October 2020 Newsletter
In-Tune, the Piano World NewsletterOctober 2020 Issue
Brought to you by Piano World The world’s most popular piano site, home of the World Famous Piano Forums! (Frank Baxter, editor – founder – owner) | |||||||||||||
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You should be reading our newsletter (oh wait, you are, thank you), join our world famous Piano Forums, host and/or attend a piano party, share your love of piano with others, keep your piano(s) tuned and maintained, support others who want to learn, tell hotels and restaurants you’d like to see/hear live piano players, … I’m betting some of you can easily add to the list above, feel free to send me your suggestions. frank@pianoworld.com 
As many of you know, I purchased a big old house in Cornish Maine thinking I’d open a little music shop in the house, and do some Air BNB. The store is now open, MapleStreetMusicShop.com 48 Maple Street Cornish, Maine 04020 If you find ourself in this area (Southwest Maine) please come by for a visit. The BNB part is going to have to wait a bit longer. I’m hoping by next spring we’ll have a vaccine (and that people get the vaccine). Speaking of Piano Tuners… I am a professional piano tuner and I rely on tuning pianos for part of my living. Since the pandemic ramped up my tuning business has dropped off significantly. In fact most piano tuner-techs I communicate with have stopped tuning, either because their customers don’t want to take a chance, or because the tuner doesn’t. Things are just starting to pick up for me (very slowly) but I’m keeping an eye on the virus. That said money is tight, supporting Piano World isn’t cheap (hosting fees alone are almost $7000 a year out of pocket). If you’d like to help out Options for Supporting Piano World and/or the Piano Forums A Few Things About Your Host My name is Frank Baxter, I live in Cornish Maine with my two dogs and my grand piano. Recently bought a 9 bedroom house, long story which I won’t bore you with (did I mention it’s haunted?). I will tell you I have opened a small music shop in the front of the house (it has 16 rooms total, plus a barn and is located in a historic/commercial district in a quaint town with lots of wonderful small locally owned shops) and do some Air BNB, so if you find yourself coming to southwest Maine :-). One of the things I like about owning a house built in 1850 is that antiques seem appropriate and I love well made furniture from the past. If you have any interest in learning more about Piano World and/or your host, please visit our About Us page. We recently passed the 3 Million Posts Mark! On September 7 2020 we passed 3 million posts We’ve also passed the 98,000 Member Mark And we have passed 47,000 active subscribers to our newsletter. In Our StoreAntibacterial Hand Sanitizers 
Stylus – Pen – Light (all in one) Use the stylus instead of your fingers on touch screens (think, pumping gas or the checkout at the supermarket). 
We will be adding theses masks to our online and physical stores shortly (mostly in black). 
I’m afraid with the Coronavirus still raging around the world, in person concerts and events have pretty much been either canceled or postponed. Others are trying to regroup by using Facetime, Zoom, or even Skype. If you know of any concerts or competitions being held virtually, please post about them on our Piano Forums so we can share them. I know that my friend , concert pianist Jeffrey Biegel is working with composer Remember, if you know of any piano concerts, competitions, or events … let us know! You can post in this section of the piano forums (and/or email us). Don’t forget to keep an eye on the forum below for news of upcoming concerts, competitions, and special (piano) events. Piano Concerts – Competitions – Events Cat with laser eyes watching me closely 
I often take pictures of the animals at the homes when I tune (I always ask permission first).
Some day I’ll post an entire story with tons of pictures. These pictures are from a tuning I did just a couple of days ago. My first time at this house. They had two dogs (labs) and four cats. Friendly lab greeting me (picture to the right) 
Another cat tuning helper (Picture below, same tuning) 
I love my Estonia grand piano but just to make it a bit more interesting I installed a PianoDisc ProRecord system which gives my piano the ability to transform into a MIDI controller. What does that mean you ask? Among other things I can assign different instrument sounds to my piano. I’ve included a couple of examples below. If you’d like to know more contact me, or if you are in my area (southwest Maine) stop by and I’ll be happy to demonstrate live (and let you try it). Estonia piano with piano and choir Estonia L-190 sounds like a choir Estonia L-190 sounds like Hammond B3 And for Comparison, one that is straight piano (original composition) The Piano Forums on Piano World are not just one forum, there are in fact several, each with a specific targeted audience in mind. The following is a brief description of some of our most popular forums.
