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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
Wow, they make one excellent product. What a great tour. Who can top American manufacturing? Not enough attention to the finishing department (the spraying and the rubbing/polishing). But I'm a finisher so naturally I'm going to feel that way.
Thank you to you folks who arranged this tour of their factory.
My connection to the piano industry is that I am a wood finisher and a touch up specialist.
I had a fantastic time today. Second time at the M & H factory. But learned things today. Bruce was very thorough. Everyone went all out for PW visitors. Well worth going.
I had fully decided to go to EJBuck Pianos. But got down on the street and realized I was more tired than I thought. (chronic fatigue) So, decided to come home and practce for my lesson tomorow.
I really enjoyed the tour. Thank you Frank for puttng this together! And thanks to Mason & Hamlin.
My wife and I had a great time on the tour. It is one thing to see a picture of someone notching a bridge, it is a completely different thing seeing someone doing it in person. As an engineer it was very interesting to hear Bruce talk of all the various design and manufacturing considerations that go into producing a high end piano. My wife is an interior designer (architectural, not a decorator) and she was fascinated by the wood working as well as the layout of the factory.
On our way to the factory my wife was mentioning that she had been having a craving for fried chicken the past couple of days. Guess what they served us for lunch after the tour? You got it, fried chicken. How did they know?
During lunch I had the privilege of chatting with Bruce. He gave a detailed run down of the history of Mason & Hamlin that was quite interesting. Afterwards I played a couple of the pianos that they had available for us. There was a concert grand that was everything I expected out of such an instrument but I was more interested in the 5'4" baby grand next to it. It was amazing how you could get such a big sound out of such a small piano. The action was very responsive and the case work was beautiful.
Thanks to Cecil and Bruce and everyone at Mason & Hamlin for treating us to such a wonderful experience. And Thanks to Frank and Kathy for setting this up. I wish I could have gone to the party at Larry Buck's but, alas, I had to get to work (they were waiting for me with a fire I had to put out).
As always, had a great time touring the Mason & Hamlin Piano Factory!
Always good to see Bruce, Chris, and Cecil, as well as all the other talented folks who work in the factory. We had a good sized group (about 30), well behaved, and they appeared to all have a good time.
There is no doubt about the pride Mason & Hamlin takes in building their pianos.
And on top of a very educational tour, they served us a delicious hot lunch! Our thanks to Marilyn for doing her usual great job.
I will follow up with some pictures soon, hoping others will do the same.
My Keyboards: Estonia L-190, Roland RD88, Yamaha P-80, Bilhorn Telescope Organ c 1880, Antique Pump Organ, 1850 concertina, 3 other digital pianos ------------------------- My original piece on BandCamp: https://frankbaxtermrpianoworld.bandcamp.com/releases
Me banging out some tunes in the Estonia piano booth at the NAMM show...
My daughter and I had a great time as well -- especially since she got to play hooky with Mom & Dad's blessing.
I put together a little slideshow: [video:youtube]9Uvx388KcCE[/video]
Sadly, this is not me playing. It is a stock audio clip from YouTube's Video Editor, called "Talkies" -- it seemed to fit well for the feel of an old fashioned factory.
"...when you do practice properly, it seems to take no time at all. Just do it right five times or so, and then stop." -- JimF
Working on: my aversion to practicing in front of my wife
1978 Vose & Sons spinet "Rufus" 1914 Huntington upright "Mabel"
What a great opportunity! I like that you added the Bostonian tutorial for those that are not from there. Were pictures going to be posted on here still?