Baldwin Model SF Grand Piano

Manufacturer: Baldwin
Model: SF10
Size: 7’
Year Built: 1985
Finish: Ebony Satin
Serial Number: 258782
If New: $70,385
Our Price: $26,995
Sale Price: $16,995
This Baldwin SF10 is a beautiful piece, and I (Aaron, the owner of the store) have quite the history with it at this point.
I acquired this piano from the original owner here in Seattle, who absolutely loved it, but needed to pass it on as they were downsizing and their new home wasn’t able to accommodate a 7” semi concert grand.
I found this piano to have very good bones, but it definitely needed some help, most noticeably with the cabinet’s lacquer finish.
After several hours (over 20) invested in filling lacquer chips and rubbing fresh satin lines into the original lacquer, the cabinet was starting to turn out to look “respectable”.
However, after a bit of consideration, my ocd kicked in and I decided to completely refinish the majority of the cabinet.
This took…. A very long time (several sessions over about a year and a half). I had to set up and tear down a spraying area several times before completing the project.
This was an exhaustive process, but I am very pleased with how it has turned out! I can't say that the entire cabinet is perfect, but it is very close to.
The Renner action in this Baldwin was in really great shape, but the piano keys had a bit of excessive “side play” to them, so we completely re-bushed the key set.
The bushings are the felt pieces that sit inside of the key and allow the key to glide smoothly on the metal pins that keep it straight and in place. The bushings are the most wearable piece in the keyboard, so this new set has certainly prolonged the life of this piano.
At some point in this piano’s life, a bass string snapped, and as a result a technician replaced that single string. From a service standpoint, this is an acceptable repair.
However, there is definitely a slight (sometimes not so slight) tonal difference in a replacement string to that of the neighboring strings (especially in the bass). Because of this and the visual element of the replacement not matching the other strings, I decided to replace the whole bass string set. The new string set was custom made, specifically for this piano. Treble strings seem to hold their integrity forever, but the wound bass strings in a piano can definitely start to lose their tone and clarity over the years. This new set sounds amazing and will last for decades to come.
I could go on for several more pages talking about the work that went into this piano, but in a nutshell, the work that went into this piano is much closer to that of a restoration than that of a refurbishing.
This is about as good as it gets when it comes to a 7’ Baldwin grand.
Its action, cabinet, hammers and interior have been completely rehabbed which has brought this instrument to a stunning condition.
In an odd coincidence that now seems sort of meant to be, the day we set this piano up on our sales floor we were visited (separately) by two prominent jazz musicians.
Both of them sat and played this piano for what seemed like an hour each and absolutely fell in love with it. I definitely share the sentiment.
With high quality hand made American (and European) pianos there are some that are nice, but not really anything to write home about, but then there are others that really stand out and shine.
These are the pianos that people cherish and tell stories about. This is one of those pianos.
This is an heirloom piece that will be sure to provide a lifetime of enjoyment to its next home.
Thanks for reading.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Aaron Firpo,
Owner
Seattle Piano Co.

[@PolarRoller37]

What a beauty! I might have to stop by and give it a play!