It’s sad, but most of the industry saw this coming. After Gibson bought Baldwin out of receivership, the dealer network was chopped from over 300 to around 80. One of their first “new” products was a 48″ upright piano with a starburst paint job like an electric guitar from the 1960s, sporting Les Paul’s signature! The next year at the trade show they rolled out a model R (5’8″) grand painted to look like a Hummer – in yellow! They have since changed their decision making process radically for the better, but they gave themselves a long, steep hill to climb.

I think we will probably begin to see Baldwins made in Korea or China. The other names Baldwin owned, Wurlitzer and Chickering, have been farmed out to Asian manufacturers for some time.

The romantic piano lover in me is sad and wistful, but still I know that consumers are absolute sovereigns. The market rules.