Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum 1915 Mason Hamlin has bit me!

Interesting I will definitely do that. Thank you Dog..Then again the hammers should be subject and stable to some heavy attacks and I currently have a lot of fast note repetition. These are new hammers so he is going to adjust. Just a bit of concern, but overall the piano sounds awesome, and I'm getting used to and liking the action. I'll research TY

Another nice session last Sunday..I'm finding the action much simpler. Like a night and day difference after 12 plus hours now logged on this piano. Probably only play it at the warehouse once more before moving it to my house! The tech is going to pull the action, whiten up the ivory keys and adjust the two hammers with issues. I am planning to watch the piano movers load it into the moving truck on Saturday May 8th. Once here at the house I'll let all settle for two weeks and then plan to start an acquaintance with a master piano technician I found here in St. Louis for a tuning and some voicing etc. I will be staying in a nice airbnb in Los Angeles while visiting my son next week. Per my request he found us, wife and I a house with a piano! It's a 1916 Steinway M! Both my wife and son will be privy to my chops. This will really be the first time they heard me play so really excited on this front.

That's very exciting! You definitely took your time with this to make sure it's the right piano for you

Hi, yes the previous owner made it clear that I was welcome to play the piano anytime. Of course I made a nice initial deposit. It has been a nice relationship. He now has some things to tweak before it comes to my house. You know I switched it up yesterday and went to play a Steinway B that I haven't played since I purchased the MH. I must say that Steinway B was beautiful. A different beautiful then my Mason. At 5'8" the Mason is a perfect fit for my house. I certainly hope I will be Lucky enough to play many other acoustic pianos. I willl keep my love :affair going with the Steinway a few times a year! Sunday I'll be at a Airbnb, for a week, that has a 1916 Steinway M. So that promises to be a nice treat too.

Had the awesome opportunity to play a Steinway 1926 model M everyday for the last two weeks. It was very very nice!! But I will give the nod to my 1915 Mason model A, she sounds better.

I will say, as back on my digital keyboard today. It's a toy compared to an acoustic grand.

My Mason acoustic be at my house before the end of May!!

Cool tidbit on the Steinway I played at an Airbnb house in LA California. It's in/owned by one of Carole King's daughters!!..She also is a musical artist. Not sure if Carole herself has played this piano. I'm practising some of CKs classic songs to add to my repertoire!

I know it's probably hard to wait!
Anxious to hear all about it.

Interesting! I've always enjoyed Carole King's music, but there's one song in particular: Now and Forever. Since losing my wife it rips my heart out and reduces me to tears every time I hear it. And the crazy thing is that I can listen to it over and over...

I wish I could say that there was one particular line or verse, but it's the whole thing, from start to finish. It's like she read my soul.

Truth be told, it's not my story. It was released a decade before I even met my wife, and 2 decades before she passed. It's probably the universal story of true broken-hearted love. But it sure does fit.


Anyway, I'm sure I don't have to convince anyone here about the power of music, or even a certain song. But I'll share this one as a concrete example.

So cool..Thx for the awesome post Retsacnal!..Her music and lyrics are beautiful. She has quite a bio of music artistry. She even wrote the lyrics to "Come-on baby do the Locomotion!! On and on..It was so cool when I discovered I was staying at her daughter's(Louise Goffin's house!! Louise is also quite the artist. I met her just briefly before I knew the lineage. She came in the house to get a guitar case and some recording hardware as she was going somewhere in the California desert to instruct a group of girls songwriting. I was playing the piano when she came in. Through her mask and her dog running around I got just a bit of history on the Steinway M..She actually didn't know the exact size, I told her 5' 7"! She said she purchased it somewhere where they had to clear it out...But she was in a rush and through Covid mask and commotion I didn't get a lot of info. It was nice to play. It took me a few days to get used to the tone. Anyway thx again for post. I've been listening to some Carole King 1971 recording, just her and piano

My Mason A moving to my house a week from Wednesday!! I'll post some stuff. I have a Master RPT coming about two weeks later to tune, voice, clean etc.

Thanks, Xam. Sometimes I worry about getting to personal, or baring my soul, so to speak.

