Baldwin 243's

[Stephen Airy]

How long have the 243s / Hamiltons been made?  I've played one or two
which I thought were nice sounding pianos.  Were they made (Hamiltons,
not specific ones I played - I don't have the serial #) as early as, say,
the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, ?


----- Original message -----
From: "Christopher D. Purdy" <purdy@oak.cats.ohiou.edu>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 18:52:08 -0500
Subject: Re: Baldwin 243's

Phil,

I have bought a few 243's the past few years.  For the most part they 
are still pretty good.  The two beefs I have with them are, one, 
since they started getting their plates from South America the tuning 
pin/ string alignment in the third and fourth octaves are not quite 
right.  Strings weave through the adjacent pins and then they are 
impossible to space in the speaking length.

My second issue is the wound strings on the treble bridge.  One 
person told me they drill the hitch pin holes in the wrong place. 
Whatever the reason, those strings are not right.  The winding starts 
way off the bridge and then is too long up at the v-bar.  It is 
obvious that instead of fixing it they unwound some copper until they 
fit.  Except they don't.  They do a terrible job, they're uneven and 
look like they were chewed off by mad weasels.  Also, the swedge goes 
all the way over the v-bar. Those unisons (3?) sound about like you'd 
expect.

The 243 used to be a great piano but they have not taken the trouble 
to fix these problems.  This last purchase I bought a couple of 
Boston verticals.  They are a touch cheaper and, made by Kawai, very 
nice.

chris






>I work for a large school district that is growing, every year they 
>are purchasing more pianos for new buildings.  We have been buying 
>the Yamaha P22 for 15 years or so and I don't see a lot of other 
>brands in that environment.  I have been asked specifically about 
>the 243's but have not seen a new Baldwin since Gibson took over. 
>Anyone with any thoughts on the Baldwin.  I usually recommend the 
>Kawai and Charles Walter if they want to shop price and get a bid.
>
>Thanks, Phil


-- 
Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T.
School of Music, Ohio University
Athens, Ohio  45701
(740) 593-1656
fax (740) 593-1429
purdy@ohiou.edu
-- 
  Stephen Airy
  stephenairy@fastmail.fm