Visit the Piano Forums Today! Did you know you can easily view a list of the current active topics in the forums? You can view active topics from the last 24 hours, the last 48 hours, or the last 7 days. Here is an example of the current active topics from the last seven days Piano Forums Active Topics You can find the Active Topics link at the top of the page, or just use the link I provided above. When you get there, you can always change the time frame to one of the other choices. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tom Lagomarsino
(916) 803-2659 toml@masonhamlin.com 
Mason & Hamlin Introduces New Concert Grand and Two New Piano Lines.
The Mason & Hamlin Piano Company introduces the new VX Series CC-94 Concert Grand and two new piano
lines,
the Artist and Classic series, in celebration of 166 years of making pianos in the United States.
The VX series represents both new and original Mason & Hamlin innovations and designs, preserving
the classic Mason & Hamlin sound with more fullness, resonance and increased projection and sustain.
The new model includes a high performance VX WNG action designed by Mason & Hamlin, composed of advanced
composites and carbon fiber. The VX series preserves traditional Mason & Hamlin designs, featuring the
Crown Retention System which maintains soundboard crown for the life of the piano and consists of the
tension resonator, eastern white spruce soundboard, thick hard maple rims and thick posts.
"The biggest difference you will notice with the new pianos in the VX series is the touch and sound" says Tom Lagomarsino, Executive VP of Mason & Hamlin. Our goal was to build the very best piano, using the best materials available for those striving to achieve the highest level of performance and artistry". The new Mason & Hamlin Artist Series pianos will be outfitted with proprietary Mason & Hamlin-designed carbon fiber and advanced composite WNG actions featuring anodized aluminum hardware that delivers exceptional balance, response and design features typically associated with hand-built instruments. The entry level Classic Series features WNG carbon fiber hammer shanks and flanges; the instruments are prepped, voiced and regulated by Mason & Hamlin. “We believe our dealers and fans will be pleased with the quality, value, and performance of our new Artist and Classic Series pianos. These are high-performance pianos, prepped and regulated by Mason & Hamlin craftsmen and priced to allow our dealers to compete well in the market and a good addition to our hand-built Made in the USA Mason & Hamlin pianos”. “Beyond incorporating Mason & Hamlin/WNG piano action innovations, the two new lines will showcase traditional Mason & Hamlin cabinet and case part designs, and solid spruce soundboards. In addition to their sound and performance, the durability of the Artist and Classic Series pianos, along with their price point, and the longstanding reputation of Mason & Hamlin make these additions a natural for institutional, studio, stage, and home use,” adds Lagomarsino. The new Artist and Classic Series pianos will also be available with factory-equipped PianoDisc Prodigy player systems. With an expanded presence worldwide, Mason & Hamlin is making plans in 2020 to exhibit and feature the Artist and Classic Series lines in Europe, South East Asia, Middle East in addition to North, Central and South America. "We are excited about many untapped opportunities in the global piano market."Mason & Hamlin is a manufacturer of fine, hand-crafted pianos. # # #
NOTE: Currently we are dealing with a major pandemic that has curtailed in person piano parties.
