Hello Mason & Hamlin owners and other piano lovers,

I'm interested in an eight yr old Mason BB that sounds basically great, but seems to lack a wide tonal range. Since there are limited Masons in my city, it is hard for me to tell if this is common for this brand, or if it is this particular piano.
To be clear, this piano has a wide dynamic range, but I find that the colour stays the same from p-f with very little change compared to other pianos the same length.
Any observations about your own piano, or those you've auditioned would be helpful, thanks.

When he drops a brick on his toes, he has a wide range of vocabulary!

I'm not a big fan of the newer Masons, which puts me in the minority around here. I have the same impression as you of them, in contrast to the Masons of the early 20th century, which had enormous color and tonal range.

I'm sure that response made much more sense in your head. Probably funnier there too.

Different hammers and bass strings will help

You see, this is what I wouldn't know because I've only played one older Mason, but can't recall anything of it besides the beautiful bass section.

The bass is not an issue, but the tenor/treble are. Can you elaborate what your experience is? Are you talking about new Masons?

I think all good pianos should change color when one goes from p to f. So if the new Masons didn't do this, they would not be rated a highly as they are.

Whether there is some problem with this particular Mason(which might be fixable)or you are just looking for some particular kind of change in the color that all the new Masons don't have I unfortunately don't have an answer to. But I some suspect that one of the more expert members will have an answer.

double post

Yes, all good observations. But where are the experts now? I've also posted in the tech forum but not one reply so far...

Patience...patience.

Sundays are slow. I thought the best answer you received so far was from Steve Jackson. The Masons Hamlins being built today are different in tone than before. Different hammers or even voicing of existing hammers may provide you with more of what you are looking for. Good luck.

Rich

i purchased a new M&H A in 2000; owned (and loved) it for 11 years.

they have their own sound; rather bold tone, i would say. they don't tend to vary all that much, and i've played a ton of them. don't try to make a sow's ear out of a silk purse -- you either like M&H tone or you don't.

What doesn't vary much? The tone or the tone between different pianos? I already stated that I like the tone, so let's put that aside.

Friends:

Speaking of Mason & Hamlin tone is a sore, sour subject to me.

The new pianos have a fine, authoritive, very masculine tone, like Steinways, but a little fatter, and I believe that they are more alike, piano to piano, than are Steinways. But the tone is not flexible or varied or subtle in any way. The company principals huff and puff and insist that they are building "authentic" Masons when anyone of even limited ability can tell that they are NOTHING like the former pianos, NOTHING LIKE. These persons react like a school-yard bully when challenged and become defensive in the extreme. The simple fact is that the Mason & Hamlin piano that we came to adore is history and the current makers have not the slightest intent to recapture the glory of the old pianos. They have created something new and stuck the name of the former instrument on the fallboard.

The great pianos of the Boston era and the less distinguished instruments made in the AEolian works in Rochester were all color machines that could produce an astounding range of light and shade, of hue, of perfumed scent. At their best, they were inspirational and certainly like no other pianos.

Karl Watson,
Staten Island, NY

Other pianos the same length......what other pianos are you referring to?????

I own a 8 year old BB. I'm fine with the tonal palatte - even if it is a little limited. I do have a problem with the sheer power of the piano, however, and find it necessary to play with the lid lowered much of the time.

If you truly believe that other 7' pianos have a greater range of color - and this is something that is important to you - then you should probably pass on this particular instrument.

So are we to understand that you don't like the newer Masons?

(I completely agree with you regarding the newer Masons' "fine, authoritive, very masculine tone." It isn't for the faint-hearted !!)

SK6 and S&S B.

So you'd agree that it is limited. I guess I'm used to more colour, but to each his own.

Yes, I might have to, but was hoping otherwise. The problem is, I like most things about the SK6 that I've also been considering, except for the bottom few notes--and this is the same area that made me end up selling my SK2 (Shigeru), so currently I have no choices in my city and in my price range. I was really hoping to hear that the Masons can be voiced to be broader, especially since I like playing pp-mf most of the time, and I'd want that area to be as expressive as possible.

How a piano can be voiced is a question best asked of the person doing the voicing.

That's why I posted this question in the tech side, too. But hey, since you're here: Have you voiced new Masons, and if so what was the result?

If you're implying that I should ask MY tech about voicing, then yes, I need to do that too, but currently he is unavailable, and I'm curious as to what you Americans say since you have probably far more examples of Masons, new and old down there than we do here.

