Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum A6 Mason & Hamlin Baby Grand (5' 8") - $4500

Well, I'm definitely not a piano tech, so I know
I should pay someone to look at this.

But I know a good piano when I play one, and this
one is fantastic. I checked for any cracks in the bridge, and couldn't find any. He was honest about how long his piano was on the market, so I believe him when he claims he tunes it once a year around x-mas. So I know the piano holds a tune, because it was due for a tuning, but was still in decent tune. The felt on the hammers was practically new, barely played. I checked for excess wiggle or "play" in the keys, and they were solid.

My guess is that the multiple
cracks in the sound board might scare some people
away, and additionally, the market for acoustic
pianos has apparently gone down, so perhaps this
is why he's priced it pretty low.

So it's best to do a private piano transaction with a check,
just so you have a record? But I would still have to
wait for the check to clear.

Isn't it better to show up at the same time as the movers,
with cash in hand? Or is that a bad way to do it?

Wow - it sounds very promising and I'm delighted to hear that the tone appealed to you. The price seems incredible.

When I bought my Kawai grand, I carried cash when I went with the movers. But going with the tech makes better sense to me and you could nail it down at that point, too.

Been following along. Sounds like you found a piano you like very much. That's wonderful. Hope your technician gives it the thumbs up! It really is a beauty. Wishing you the best as things move along.

I would try to negotiate it down a bit. Its a shame that with the restringing didn't also come some shimming of the sound board... even be it just cosmetic. Its a trade off I suppose if there isn't any extraneous noise in the board. Personally I would prefer the key tops to have been a little better fit between the sharps. Seems a bit excessive in space... also leveling and squaring. New hammers and damper felts, thats good. The rest of the action (shanks, flanges, bushings, etc.) really should be carefully looked at. Yes get a tech to be meticulous. This strikes me as "restoration" where only what really needed to be fixed was done so, and clean it up to sell it. Could be a decent instrument, but yes, I would suspect that while it is likely adequate that more could be done.

Uh oh....I might have scared the seller away!

I left him a voice mail and a text, asking him if
he could send me contact info of the last tuner
who tuned his piano, and I haven't heard back
from him. And today I left him a message to
simply call me.

Boy, I hope he doesn't doesn't blow me off because
I'm making him work too hard, or because I'm asking
too many questions. I was also thinking he may still
have this piano after a year of putting it up for
sale, because sub-consciously he actually DOESN'T
want to sell it, because it's been in his family
since 1926! If he does call me, perhaps it would
be risky to offer $4k...he might get pissed off
and just ignore me from then on.

Oh well, if this deal falls through, I'll just
buy a fixer-upper for dirt cheap off Craig's, so
I'll have something more than the Reblitz book
and Youtube videos to look at. In fact, I was
planning to buy this Mason and Hamlin just for playing,
but also getting a beater piano as well to practice tuning
and repairs on , as I wouldn't want to risk ruining the M&H.

But DAMN, this piano was awesome to play! Oh well.....

I hope it all will work out for you with patience.

Patience isn't my strong point.

But there is hope! The guy just called!
The guy who tuned his piano last is out of town, but
will be back soon, and he'll get contact info to me.

And while I had him on the phone, I asked him why
he plunked $8,000 into restoring a piano if no one in
his immediate family plays. His answer was for his
two boys, whom he thought might be interested in playing,
but so far have shown no interest.

He also mentioned that the last offer was somewhere
around $3,800 (or somewhere in the $3k range), which
he declined.

So perhaps he'd also decline $4,000?

I want to be careful not to offend him....

You can simply ask him, "Is $4500 a firm price?" Then, you'll know.

I asked him that, and he said the price was
negotiable.

But at the same time, he also complained about the
last offer ($3800, he believes it was), and said
that the guy, "wanted something for nothing".

So I'm hoping $4000 won't offend him, and he'll
come back at me with something like $4250, and meet
me in the middle somewhere.

I just don't want to [censored] him off...I'M LUSTING FOR THIS
PIANO!

