That's a beautiful musical instrument ... I'm glad for you!

Congratulations, Frank, from both John and me. It's a fabulous piano.

hmmmm. make it for late january or early february when it is 25 below here and i bet i can find a good excuse.

He couldn't believe "Mr. PianoWorld" didn't have a real (acoustic) piano at home. He said that just didn't seem right, I agreed. We talked more about it and how we might fix the problem. Bottom line, we came to an agreement that worked for both of us, and meant I'd finally get to have a real piano in my home.

Yes, I'll say that's wrong!

This is a treasure that you've snagged, and this problem has been fixed in spades... Absolutely fantastic, gorgeous, wunderbar!

My heartfelt congratulations, Frank. Your own private "Piano Row"!

Now go practice!

Frank is a far better pianist than is willing to admit or leads up to!

I've seen him play Moonlight sonata, Blues and Boogie - all at once! [or in short sequence...]

Norbert

Lovely piano! I'd adore having an Estonia, they are beautiful instruments. It is a wonderful pictorial and story, too!

Are you going to change your ******* line in your signature anytime soon?

Congratulations! Wishing you many, many years of happiness and enjoyment with your new Estonia!

It's a Beauty Frank!..with the lid up the wood blends perfectly with the oak floors...and now for the bad..
Frank "Jergens Lotion" for the hands will work wonders...
(just kidding!)

wow what agreat story so cool. i love how connected to this piano you are and the visit to the factory and autographs is so cool

how very very cool
is your music room also set up for recording ?if so what kind of recording set up do you use.

Congratulations Frank! It's beautiful. So you chose the one furthest from the camera, but which model is it? I can guess which size you bought but it would be great to let us know for sure and you will have to post some full length recordings on the new baby. It would also be fun to know why you chose the one you chose.

Congratulations again, many of us are green with envy!

He answered all that in an earlier post - try backing up to his more recent posts and you'll see the answers!

Congrats on your new Estonia "Big Boy" Model Piano and welcome to the Estonia Fraternity! All of us Estonia owners are now standing just a little taller and prouder that you have seen fit to join us! 50,000,000 Elvis Fans can't be wrong and neither can you--Great Choice...Enjoy It!

MrPianoWorld - great to see a piano lover, a pianist and a lovely instrument come together. Choosing your instrument at the factory is really special indeed.

For those of us who don't have the time, or the money, or the freedom to do what you did - we share the joy vicariously through your lovely stories and photos.

To me it's really special that the maker of the piano saw fit to put right MrPianoWorld's acoustic piano gap in his life. That alone - makes the piano maker special. That it's a top quality instrument as well is sheer bonus.

Please put up some YouTube clips of your playing on that instrument when you're settled.

Thanks for sharing the story and all those fantastic Pictures... The piano is just gorgeous, Congratulations!

Questions asked earlier: Do I have a recording setup in the room?
Answer: no. All I have right now is an HD Q3HD Zoom recorder (it's pretty good for a small handheld though).

Question: What model is it?
Answer: It is an Estonia L-190 in hi-polish ebony.


A few new pictures of the Music Room as it slowly comes together (having the first small gathering this Sunday).


And before anyone jumps on me about the sunlight pouring in, I only opened the curtains to shoot the pictures.
There are actually two layers of curtains (the ones behind the color curtains are room darkening/heat blocking), and behind them are light blocking shades. The windows themselves are tinted double pane argon gas filled (keeps out heat and harmful rays).









Again my thanks to everyone for their kind words.

I hope to see some of you at the Mason & Hamlin Piano Factory tour in October, and/or at the Cape Cod Piano Party (Oct. 8).
Others I'll catch up with at NAMM in January, or at another gathering, party, or tour.

And if you're down this way (soutwest Florida, between Tampa & St. Petersburg), let me know.

Dear Frank,

A Hammond XK-3 AND an Estonia 190??

(You are officially my new hero)

That is a nice setup, Frank. The expansion looks good.

Frank:

You need to re-arrange so that the piano keyboard and the Hammond/digital keyboards are facing each other so you can do the full Keith Emerson and play both at once...

BTW, what about the mysterious set of numbers you gave as a hint in the original thread? Some of us apparently figured out the latitude/longitude part correctly (or close enough), but what about the rest of the numbers?

Then all you need is a "Monster Moog" to do the full Emerson!

(Great pics and thanks for the story)

Congratulations on the beautiful new piano! Thanks for sharing all those pictures and the story. I sat in awe reading/looking! I am happy for you!

Excellent!

After an agonizing wait, it is indeed a pleasure to peruse this wonderful thread of the "Great Reveal" at length. What a beautiful piano, and a charming story to boot! The pictures are magnificent, and help to tell the story so well.

I hope you are proud of your new piano- it is a fine instrument, and a well-deserved one at that. Congratulations!

Frank and Kathy,

Congratulation!!

Your new Estonia is Beautiful. How do you get anything else done with such an instrument in the house?

Are you planning on bringing some Flip videos to the CC party so that we can all hear it as well?

Loved all the stories and pictures leading up to the final choice.

Linda

Thanks Linda,

Who said anything about getting anything else done? :-)

Yes, I hope to make a couple of videos before we head up for the Cape Cod party.

Speaking of which, I need to catch up with Ed & Roberta, they haven't answered my email yet.

See you in October!

Best,

Frank B.

Nice, Frank. Congrats! Looks like a fun trip to Eastern Europe. I also enjoyed the video of you meeting Indrek at NAMM.

Frank and Kathy

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful adventure and making us feel as if we were there with you all.
Your new Estonia....aint it grand!!!

ps Roberta and Ed are due back today from their cruise.

Best wishes
Jerry

Congratulations on your new piano Frank!

Hopefully you've already been able to get in some serious playing on your beautiful new instrument.

I imagine it to have a wonderful sound and touch. I really liked the ones I was able to try out in my piano search. I was offered a great deal on a new one but it was still far beyond my budget when I was on my piano search 3 years ago. I also imagine it is great to experience going to the country of origin and witness the factory and manufacture, picking out your own piano while there, developing friendship with Indrek and family, and meeting so many interesting people along your piano journey and adventures.

I'm sure you have some very interesting stories to tell.
Best wishes and joy with this new beauty in your life.


Cheers, Dara

Considering Estonia was the new brand we adopted some 14 years ago at a time we were laughed out of town.

Yesterday a new customer and now proud Estonia owner of this piano told us he saw a 14 years old Estonia used as 'repellant' by someone else in town.

Of course we all know it's Frank who's got the final laugh in this matter.

*Repellants* don't seem to do such good work or last forever.

Norbert

That looks like a very happy music room!

Great thread and great pics Frank. Congratulations and all the best!
Roger