Baldwin Organs

The company traces its origins back to 1857, when Dwight Hamilton Baldwin began teaching piano, organ in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1889–1890, Baldwin vowed to build "the best piano that could be built" and subsequently formed two production companies: Hamilton Organ, which built reed organs, and the Baldwin Piano Company, which made pianos. The company's first piano, an upright, began selling in 1891. The company introduced its first grand piano in 1895.
In 1946, Baldwin introduced its first electronic organ (developed in 1941), which became so successful that the company changed its name to the Baldwin Piano & Organ Company.
The Baldwin Piano Company purchased Wurlitzer's piano-making assets and brand in 1988.
In 2001 the company was bought by Gibson Guitar Corporation and has manufactured instruments under the Baldwin, Chickering, Wurlitzer, Hamilton, and Howard names. Baldwin has bought two piano factories in China in which they are manufacturing grand and vertical pianos. All new pianos are being sold under the Baldwin name and not Wurlitzer, Hamilton or Chickering.
Baldwin stopped manufacturing in America in December 2008.

In around 1982 I started selling Baldwin organs and pianos. Baldwin released their MCO series. The range started with the Howard spinet range through to console instruments. The Baldwin lineup used the new microprocessor technology to control all parts of the organ. Of special note was that these were the first instruments I'd come across with self diagnostics. It can tell which diode, transistor or Integrated Circuit (IC) to replace.

My favourite was the Marquee 191, which Glenn Derringer helped design after he left Wurlitzer. It shows his style because this was the first Baldwin to have a monophonic synthesizer section called "Solo Syntha Sound". It had some nice preset percussion and the panoramic strings were good to use. The rhythm retained it sounds from the past, the Fantom Fingers and Star Performer were well thought out. Fantom Touch was fun to use but tended to get over used. The disappointing part was the sytha-rotors made the flute tremolo thin and weak.

Listen to Glenn Derringer "Diamonds"

Baldwin Marquee

Baldwin Marquee 1982 Brochure


Baldwin Marquee Front	Baldwin Marquee Side	Baldwin Marquee 1982 Brochure

Recordings made in 1985 on the Marquee. Jill and I somehow found time to do a couple of quick duets.
Norm	Jill and Norm

It Had Better Be Tonight	The Man From Snowy River

Stars Fell On Alabama	Jessica's Theme From The Man from Snowy River

My Collection:
I have not acquired a Marquee for my collection and am on the look out for one. However I do have an Encore 190. The Encore is the same instrument without the three programmable presets and in a different cabinet with rocker tabs. This instrument came to me from Kiama, the cabinet in very good condition but the electronics had a few problems. I had already bought a service manual in hope I would purchase one one day. I placed the organ into diagnostic mode and it was able pretty much to tell me which ICs need replacement. The speaker needed replacement as the rubber surrounds had perished and fallen to pieces. A little polish now the organ plays like new.

Complete Brochure for the Marquee PDF

Complete Brochure for the Encore PDF

I also have a Cinema II instrument that I bought to turn into a VTPO but came to the conclusion that it would not be big enough for my purposes. One day it will be restored as most of it was going.

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