By the way I just found this:

http://phoenix.bidbut.com/a,55,1217448,1917MasonHamlin-6000Arizona.htm


Price: 6000 USD

1917 Mason & Hamlin - $6000 (Arizona)
Date listed: 1 year ago
Restored A6 Mason & Hamlin Mahogany wood Baby Grand Piano. Pictures speak for themselves. Serious enquiries only. Piano has been in family since new. Priced to go to a new owner, once appraised at over 20K.Refinished Piano & bench in original color. Refinished Soundboard, refinished plate, replaced felt and buffing hardware. Replace strings, replace pinstock, replace tuning pins, replace dampers, replace hammers replaced keytops, check action. Replace caster wheels. One in home tuning. Finished November 2005. RESTORED BY RENNER PIANO Service in Houston Texas. This piano home started in astbula Ohio from New 1917-1998. Was then moved to southern California, from from 1998-2004. Then moved and restored in Houston TX, in 2004-'05. Shipped in early part of 2006 to Tucson AZ to present time. No one has played paino since being tuned and restored since no in imediate family plays. IT DOES NEED SOME WORK. Had a few piano experts state its well worth the price, if not more. Great deal if you know piano. Dont waste my time please. Moving 7/14/12 MUST SELL ASAP.520.820.5899 $6,000 Location: ArizonaPostingID:3464910825

***

So my memory did serve me correctly. It's been on the market for about a year. Nothing else new here.

Yes, but what bothers me is the "IT DOES NEED SOME WORK".

Bothersome, because I couldn't feel or hear anything wrong with the piano, except for the clicking sounds while pressing
keys lower than middle C, but that didn't seem to be a
big issue. Maybe he was referring to the cracks in the soundboard?

If its been for sale so long and is such a great deal then he is playing hard to get. A M&H of similar size in my area recently went for $6k and needed substantial work. Usually the good ones go fast... So I'd be cautious offering what is being asked.

Update:

I offered the seller $4000, and after he talked
to the wife, he said $4500 was the lowest he could go.

It seems many here still think $4500 would
still be a good deal for this piano.

I may look around a bit more.....

Paul,

I'm with BDB on this one. The piano you posted pictures of is not an 1887 Mason. I also second the thought that the serial number is probably missing a digit.

If it were 1887, it would be a screwstringer. At that size it'd be called a "Style 9", not a Model A. And 1887 is so early for Mason, that it would probably only have 2 pedals. The music desk would likely have scrollwork, the rim would be jointed, the case would have beaded trim, and legs would be fancy - probably with octagonal facets. Everything about the ad and the photos is wrong for 1887.

Mason didn't start making tuning pin pianos until after 1896. Somewhere after approximately S/N ~10000.

Does it have a tension resonator? If so, it's at LEAST after 1905.

With these Masons you can usually find the serial number stamped on the inside of the keyslip and along the front edge of the keyframe's front rail. Similar to Steinway (and unlike Baldwin.)

Yes, as BDB pointed out, if the serial # were 33550, that would be 1926, which would agree with the owner's story.

No tension resonator.

He probably got his information wrong, because no one in his family plays piano.

I might take a close look again, or I might just shop around a bit more.....

Ok, update on this one.

Took a second look, this time during the day.

It didn't look as impressive as it did at night. You
should also not shop for a car at night for the same reason!

A few of the white keys were discolored and yellowed, and
as shown in the photos, the re-keying job was not perfectly
accurate, as the spaces between the keys varied a bit, although
this didn't seem to affect the play-ability too much. Also the
keys will need to be leveled, but I'm sure I could handle that.

The main problem was the cracks in the soundboard were more obvious during the day. There appeared to be more than I remember from the first time, and some of them you could see clear through (about maybe a bit less than a dime thickness crack). The owner told me that Renner piano in Houston fixed a couple of cracks when they did the restoration work, but that after the piano was moved to Tucson, more cracks appeared (he obviously didn't use a humidifier).

Even though the tone appears to be still good, we all know people judge by cosmetics too, so this is the main problem
with this piano.

Tonally, I would say it's a very good piano. Maybe not quite as smooth and rich as the Yamaha C2, but it's hard to compare, because they were in different rooms.

Again, some of the higher notes were a bit harsh sounding, and will need some voicing, but that's probably due to the new hammers, and the fact no one has really played this piano since it was restored. Trilling was wonderfully easy on this piano....easier than on the Yamaha actions.

Oh, and I was wrong: This piano does have a tension resonator, although it appeared to only have 3 rods connected to it.

He tentatively agreed to $4,100, which seems fair considering the cracked soundboard.

I may have Enrique Rosano look at this piano more carefully...

Enrique is excellent!

BTW, what would be the going price for a M&H like this
one, if it was bought for the core? Perhaps with the intention
of replacing the soundboard?

I have seen numbers, but I want to see what you all think....