<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I would agree with all that has been stated!  The key words are "out of the box."  The Mason and Hamlin dealer that I have worked for in the recent past<BR>did not have an understanding of these facts.  I don't think these pianos come in from the factory in the best of playing condition.  Other than Charles<BR>Walters I would say that most of the American pianos that come from the factory to the floor are badly prepped.  Kawai does the best job of making a piano<BR>playable out of the box in my opinion.  Masons do need a lot of care after shipment and most folks are not willing to pay for that work to be performed.<BR> Well, that's how it works here any how...  A Mason and Hamlin has a unique tone that I could pick out anywhere (I'm speaking of the new ones.)  Usually<BR>they come in vary glassy and bright sounding, almost a half tone below a 440, the hammer line is already gone to pot and they are vary faulty in the treble.<BR> Its funny to me how people think they can push a $20000 plus piano off on a customer when it has  these problems.  I think that's why they move slow here...<BR> Never the less, they are a good instrument.  Would I recommend someone take one over a Fazioli or others in that range?  Probably not!  They are a good product though...  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shawn Brock, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.shawnbrock.com">www.shawnbrock.com</A></DIV> <DIV><BR>Block quote start<BR>----- Original Message -----<BR>From:<BR><A href="mailto:piannaman@aol.com">piannaman@aol.com</A><BR>To:<BR><A href="mailto:bruce@bgpianotech.com">bruce@bgpianotech.com</A><BR>;<BR><A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A><BR>Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 11:35 AM<BR>Subject: Re: Mason & Hamlin & Other Pianos</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I don't have much time, as I'm heading out of town in a couple of minutes.  I can just offer that I'd stack a WELL-PREPPED Mason against any other piano<BR>of its size.  Many hours of work are required to get them to their potential, kind of like a NY Steinway.  The European and Japanese brands don't require<BR>as much work out of the box, but IMHO there are few other pianos in the world that have the visceral tone quality of a Mason and Hamlin.  They are unique<BR>and wonderful instruments.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Bruce Gibson Piano Technician <<A href="mailto:bruce@bgpianotech.com">bruce@bgpianotech.com</A>><BR>To: 'Pianotech List' <<A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR>Sent: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 7:02 am<BR>Subject: Mason & Hamlin & Other Pianos</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello All.<BR>Living out here on the prairies of Canada, it’s been difficult to compare pianos when Yamaha has dominated the field for three decades. I have a client<BR>who recently bought a Model A Mason & Hamlin grand. It’s a very nice piano. I have another client who is looking for a grand and I’m looking for feedback<BR>on how the NEW Mason & Hamlins stack up against the following NEW pianos:<BR>New York Steinway<BR>Hamburg Steinway<BR>Fazioli<BR>Eastonia<BR>Bosendorfer<BR>Petrof<BR>Kawai<BR>Yamaha<BR>Look forward to hearing from someone.<BR>Thanks,<BR>Bruce Gibson<BR>Piano Technician<BR>Saskatoon, Canada<BR>Find phone numbers fast with the<BR>New AOL Yellow Pages<BR>!<BR>Block quote end</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=piannaman@aol.com href="mailto:piannaman@aol.com">piannaman@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=bruce@bgpianotech.com href="mailto:bruce@bgpianotech.com">bruce@bgpianotech.com</A> ; <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, September 20, 2008 11:35 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Mason & Hamlin & Other Pianos</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't have much time, as I'm heading out of town in a couple of minutes.  I can just offer that I'd stack a WELL-PREPPED Mason against any other piano of its size.  Many hours of work are required to get them to their potential, kind of like a NY Steinway.  The European and Japanese brands don't require as much work out of the box, but IMHO there are few other pianos in the world that have the visceral tone quality of a Mason and Hamlin.  They are unique and wonderful instruments.</FONT><BR> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Bruce Gibson Piano Technician <bruce@bgpianotech.com><BR>To: 'Pianotech List' <pianotech@ptg.org><BR>Sent: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 7:02 am<BR>Subject: Mason & Hamlin & Other Pianos<BR><BR> <DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7> <STYLE>#AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 11pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri","sans-serif" } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 11pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri","sans-serif" } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 11pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri","sans-serif" } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 A:link { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99 } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99 } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 A:visited { TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99; colo: purple } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99; colo: purple } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-style-type: personal-compose } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 .MsoChpDefault { mso-style-type: export-only } #AOLMsgPart_2_1266f2cd-214e-4d1d-b0b3-b74a49c826d7 DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } </STYLE> <DIV class=Section1> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Hello All.</DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal> </DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Living out here on the prairies of Canada, it’s been difficult to compare pianos when Yamaha has dominated the field for three decades. I have a client who recently bought a Model A Mason & Hamlin grand. It’s a very nice piano. I have another client who is looking for a grand and I’m looking for feedback on how the NEW Mason & Hamlins stack up against the following NEW pianos:</DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal> </DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">New York Steinway</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hamburg Steinway</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fazioli</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Eastonia</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Bosendorfer</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Petrof</FONT></DIV> <DIV class="MsoNorm al"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Kawai</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yamaha</FONT></DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal> </DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Look forward to hearing from someone.</DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal> </DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Thanks,</DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal> </DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Bruce Gibson</DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Piano Technician</DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal>Saskatoon, Canada</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV class=aol_ad_footer id=u8CAE94D9649F2C6-9B4-4F18><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> Find phone numbers fast with the <A title=http://yellowpages.aol.com/?NCID=emlweusyelp00000001 href="http://yellowpages.aol.com/?NCID=emlweusyelp00000001" target=_blank>New AOL Yellow Pages</A>!</FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>