Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Just Tried Brand New Mason and Hamlins....

Wow, immaculate instruments.

Model A, 5'8" ($37k), and a model BB, 7' ($50k).

The 7' was voiced a bit too mellow and dark for my
taste, so I ended up playing the A more.

The were both very easy to trill on, like butter
for lack of a better description. They both had the
new carbon fiber actions, as the tech showed me.

But I don't feel like spending $37k on a piano at this
time.

But it's interesting to note, that the old M&H I was
looking at on Craig's, had a similar easy-to-play
action, and this dealer also had an older M&H, which
was comparable, that then were selling for about $5,600
or so. So $4,100 might not be a bad price the Craig's
piano.

Ironically, this week I'm up in the Boston area on business, and I had the wonderful opportunity to tour the M&H factory TODAY in Haverhill (thanks to Mike at M&H for his time this afternoon). The factory has a very good crew and they spend a lot time paying attention to detail. They definitely want to get things right when it comes to precision and quality. I saw the Wessell, Nickel & Gross action up close--I really believe M&H is onto something here with the carbon fiber action. No worries of the shanks, etc., being susceptible to humidity or other issues. Plus, based on their testing of the conventional parts compared to the WN&G carbon fiber action, the WN&G carbon fiber parts endured and endured and endured after many "poundings".

The newer M&H's are very, very good pianos--worth the investment.

Just my "nickel's" worth.

Thanks

Well, after today, I can't doubt that they could be
worth the money.

Overall, the Yamahas and the Kawais are a bit harder to trill on, as the actions feel "heavier".

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the tech today said that the action of the older M&Hs are similar to what they build today, except they use carbon fiber and more modern manufacturing techniques. That would not surprise me, because even though the old M&H pianos do not have the "tightness" of the new ones, the ease of trilling is still apparent (I enjoy playing Baroque music).

So perhaps I should consider buying the old Craigslist M&H, because I would like to learn some grand regulation and voicing work anyways. And the tech reminded me that cracks in the soundboard are usually cosmetic, although they would make re-selling the piano difficult.

Hint: don't play the pianos you don't want to spend the money on! Naww.... just kidding! I'm glad I did it, as it was instructive.

Yesterday, I played several styles of music...a little bit of Bach (a C major prelude) with trills in left hand. Very responsive with the WN&G action.

In scope of the "big picture", in what you are considering, be careful to have the tech to check out the bridges, pin block, etc. too. Earlier this year, I was seriously considering a 90+ year old rebuilt M&H, one I had found on Craigslist. I had a tech to check into this specific piano and in short, he saved my money and manners... Just be careful.

Good luck with your search.

What did your tech find wrong, specifically, if you don't
mind me asking?

It was a small enough city where the techs knew the reputations of the various rebuilders in the area. For this specific situation, this specific rebuilder was not reputable.