Several of us know Dan through this Piano World internet and his always helpful, always sharing postings.

But do you know yet, that he is an obsessive piano collector and a 'make it even better by doing this or that' fanatic?

If you have read anything this past year or two about his renovations on that monster Mason and Hamlin CC2, you might have seen just a peak at the real CC2 and Chopin lover, Dan.

It was enticing enough for about 30 attendees to spend the afternoon and evening this past Saturday attending his come as you play and enjoy the instruments, fellowship and food..., and that included my fellow travelers, Terrytunes and John Citron traveling down from north of Boston!

Back in Feb, Dan invited forum members to enjoy playing his renovated MH CC2 with its new Stanwood Action, and other updates, new keyboard and all that goes with that new installation; and that beauty of a bubinga Estonia that also calls its home, part of Dan's Musical Mecca.

http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/22/157.html

Pics and descriptions follow. Stay tuned as I continue to add (as I am sure that others will as well) the adventure.

TT, JC and I decided to rent vehicle, hop the Bridgeport to Port Jefferson Ferry and make a weekend of it.



We brought along our picnic for the 1.25 hr ride



Not sick, nor considering jumping over, but TT just in awe of the LI Sound



Ah, Sand at Last...



continued....

continued...

The loverly Pam enjoying kitchen prep for the group with PW's Frank Baxter standing close by salivating:



Indian Cuisine enough for a 100 (the expected 'next year's' crowd!!!)



Just a sampling of the players:

New member Doogs, Linda, was one of the first to find the seldom empty bench at the CC - in her serious classical mode.



Later she relaxed playing more contemporary pieces -



Bernard, playing in his elegant manner



LJC, the Rach lover




Joe, Realplayer, ever interested in reading, listening, or playing

continued....

John Citron tries the Estonia



As does Shelley - we surely enjoyed your playing!



Ori dazzles us with a varied mix of styles, first on the CC2 and then on 'the lady'...take a look at that beauty!






And Frank has been practicing!!!

continued....


I want one of these....




(not saying which one)

As the evening quieted down....

Finally we saw Dan and Pam relaxing



And shyer ones finally not resisting the CC2 temptation! Terrytunes.




And the host enjoying his pianos - but only after he made sure that EVERYONE of his guests had a turn!






And the hostess who has only been playing for 8 months at the keyboard...

She was informed about the Adult Beginner's group on PW!



The end of the evening finds Terrytunes and LJC using the new technology for car navigation planning TT, JC, and LL's Sunday morning outing to try LJC's Hamburg Concert Grand...to be seen on another post - probably posted tomorrow morning.

Now posted here:
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/1/21947.html

Thank you Dan and Pam for a most memorable day... A highlight in my piano party adventures!

I *so* enjoyed the pianos and the friendship of fellow music lovers.

Thanks for your post Lilylady, nicely done.

Dan and Pam were the perfect hosts.

Between the two of them, they made sure nobody went without food (it was great), drink, and someone to talk to (they introduced everyone to everyone else, regardless of when they showed up).

You could feel the warmth in their home, and quickly felt like you were at a friends house, rather than someone you'd just met.

The pianos are both incredible!

I made my usual announcement about how I struggle when I play a grand, considering I only own an electronic piano(it's true).

I'm here to tell you the action in the CC2 was fantastic, even I felt comfortable playing it, and would have played longer except I wanted to make sure everyone had a turn. (ok, full disclosure, I can't remember much without the music :-)

Member Billz and I met in Bridgeport and took the ferry over together.
We figured we'd take the 7:00 p.m. back.

Missed the 7:00 (we were having too good a time), cab didn't show up in time for the 8:00, we finally caught the 9:30 (thanks for the ride Ori). We weren't complaining though, nobody was in any hurry to leave.

It's always a treat to see members I already know, and meet new members, including some brand new.

I expect others will be posting comments and pictures, I didn't bother with the pictures, there were 3 or 4 cameras going so I think that's covered.

I decided it was more important for me to test the food and wine, just to be sure it was safe for everyone else. (It was).

Thanks Dan and Pam for a wonderful afternoon/evening, enjoyed your pianos, the food, your home, and the two of you.

LOL!!! This is a classic.




I remember that jacket from my first piano world get together - at the MH factory when Joe (Realplayer) donned it. You know you've made it when you have one of those.

Man, I wish I could have made it. THanks for the great pics and account, LL.

