There are two types of people in the world:

1)People who own a spinet piano

2)People who don’t own a spinet piano

These are usually the piano inherited from grandma because they were so popular in the 1950s. It was a tiny piano (before electric keyboards) that could fit in a small apartment and also look nice. Many have somewhat ornate cases. The problem is the action and the sound.

The actions on spinets are what is called a drop action where the keys pull up on the other parts from a wire instead of pushing up on them from the end of the key like in modern upright pianos. Drop actions are small and tight and difficult to work on. They feel different to play than any other type of piano action.

The other issue with sound is that the strings are so short and thick, they don’t vibrate well and thus cause more harmonics than fundamental. We call this “inharmonicity” and spinets have a ton of it. Bass notes are especially muddy and unclear. They were built as a cheap piano too, so regardless of quality technician work, they will never be a great instrument.

The better models were made by Acrosonic (Baldwin), Wurlitzer, and Yamaha. Maybe they are good for furniture for a hobbyist, but not a piano for any serious musician. I don’t even believe they are good for kids to learn on as the action is outdated and abnormal.