Sceptical,

You are asking us to do the impossible. You are hearing an individual piano which we cannot hear. Broad questions will not get specific answers.

Are the newer Masons capable of a wide range of tonal palette? - Yes.

Are all Masons capable of it? - No

Can the one you are looking at achieve it? - We can't possibly answer that question.

Generalizations cannot be applied to specifics.

Hmmm... if you're looking for that all-out bass, and you're all the way up to the SK-6... what the heck, go all the way to the SK-7. In for a dime, in for a dollar. I have played one, twice (or two, once) at the dealer where I bought my RX-5. And If I had it to do over, I may have chucked the couch to the curb and come home with that seven-and-a-half stretch that makes you feel as if you're feeling the chronons tick and tock as our little photoframe of eternity passes by. The bass is serious--- not the kind of serious of a heavy metal band's bassist, that is so loud you're not sure you know your own name anymore--- but the kind of serious bass sound that makes a special organ in your head vibrate and start to wake up and tell you what life is all about. A piano bass a person of refinement could listen to; could surrender to.

The RX-7 I tried had that special long-string bass sound, too. And as I look at my livingroom now, yes, the couch would have had to go; we already got rid of its bigger mate, and I like that little couch.

The SK-7 is kind of known for its tone color and flexibility, and for backing it with some power.

You could tell the store owner you want to hear the piano in tune, in voice, and in the best location so that you can hear everything its got. Or you could go back and get one of those older Masons...

Hi Marty,

Thanks for responding. I understand generalizations cannot be applied to specifics. But since I have now encountered three newer Masons, and found them all to lack tonal range, I was willing to bet that my exposure is far less significant than those that have seen the newer Masons for longer. The particular piano I am considering will need to be checked by a tech, but now I am unable to get my tech that worked on my Shigeru and other piano, so I wanted to have some sort of base-line to make an assessment of what the 'new' tech might have to say--especially if he has not worked on Masons. Like I said, they are not common up here.

If you saw my space, you'd understand. If you saw my elevator you'd even thing the SK6 was impossible (it's not.)
So SK6 is the absolute limit, otherwise I'd need to move. And if I don't find a piano in the next little while I'll seriously consider moving AND getting an SK7 or other LARGE piano.
But in the meantime, I'm still hoping the BB works out. Just waiting for those that own them to tell me what how they find the tonal range on their instruments and others they've probably auditioned when buying or returning to the stores.

Just remember that a BB weighs in excess of 1,000 lbs and usually takes 3 men to move!!

In my experience the new Mason & Hamlins are very, very loud, brash instruments.

There is very little subtlety to the tone.

Some like it - some don't.

Better hope your neighbors do.

Hi! I had a pretty basic question and sorry if it may sound naive. Basically, when you refer to 'tonal range', what do you exactly mean?
I know that some pianos are 'bright' sounding, some are 'dark' sounding.....but to my ears, they always stay bright or dark respectively in their tone, over their dynamic range.
Yes, a few pianos can be loud and difficult to control when playing ppp and few others may not open up to fff.....and then some which can easily whisper in faintest ppp and thunder and scream in loudest fff , but we are talking of dynamic range and/or responsiveness here.
I will really appreciate if someone explains what is exactly meant by "wide tonal range."
Thanks in advance......

Sorry if my question is steering away from OP's question. I'll post it in a new thread.

I have a BB and don't feel it's loud/brash at all. I even have it in a small space and can still play very softly with no problem.

As far as tonal range goes, I think that if you asked 10 people about a specific piano you would get very different answers...just like one person's "lot of overtones" is another person's "muddy". I think almost all good pianos change their tonal characteristic somewhat as one move from p to f. I'm personally more concerned about whether I like how the pianos sounds at different dynamic levels, but that's just me.

Its a good question, actually. Maybe what I mean is different than what others have been responding to.
Tonal range to me suggests that the colour, or the amount of harmonics present at any given dynamic will be different. More harmonics the higher the volume.
When I've played Steinways or Shigerus, even if they were set up wrong I could always get a very different tone from different dynamics. At p it may sound muted on a Steinway, but at mf it would have more presence (more harmonics/brighter), and then at FF a brilliance is there that is definitely not there at mf or p.
To be fair the Mason I'm auditioning DOES have some range, but not enough to make it easy to voice chords or melody with the shades of colour.
I also think the brighter sounding pianos have less of a chance to have colour because the harmonics are already all there. When playing p it still sounds bright, but quiet, maybe in a tinkly type of way. So, my personal preference is for the pianos that have dark to light in a predictable manner.