I’d like to thank our gracious hosts, Dan & Pam, for all their efforts in putting together this truly enjoyable gathering. I felt welcomed and privileged to have been able to be in attendance at their lovely home and to have had the opportunity to enjoy listening and a small chance to play (my own fault)their gorgeous grands.

After 100 emails or so between myself, Lilylady and John Citron, we pulled our weekend piano adventure together and were on the road heading to the ferry in Bridgeport, CT by 8:30 Saturday morning. The excitement level in our car was on overload!! And the anticipation of our planned events made for a most delightful 3-hr journey.

We were checked into our hotel and on our way over to Dan & Pam’s gathering by 3pm. More than 6 hours of non-stop piano playing; from classical to contemporary to jazz. I felt like I was in piano paradise! The opportunity to meet new faces and chat personally with new members is just one other highlight of the evenings events that I especially enjoy.

Gatherings like this are also quite enjoyable for having the opportunity to meet up with members who have become friends thru the years. So pleased …. Frank, Bernard and Joe (real player) traveled the distance. It’s always great chatting and catching up on how everyone is doing… especially when someone has some “lovely” news to share!!


I have a few pics to post but will have to wait until tomorrow evening along with our memorable gathering at LJC’s home on Sunday morning.

KK…. Wish I could have convinced you to join us!! You were missed!! Have a blast in CR and send me a current email address sometime!

My thanks to Dan and Pam for their hospitality and putting together a wonderful piano party.

Dan, You did a great job prepping that M&H piano. Too bad my muscles tensed up when attempting to play, but it happens to all of us at one time or another.

And thanks to all for inspiring me. May that road rise where we meet once again!

Cheers,

Mark

It was great to meet people and put names to faces (though I've probably mixed up a few of them). So many highlights, so many great performances, but for me what stood out most were:
Realplayer playing stark and striking contemporary music none of us had likely ever heard before, never would have heard anywhere else, and never will hear again, from a score that came from the composer himself; and...

My favorite performance of all, and the one I would most like to imitate...

Frank's!

He plays loud!

And to top it all off, my very own PianoWorld pin.

What could be better?

How fun!!!
Hubba Hubba - nice pianos!

Wow! Sounds like you had a wonderful time amongst wonderful people. That CC looks so inviting. Great pics lilylady!

To all that attended our Piano Party,
Pam and I want to tell you what a pleasure and privilege it was to have you wonderful people in our home. You all did our pianos proud, and filled our home with some of the most beautiful music one could imagine. We are honored that you all came from near and far to join us in this really special get together. Thanks, too, for all your kind comments and the terrific pictures, Lilylady. I'll be adding mine when I'm not so rushed to get to work. I'm about to head out of the house right now, as I am assisting RoyP with a Wapin Bridge job on a local Steinway D. Thanks, also, to RoyP and David Stanwood for attending, as I wanted them both to get the credit they deserve for all their hard work, expertise and genius in making the CC2 as incredible as it is. To be continued........

Dan,
I am lovin' the pics!

I am sorry that I could not make it to this party. You had a great crowd - even with a technical celeb. like David Stanwood - and I missed alot of good times and good people.

Hopefully, I will make one in the future. By the way, I love the jacket. It looks like it fits perfectly.

We missed you.
I said "I bet if Kathyk was here she would organize some duets" :-)

It was Awesome!

My impressions will be a bit delayed as my home computer is in the hospital and I'm at work right now.

It was great to see everyone.

Later...

Looks like everybody had a lot of fun!

Now watch out for the Estonia bomber jackets coming out soon....

Norbert

Are you spearheading the Estonia Bomber Jacket Project Norbert?

Be careful Norbert,

Some of the other manufacturers that you represent
may come "Gunning" for the Estonias.
Just kidding.

All the best my friend,

Bear

I'm still in piano heaven up in the clouds from the weekend!

Thank you Pam and Dan for the absolutely wonderful weekend!

John

No,no: Estonia is thinking of throwing in a BMW bike with their pianos....
[9" concerts only, pst,pst ]

That's only to be expected: everybody is gunning for everybody anyways.

What counts is who's got the hottest jackets in the industry or...

...throws in a Harley next...

Norbert

Rich Galassini Said:

By the way, I love the jacket. It looks like it fits perfectly.[/b]

Thanks to YOU, Rich, for going out of your way to get it for me. Joe and I were talking about starting our own Mason "biker" gang!!

