Mason and Hamlin BB

[thalberg]

Hi All!

I'm on the verge of buying a 7-foot Mason and Hamlin grand.  I like it and I got a reasonable deal on it.  Anyone have any cautions--anything I'm overlooking? Also, what do people think of the brand new ones compared to the new Steinways?

[gkatele]

I'm no expert, but I've done a lot of shopping in the last 6 months.

My dream piano: Mason & Hamlin BB
What I'll probably get: Mason & Hamlin A
If my wife will let me: Mason & Hamlin AA

I've only played a few Steinways that I've liked, but that's a matter of taste. You won't go wrong with any Mason.

I love the way they growl....


George

[thalberg]

George,

If you really want a BB, I think you should get one. Please email me so I can send you some info.  Philibuster23@yahoo.com.   (I didn't think I could afford one either)

[jolly]

The M&H BB is the best Steinway built in America.

(Yeah, it's cryptic, but think about it...)

[thalberg]

Okay, please no one else email me.  I actually don't have any information.  I thought I had found a dealer with special low prices, and I was going to refer you to  him.  But I was wrong.  The dealer was offering me a low price because the piano was really hard to sell--it had a weak bass and no one else would buy it.  I just cancelled my purchase and I'm going to New York next to shop.

[gkatele]

the piano was really hard to sell--it had a weak bass and no one else would buy it. 

Was the bass weak, or just, as you described "muddy?"

Just curious, 'cos every Mason I've played had a powerful and growly bass.

Also, you mentioned there was a mahogany BB at that dealer as well. Was the price comparable (accounting for the premium for the wood finish - as opposed to ebony)?


George

[thalberg]

The bass was both weak and muddy.  I say it was weak because I would play forte on it and feel totally let down by the volume of sound I got.  I played an A and AA in the same store and they both had more volume.  I say it was muddy because it was hard to distinguish the pitches I was playing down there.  It just sounded dark and murky and unintelligible.

The mahogany one was very comparable in price--I think the salesman even offered me the same price on it.  He complained that brown pianos are just plain hard to sell.  This particular mahogany BB did have a very nice bass and was much more what I would have wanted out of the ebony one. 

On one point, I need you to tell me I'm not crazy.  When I played the AA and remarked that the bass was better than on the weak BB, the salesman told me that AAs always have a better bass than BBs.  Suddenly I felt like I was in the twilight zone.  Does this make any sense to you?

[Axtremus]

You are not crazy.

I have played six new BB's and two new AA's in the last two years (not counting any piano the dealer claim to be unprepared), all the BB's could give me louder bass than the AA's.

I will also share this: I consider it a typical M&H characteristic to have a very strong middle range, and the two ends of the keyboard, the high treble and the very low bass, would sound comparatively weaker.

If you want a 7' piano with a relatively stronger bass (when compared to the same piano's mid-range), I'd say Steinway B or Shigeru SK-6 (you can find both within walking distance from Faust Harrison), or perhaps even a pre-Gibson Baldwin SF-10 (if you can find one, qualified pre-Gibson merely because I've never played one made after Gibson took over) or an August Förster 7' (though August Förster won't give you as many decibels of sound, just a bass that's  relatively stronger when compared to its mid-range). Schimmel 7' is another possibility. Excepting the Förster 7', I've compared the rest HERE.

Just to be clear, I make no statement about which is "better" nor whether "stronger bass" is "better" -- it's all a matter of personal taste and perception.

[Doodle]

I played a Mason and Hamlin in my practice room at college.  (I don't know which letter it was, it looked to be smaller than 6 ft) 

It was a bulletproof piano with good sound and better speed.   It had taken some abuse over the years and was still in pretty good shape.

I think a good piano can always become a great piano if it is "voiced" correctly.  I had my Samack voiced to my specifications when I purchased it.   If certain registers sound muddy than a good piano technition can harden up the hammers a little and that helps tremendously. 

If you are getting a good deal, ask whether profession "voicing" of the piano is thrown in with the price.   Then sit with a really good piano technition and tell him/her what you want to change with the piano.   
D