Our friends in Europe have hosted piano parties every year since 2013… 2013 it was Brussels, Belgium 2014 it was Lisbon, Portugal 2015 it was Lucerne, Switzerland 2016 was in Milan, Italy (Kathy my former partner and I went to this one, amazing) 2017 had not one but two European parties, one was in Bulgaria, the other in Spain. Here are some Reports & Pictures from the one in Spain. 2018 was In Germany I know there were a few parties posted for 2019. There is talk of a piano party in Bulgaria in 2020 Bulgaria Piano Party Thread And yes, I plan to host some at my new (to me) house in Cornish Maine (as soon as things return to normal), I’m pretty sure one of our members in Old Orchard Beach (Maine) will be hosting at least one. We’ve also hosted a tour of European Piano Makers (2011), a Piano Cruise , a Piano Crawl (NY), and several tours of the Mason & Hamlin factory in Haverhill MA and the Steinway factory in NY. Not sure what a piano party is? Check out the links above, and this forum Forum Members Parties, Tours, Cruises, & Meetings Also, see this Collection of Piano Parties and Tours compiled by one of our moderators (thank you Casinitaly). We now have a special sub-forum under the Piano Forum specifically as a place for posts about members getting a new (to them) piano. I love reading the threads posted by members who have finally purchased their piano. Seeing the pictures and hearing the stories reminds me of one of the most important reasons we are here, to help each other. And if you’ve found Piano World and/or the Forums to be helpful, we’d love to know that too. Unfortunately these posts get buried quickly as new threads get created. If you recently got a piano, or you know of a thread where someone is talking about getting their new piano, please let me know. I’d love to move the threads to this one central place for all to share in the joy of owning and playing a piano. The New Piano Owners forum lives here , right under the primary Piano Forum.  Organ Repair Vintage Hammond and Leslie Specialist Repair or Rebuild – To Sound your Best Sales – Service Pleasant Mount, Pa. 18453 570-960-1018 / 570-679-2715 www.tonewheeltech.com Have you visited our online store for music lovers? PianoSupplies.com is a division of Piano World. Sales in our online store help support Piano World. 
We sell benches,lamps, cushions, music related party goods, tuning equipment, piano moving equipment and so much more. And we offer free shipping on Jansen Artist Benches* and CocoWeb Piano Lamps* (*contiguous U.S.) PianoSupplies.com is Piano World’s Online Store
I’ll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours (Show Us Your Piano Room Pictures) This thread has been running for over ten years now! Every once in a while someone discovers it and adds pictures of their own Piano/Music room. If you haven’t posted yours yet, please feel free to add them. We don’t care if you only have a keyboard sitting on a table or two concert grands in an elaborate music room, we just love seeing people’s set up and knowing they are enjoying making music. If you would like to add your pictures to this thread PLEASE be sure to upload your pictures to our servers (see Posting Pictures on the Piano Forums below). Otherwise they may just disappear some day, as you will see in some of the posts in this thread. the Show Us Your Piano Room Pictures Thread This is a picture of my new Music Room in the house I recently purchased in Cornish Maine. 
Have you visited the member recordings forums? This is a great place to hear some of your fellow forums members. One is a sub forum in the Pianist Corner which features primarily classical music. Member Recordings – Pianist Corner The other is under the Fun Stuff category and contains hundreds of recordings of all types of wonderful music. Member Recordings – General Find a Piano Professional *Piano Dealers – Piano Stores *Piano Tuners *Piano Movers *Piano Teachers *Piano Restorations *Piano Manufacturers | |||||||||||||
Please Share Our Newsletter with Others, & Invite People to Join Our Forums If you’ve actually read this far, Thank You! In closing I’d like to thank each and everyone of you for being a friend of the Piano World and for visiting my web site(s). I hope all of you come through this craziness ok and that things get back to normal soon. (the girl I’m dating is a respiratory therapist at a major hospital, I worry about her and her coworkers every day). Keep playing the piano, and sharing your music. We could all use a little music in our lives about now. It’s Fun to Play The Piano … Please Pass It On! Warm Regards, Frank Baxter (Founder / Host) Piano World & the Piano Forums, PianoSupplies.com 48 Maple Street Cornish, Maine 04020 98,000+ Forums Members, Over 3 Million Posts, and always growing! webmaster@pianoworld.com Piano World On: Facebook … Facebook.com/PianoWorldDotCom Online Store for Music Lovers … www.PianoSupplies.com LinkedIn … www.linkedin.com/in/ecommerceseo YouTube … www.youtube.com/user/PianoWorldDotCom | |||||||||||||