Finally getting my two cents in. It was a great time. It was wonderful hearing everyone! First time I met Ori, John C., Linda and Roy Peters (somehow I think I missed the famous David Stanwood, or maybe it was just a quick "hi").

Dan and Pam are terrific hosts and we heard a lot of great playing.

I've been hearing about Dan's CC2 and have been anxious to try it since I have one of the same vintage (5 yrs. apart). It sounded great and the action was really smooth and even. The action is better than mine, but IMO not by enough for me to consider Stanwood treatment for my own piano. I still have some old parts in mine (particularly the original whippens), plus I have hammer issues. So I think I'd go there first and see how far those changes take me.

I was also investigating his room treatments (rugs and bass traps). I have room acoustic issues too.

Thanks, Dan and Pam! I know we'll be staying in touch on piano technical matters, for sure! Congratulations on both your beautiful pianos!

To Dan and Pam, Thanks for yet another wonderful time at the Dan and Pam Piano research center! I had a great time as usual and the Indian food was delicious although I have no idea what it was. Great to see old friends again and meet a few new ones too. There were allot of really great players there. It was fun to watch them try to decide which piano they should play. I thought we were invaded by the local Hells Angels at one point but it turned out to be Dan and Joe in their M&H motorcycle jackets. Rich if you get me one I promise to wear it in Steinway Hall. Thanks Again Dan and Pam and keep in touch!

Finally think I have a few minutes to steal...

Like I said, it was awesome. Thank you Dan (and Pam) for your gracious hospitality. The food was fantastic!! OMG, I think I had one too many desserts.

I got to try out the Estonia and it's very nice (so beautiful to look at too). The M&H? Wowza, that's some instrument. What a beauty. It's totally different now with the new key set. IMO, the Stanwood treatment is noticeable. I found single repeated notes to be more difficult to execute and wonder if that's an effect of Standwoodizing? The key dip is a joy (so was that dip in the kitchen! ) but the immediate return seems slightly sluggish (just ever so slightly). The tone is gorgeous to my ears.

I enjoyed meeting some new members and seeing familiar faces once again.

Congrats to Pam for getting up to play in front of us all as a newbie. I love your playing Dan, it is soulful and a pleasure to listen to. Thanks again for the wonderful party.

Hi Bernard,
Thanks for your kind comments, and for making the trip in from the city. I was really hoping you could make it, and was happy when you said you were able to. Your playing, as usual, was beautiful and expressive. Glad you enjoyed the pianos, as I know they must have enjoyed you playing them.

Lee,
As usual, thanks for making my night with your terrific rendition of the #12 Rach prelude. It was great to have you there, as well as your boy Patrick. What a great kid! Keep in touch, and let's get together soon.

Joe,
Thank you, as well, for making the trip out.
We all enjoyed your playing, and I'm glad you were finally able to get an opportunity to play another CC2 relatively close to home. It always helps to experience other instruments when making decisions on where to go next with your own.

Frank, Bill, Roberta, Terry, John and Ori,
Your presence, and playing, were a terrific addition to a really great day. Thanks for making the effort to be here. Roberta, many thanks for starting this wonderful thread, and for all the pictures. I will be adding mine shortly.

And, finally, for everyone else whom I might have failed to acknowledge, thanks for sharing our home, and pianos, with Pam and myself. You helped to make the day really memorable.

Bernard said:
I found single repeated notes to be more difficult to execute and wonder if that's an effect of Standwoodizing? The key dip is a joy (so was that dip in the kitchen! ) but the immediate return seems slightly sluggish (just ever so slightly)[/b]

Hi again Bernard. Just wanted to address this by saying that it is a function of the repetition spring tension. I have the rep spring tension on the lower side right now because of how close I have the let off set (to avoid bobbling and double striking). Your point is well taken, and I intend to experiment with bringing up the rep spring tension to the point just shy of these effects occurring. Thanks for your observation. That's pianos for you......there is always something that can be done to make them a little bit better. I guess that's why I love working on them so much
Dan

What a terrific day! Sorry to have missed it.

A Mason and a big one at that - and an Estonia. What a wonderful pairing!

So, Dan and Pam.... Have you given any thought as to Piano #3? What's next on your list?



Jeanne W

Hi Jeanne
Yes, as a matter of fact, that was a lively topic of conversation at the party. I definitely want a third....what it will be will remain to be seen. The Mason and Estonia are such contrasting instruments, and sound so different, that any third member of the group would have to add its own distinct voice to the chorus. One thing's for sure, though, half the fun will be in the search