mason and hamelin

[bluepianist]

Has anyone played any of the mason and hamelin piano made since the 1980?
Years ago I played a century old mason and loved its feel and sound?  How do the newer ones compare to those and to a Steinway?

[faustsaccomplice]

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[iumonito]

I am a Mason fan.  The newest ones are wonderful, much better crafted than those made in the early 1980s and very much in the spirit of the old Masons that Rachmaninov and Ravel liked so much.

It is a piano with muscle, much more so than Steinway.  They need a little love in order for the action to be light and regular enough to play smaller repertoire, but for the likes of Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Moussorgsky, I think this is the absolute best piano.  Bam!

Naturally I like better the larger models, CC and BB.  The model A is remarkable for its size (the only 5'8" I tolerate) and AA is much nicer than its size equivalents in either the Steinway and Yamaha lines (which are the most comparable, this is a piano much different than those in the tradition of Bosie, Bluthner or Bechstein).

I would tend to think people would either love them or think they are loud and play like a truck. They suffer from a slightly similar philosophy as Fazioli (highly engineered, powerful ready sound), but without the big endorsements Fazioli has been garnering.  On the other hand, an M&H costs half of what a Faz costs and in no scale is it half the piano (in fact, the best M&H I have played was much better than the best Faz I have played, both full grands).  A Faz comes much better regulated off the box.

[thalberg]

I read up on the histories of the instruments, and the current Masons are built to the same specifications as the old fabulous ones from back when Mason was considered equal to Steinway.

I agree with everything written above.  Overall I say you should buy one.

[netzow]

The report from the Technician with whom I am working is that they are good not only because of the return to the old specifications but because of the return to a focus on quality materials and craftsmenship. He also gave them a thumbs up.

[rich_galassini]

Yes, the Mason pianos available today started with the exact specs. of the original Mason & Hamlin pianos designed by Richard W. Gertz.

I can tell you that this company still has an active R&D department, headed by Bruce Clarke. This team has added to the original designs and come up with some fantastic pianos. Visit your nearest Mason dealer and audition these instruments. They will be happy to share what makes these pianos world class.