel Zambrano .. the better brands of spinet in my experience (if they are well maintained and not otherwise abused) are Baldwin Acrosonic and Yamaha 👍🏽
Does anyone have a tip on good spinet brands? I am looking for a mini piano for ever
If you look in my description of the video above, I do mention a couple of versions of spinet that could be OK if they’re and in excellent condition: Yamaha and certain types of Acrosonic by Baldwin.
@@thepianoappraiser We have an acrosonic, and it's still in amazing condition. Sounds great, but if it breaks we might get an upright.
Shit, I just got one for free, shoulda seen your video first, it does sound ok and all keys work just fine but I do have to clean it though
.. free pianos are the cause of many regrets. Hope your next piano selection goes better!
@@thepianoappraiser One might still chance into a working one that's just dirty.
Thankyou!
Ohh PLASTIC! PLASTIC... have I mentioned they had PLASTIC!
The use of plastics is all a part of their inexpensive manufacturing!
@@thepianoappraiser I think we got that.
@@thepianoappraiser Modern plastics are better engineered. But Bakelite parts must be a nightmare.