Xam,
Congratulations on your new Mason&Hamlin piano!!
Please reconsider posting pictures of your instrument, it's not so difficult.

Post pictures here...

See how easy it is: here is my beloved M&H BB, which, as you mentioned, also takes me to wonderful places, and back!

Thx Del Vento, and your BB looks beautiful! I plan on a cleaning to look like yours whenever my restringing
comes. Definitely will post some pics.. Was hoping to visit and play today, but Mother's day fun getting long.

I love my digital piano, but today it just can't give me what I want to hear. So I can't wait for an acoustic to be "In The House!

Thx Del Vento, and your BB looks beautiful! I plan on a cleaning to look like yours whenever my restringing
comes. Definitely will post some pics.. Was hoping to visit and play today, but Mother's day fun getting long.

I love my digital piano, but today it just can't give me what I want to hear. So I can't wait for an acoustic to be "In The House!

The BB (relatively new) is owned by Piano Brazil, not me (I should get an AA of your vintage next Saturday, if everything goes well -- yes I will post pictures). So I can't answer that question about the capo bar

Got you Del, sorry..AA nice!! What year? Coming to you this weekend?? My A arrives in 8 days!

PBrazil , nice BB! Have you played a Steinway B? Curious differences between both or another make of similar size.

I'm not a boat enthusiast, but I always remember some friends who had boats talking about big boat syndrome..As you have a 24' boat, you want a 26' boat, 26' boat, no I need a 28, maybe a 30' boat, on and on. Wonder if that's how it works with grand pianos. Does the person who has a 5' 2" piano want a 5'8", the 5' 8" want a 6'2" you get the picture..Seems be different as size of room plays a big part..Just funny to me.

Nice evening to you all!

My AA will move out of the former owner's house tomorrow (under my supervision) but will go in storage, sigh. It will arrive at my house on June 8, after my current 4'10" will be gone and the room got a fresh layer of new paint. I'm looking forward to that. It's a 1930 according to the serial number and 1928 according to the paperwork that the owner has, I wonder which one is wrong and I might do some sleuthing work about that.

Regarding the size syndrome, I was told that there is something "magic" happening around 6' making a big difference in how the bass strings sound (however with the M&H that happen at a shorter size, perhaps because of how the tail is shaped). Than there is another "bump" at 7' and then, not much above... besides volume. Most people find that 6' or 7' is already too loud for a house and so they stop there. I hope to be content with mine for a long time, hopefully forever. FWIW mine 6'2": the old AAs are 6'2" or 6'3" (perhaps because of the lid?), now they are 6'4" not sure what part increased in size: keyboard? Anybody knows?

6'2" will be a big difference from 4' 10".. Especially with Masons big butts! Hope your walls are ready. Hope to see some pics. Not sure on the Mason inches increase?

My A at 5' 8" is loud... Probably best size for my room..It arrives Wednesday!! Actually going to play and inspect a bit today.

And I apologize to my Kawai digital for calling it a toy. I just had a really nice session, sounded good(through my headphones) and keeps me always practising

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgw85dv84h4wp3z/img_20210515_144804284_hdr.jpg?dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/s/mlbma05hndp194k/img_20210515_143333229_hdr.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2lmktam6e548l8w/img_20210515_142818944_hdr.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0aai5hopgc256w/img_20210515_143806333%20%281%29.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsak6rnngfa2xpm/img_20210515_143416457_hdr%20%281%29.jpg?dl=0

Doing some final prep work!! The technician whitened the keys! He messed more with the action. Readjusted the two misaligned keys. The fall board was off today as well as another piece. I was able to see the front keypins and more of the back part of the keys

The piano sounded beautiful yesterday. Love the teeth whitening!

I think a lot of you know what this feeling is like.. couple days before. I have lived in this house almost 25years and this spot is a real winner.

The bench, is not the pianos first from 1915, no data available on its history. It's what I've sat on since I have played this piano at the warehouse(on the banks of the Mississippi river. It wobbles a bit, but I'm used to it!

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/reof1kmbr3ysljh/AAAQytOPoyx-m6EErrM4Ngdoa