Part 2: Decline and Collapse (1932–1989)
In the early 20th century, Steinway had a number of competitors in Europe and in the United States, and most prominent among the latter was Mason & Hamlin. This is the second of a three-part series on the history of Mason & Hamlin, by the company’s Senior Design Engineer.
In 1984, Steinway & Sons began a project to reduce the many long-standing differences between the models, materials, and manufacturing processes used at its factories in New York and Hamburg, Germany. The only remaining differences are in the manufacture of hammers and how the pianos are voiced.
Pianists with hands of small to average size have long been restricted to playing music that fits their hands, regardless of what repertoire they might actually want to play. This situation has changed. Hailun’s model HU1P upright piano now offers a choice of ergonomic keyboard sizes at affordable prices.
In the fall of 2019, I reviewed the Casio Privia PX-S3000, a digital piano that impressed me in many ways. Now comes its successor, the Privia PX-S3100. It looks the same, offers the same controls layout, and does the seemingly impossible by packing everything into the same 25-pound form.
