Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum 1973 Mason & Hamlin Model A

Hi all. I have been humting for a baby grand for over 2 years and think I have found "the one" but don't want to over pay. It is a 1973 Mason & Hamlin Model A 5'8". My tech has evaluated it and given it a thumbs up. Now it is about the price which is $6,200. Regulation is "fair to good" but lt.feels pretty darn good to me at least with the little playing I have done on it. Hammers, flanges, shanks good. Hammers have very little wear. Sound is warm and rich. Original pin block in good shape as is soundboard. It was restrung recently. Black satin cabinet has a couple of marred spots on the lid but I can live with that. It was in climate controlled storage for 2 years while an estate tried to sell it. Now at a used piano store. Inam tempted to grab it and run
Thought on price and on this piano? Anyone? Anyone? i originally longed for a steinway but have learned just how much more you can pay for an old piano that is t as.nice as this one SEEMS to be. thanks to all

Well, if you like it and your tech gave it a thumbs up, sounds like you’ve found “the one”, indeed. It would be difficult to find a Steinway grand in serviceable condition for that price.

Grab it and run home with it under your arm

Did your technician tune it to test the feel? Sometimes when a piano is restrung on the existing pinblock, some techs have difficulty getting a smooth, tight pin feel. I would want to go over some of the tuning to gauge this if I was inspecting. If it passes that test, it sounds like a great bargain.

Only King Kong could have done that !
You do have a good sense of humor dogsperson !
(Just so the OP knows that dogperson is only joking.)
Yes the piano sounds great.

Mason & Hamlin pianos were built like tanks! Actually in some way they were "Overbuilt" they have some of the thuickest case rims and haviest harps.

Funny how people succumb to the marketing. I rebuild Steinways, MH's, and Baldwins year round and regarding quality, I would put SS last on that list.
The thick rim is actually an advantage, although the tension resonator wasn't necessary. I've seen many without and i liked them better as the soundboards seem to survive time better.
-chris

I have a 1903 BB with the tension resonator and the soundboard is still great. Have there been studies to accurately capture the time to replacement of a soundboard with and without the tension resonator?

Even at this price I'd advise a qualified tech. appraise the instrument, 1973 while Aeolian was still in control of M&H in East Rochester NY the pianos were inconsistent in quality control and certainly paled in comparison to the magnificent pianos made by the company pre 1930.
www.snowpianos.com

Martin
Vickie’s tech gave the green light and she is now a proud owner of the M & H

Hi. Thanks for the note. My tech did some kind of testing with the tuning to see if the pins were OK, and he said they were. And yes - I did bring it home! Thanks again for your reply.

Hi dogperson,

I would like to say that the tension resonator is why your piano is still going strong, but in reality, you are lucky.

The man who is responsible for the 20th c. Mason & Hamlin was Richard W. Gertz and I believe he was a genius in many ways. In fact, he was called "the greatest American scale designer" by Charles Steinway. You have one of his first fully designed pianos (as M&H hired him in 1898, I believe).

Enjoy it!

Wonderful! Congrats on your new piano!! Be sure to share a pic when it’s delivered and ready for playing!

Dogperson,
There are two different versions of the BB.
The first had a wider case than the second.
It can be identified by a "pretzel-bowl" relief in the plate.
I have not seen one with BB anywhere on the plate, but the relationship is clear.

Which one do you have?

Be well,
Craig

The standard BB missing the pretzel bowl designation ..,..,,