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Although I have never measured, my visual impression is that Mason & Hamlin pianos are fatter than all or most other pianos. By fatter I mean that the distance from the top of the case to the bottom of the case is larger than other makes of comparable size. My questions are:
(1) Am I correct in this observation?
(2) Are they fatter because of extra room needed for the tension resonator or because of some other design reason?
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High protein diet!
(Actually I can agree that the inner + outer rims, combined do offer a very large thickness, not oft seen in other pianos...
Grotrian and Steingraeber do come t omind though in that aspect.
Manitou - Pianist - Technician
Manitou - Pianist - Technician
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Why are Masons fatter?? It's because the Shriners are having too many covered dish suppers........ ![[Linked Image]](http://hometown.aol.com/larryinatlanta/images/fart.gif)
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Originally posted by Manitou:
(Actually I can agree that the inner + outer rims, combined do offer a very large thickness, not oft seen in other pianos...
Grotrian and Steingraeber do come t omind though in that aspect.
Manitou - Pianist - Technician It sounds to me you are talking about the way width is normally measured on a piano (the distance from the left most part of the case to the right most part of the case). Masons would be definitely wider than most or all pianos of comparable lengths when measured this way because of their very thick rims(same reason they are heavier than most or all pianos of similar lengths). But I was talking about another measure of fatness or slimness.
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*grin*\\Now that's funny.
(But you are dating yourself by even knowing about them...)
Manitou - Pianist - Technician
Manitou - Pianist - Technician
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I prefer pianos that are wide enough so that the keyblocks are at least as wide as they are long, or preferably a little bit wider than they are long, not 2-3x as long as they are wide, like most modern pianos I see.
1950 (#144211) Baldwin Hamilton
1956 (#167714) Baldwin Hamilton
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I feed mine Kennel Ration! 
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88,now you're comparing the size of keyblocks and Yamaha to similar sized Steinways.You're letting the AS monster speak for you again.Ease up! 
G.Fiore "aka-Curry". Tuner-Technician serving the central NJ, S.E. PA area. b214cm@aol.com Concert tuning, Regulation-voicing specialist.
Dampp-Chaser installations, piano appraisals. PTG S.Jersey Chapter 080.
Bösendorfer 214 # 47,299 214-358
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Doesn't anyone know the answer to my questions at the beginning of the thread?
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Anonymous
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Probably not. But they are certainly not going to admit it. 
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For the dimensionally fascinated, you can go to the M&H web Site and find quite precise measurements for each of the little wood and metal crafts that come out of their shop.
HH
Completely and forever out of the music business (but still full of opinions)
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Originally posted by pianoloverus:
Doesn't anyone know the answer to my questions at the beginning of the thread? I don't know the answer, but I think we can start collecting some data points to find out since part one of your question seems to be a simple matter of measurement. If by "the distance from the top of the case to the bottom of the case" you mean the height of the (outer) rim (without the legs and lid), I happened to have measured a K.Kawai's rim height before to be 30 cm (just a thin hair under one foot). Would be nice if others who have access to Mason and Hamlins, Steinways, Yamahas, and other grand pianos can also provide measurements (I don't think this info is published on the official Mason and Hamlin website). Thanks.
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Axtremus,
Not sure how accurate my ruler is....but my Mason & Hamlin A measures 12 inches for the rim height.
Julie
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Mason CC2: Case vertical height w/o lid, 11-7/8", with lid 12-1/8". The reference to keyblocks bring up this story: When the movers were setting up the piano, one guy was bent over adjusting the lyre. At the same time, I was examining the new satin finish and commented, "Nice cheeks." My wife said the mover thought I was referring to his anatomy. 
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Just measured my Seiler 186; it's 10 and 3/8ths inches.
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I would assume any of the many Mason dealers on this forum would know the answers to my original post!
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The smaller Steinways (M, L, O) were about an inch taller before WWII. The desk would slide over the fallboard then, which was a better design, since it gave you more positions. I always felt that Mason & Hamlin didn't have the money to change their designs, so they left them.
Semipro Tech
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Look under "Technical Information" at
MasonHamlin.com
HH
Completely and forever out of the music business (but still full of opinions)
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This post keeps a list of rim heights contributed by forum members. I'll try to edit/update this post from time to time as more people post their measurements. .
MAKE/MODEL RIM HEIGHT (without lid)
August Forester ??
Baldwin SF-10 11-1/2 in.
Beckstein ??
Bluthner ??
Bosendorfer 214CS 12-1/2 in.
Estonia 11-1/2 in.
Fazioli ??
Feurich 13 in.
Grotrian ??
Kawai RX 11-7/8 in. (30 cm)
Knabe ??
Mason and Hamlin A 12 in.
Mason and Hamlin AA 12 in.
Mason and Hamlin CC2 11-7/8 in.
Pearl River ??
Petrof ??
Pleyel ??
Samick 11-1/2 in.
Schimmel ??
Schulze Pollmann ??
Seiler 186 "Maestro" 10-3/8 in.
Steinway A (1901) 11-7/8 in.
Weber ??
Wurlitzer ??
Yamaha ??
Young Chang ??
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