Here's our new 1958 Baldwin Baby Grand Model M, in a limited edition mid century modern case. It has been fully restored to like new condition. My jazz piano teacher, who is about half my age, is quite the purist. He highly recommended that I practice on an acoustic instrument, and that will improve my touch on any keyboard. After months of searching, I found something that both my wife and I could agree on. She loves the mid century modern look, and I love the sound. Cool thing is that my wife is staring to play again too. When she was a kid, she studied classical piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico, but she never connected to all the electronic keyboards I've had. Anyways, it been fun for us. She's teaching me about the classical repertoire and I'm teaching her how to comp and play from a lead sheet.

It's a major victory I was able to post the picture here at all. Thanks to Gary, Larry, and Diki with your assistance!

Paul, I hate to break the news to you but you may be dead....'cause clearly you're in heaven . Enjoy. BTW, you've inspired me to tear myself away from my beloved SEVEN and spend more time on my Yamaha acoustic. Some acoustic instruments just can't be (totally) duplicated in the digital world.

chas

I tend to distrust the opinions of ‘purists’..!

Your piano teacher may be right in saying time spent on a real piano may improve your touch, but translating that to a super light action like you find on mid-range arrangers is as much work as getting the fingers strong enough for full dynamics on an acoustic.

It would be as valid to say that playing a real clavinet, or a real Rhodes, or an old Hammond would be as useful if those are the sounds you wish to feature. Each feature actions utterly different to anything else, and the limitations (and strengths!) of those actions also contribute to what sounds best played on them.

I think the real importance of playing a fine beautiful piano like you have ♥️ is to step away from the machines, and reconnect with making music with no aids, no crutches, no shortcuts! No transpose button on a piano! No auto bass. No drummer. Just 88 notes and you….

Stripping music down to this and the voice gives us a focus, and an appreciation of how much can be achieved with so little gives us perspective when it comes to turning back to the machines, and perhaps helps us rely on them less and not overuse them.

A real piano is a joy, I hope you have many, many years of joy from it. If you never played real piano before, yes, I think it will help your finger strength and dynamics. But unless you use good quality 88 note controllers for everything else too, you need to be careful that all that extra strength doesn’t overpower the action when you go back to something like an SX900 etc..

Enjoy it!

Great photo, Paul. Loved the restoration of the piano, and the mahogany veneer finish is just beautiful. Also loved the "Real" hardwood, red oak flooring the piano sits upon.

Good luck,

Gary

I see your point DIKI. I had a friend who grew playing on a Steinway and he had a very hard time playing on non weighted keys, but he worked on it and excelled.

I think it would behove any pianist or keyboard to spend some on instruments with various touches. Pianists especially have little control over the instrument they have to perform on, often times you just have make do on what the venue provides. And yes, it’s nice to be able to shut off all the automated accompaniment and other cool features, and just play music.

Thanks Chas, believe me, I’m blessed! And Gary, speaking of wood, how’s your project coming along?

What beauties, your new piano and your lovely wife
Bernie

Beautiful picture. the pianos nice too LOL Nothing like playing on a quality piano. Makes it hard to go back to the electronics. I wish I still had mine but my Roland FP90 is a decent standin. Happy playing !

If anyone already has a decent action electronic 88, you could do well taking a VERY close look at some laptop software. The last few years, some of those grand piano libraries have got seriously good. I mean, to the point that reviewers are no longer really reviewing the software, they are discussing the pianos that were sampled themselves!

Even the best of them are usually under half a grand US, many great ones are a hundred bucks, or a couple of hundred.

For my taste, I don’t think you can go wrong with Spectrasonic’s Keyscape, which not only has amazing Steinway and Yamaha’s, but also basically every other electromechanical keyboard done just as well… Rhodes, Wurli, Clav’s, Pianet’s, you name it. Exquisitely sampled, superbly playable. Always reviewed very highly.

If you want to tweak and voice your piano, and like me like a little ‘knocked about’ in your sound, Pianoteq7 (or are they on 8 already?) allows an insane degree of getting in there like a piano technician and screwing around with the per string tuning and voicing. Their slightly aged presets are amazing at replicating the sound of a piano that might not have JUST been tuned, but had a bit of time to get played in. I often feel most sampled sets are just a little TOO perfect, like you sat down at it the second the tuner was done!

Few of us get that privilege for long, and most pianos on older recordings were a little ‘aged’. They sure didn’t get the tuner in for each take!

An FP90 running into one of these softwares might get you pretty damn close to sounding real nowadays…

Try this comparison. https://youtu.be/spDOiJcoKgU

This YouTube channel (Merriam Music) is an exhaustive resource for great honest reviews about everything from real pianos, digital stage pianos and software. He knows his stuff, and plays and demos them all beautifully. Can’t recommend the channel too highly! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Just my opinion, but...I thought this post was about Paul proudly displaying his great new purchase (and his intended use for it). Maybe we should just leave it at that. EVERYTHING doesn't have to be an entrée' into an intellectual exercise, especially one that detracts from the original purpose of the post. How about we just relax and share in Paul's joy in his new purchase. One can always start a new post that doesn't change the intent and direction of the original post. Just my .02.

chas

Well, Bill was the one to bring up his FP90…

Just my opinion, but… if you want to dictate the content on a thread, start your own forum.

Every thread on this forum wanders from its original post. You yourself have contributed some tangents. How well have you received someone telling you to to take it off the thread (that they didn’t even start)? I’m starting to get a bit annoyed you want to take forum moderation duties with no invitation.

Unless a member breaks forum rules, I take no position when they (including you) take things in a tangent away from the pure original content. You might show everyone here (let’s not mince words, I have never heard you criticize anyone else here when threads mutate away from its original content) the same consideration.

There’s an easier solution, chas…

If you don’t want to read anything even slightly off topic (unless it’s your decision to take it there), scroll down. Scroll down. Scroll down.