Sketching More Plans...
As if my current 'to-do' list isn't long enough, as I've been recovering from a foot injury over the past month, I've been sketching some designs and plans for a new digital grand piano to add to my 'to-do' list!
I've been thinking about designing my own piano for many years. Long ago, I accepted the fact that I would never be able to afford to buy a new commercially manufactured grand piano so I've been creatively designing my own piano. The truth is, this plan has been simmering in the back of my mind for quite some time but, lately, I've been more persistent and detail-oriented in figuring out dimensions, sketching ideas, and working out design issues.
For the most part, I've been laid up with my foot elevated for at least a month now. While I installed that new flooring and new ADA toilet in our master bathroom a bit more than a month ago, I somehow injured my achilles tendon and my foot. My foot swelled up like a balloon... red... painful... and I couldn't fit into any of my shoes. I've needed a cane to hobble around for about three weeks.
So, while lying there on the couch next to my current piano, I've been thinking of my to-do list but also thinking about finding a way to affordably upgrade my piano.
There are a few details in which I am not willing to compromise.
I want a graded hammer action for the keys... I want the functioning traditional three piano pedals... I want a deep rich sound of a grand piano... I want the nuances of a classic grand piano... I want specific modern features like dual voices, layering voices, split voices, rhythms, transposing... I would even like a built-in sound system capable of handling the very broad frequency range of a piano as well as handling microphones for voice. Additionally, I want a beautiful high gloss ebony cabinet with details unique to only my piano. One of the advantages of designing and building my own piano allows me to create a piano which is completely unique.
I long ago decided upon using Yamaha for the base unit. In my opinion, they have the best sound and are so close to 'feeling' like an acoustic piano action that most people could never tell the difference (I can but most people could not).
Yamaha's higher end and most costly models have identical keyboard actions as their concert grand piano cousins. In the interest of saving thousands of dollars, I'll settle for one level below these highest quality keyboard actions. Their highest level digital keyboards are indistinguishable from their concert grand piano keyboards but I'm not sure this added level of detail is worth the cost. Of course, if prices come down over time, I can always swap out the keyboard for one with a superior action.
I also needed to 'build' my own sound system and find a way to squeeze it into a mini grand piano cabinet while still keeping things as simple as possible and unobtrusive. I have mostly figured this out but am still trying to figure out ways to minimize cost without diminishing quality. I'm leaning toward my two favorites for audio... Sony and Yamaha.
The base Yamaha piano keyboards I am considering each have a graded hammer action so my piano will feel quite nice. These particular Yamahas also have sound samples of Yamaha's CFIIIS 9 foot concert grand piano as well as a Bosendorfer concert grand piano in addition to hundreds of sound samples of other instruments. Each of these sound samples includes sounds of the unique nuances of an acoustic piano for added realism. These are very high quality sound samples!
I've been focused on making this mini grand piano unique... making it "mine". I've been incorporating little details traditionally only found in custom high end grand pianos costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I'm excited at the prospect of finally having a piano that 'feels' beautiful, 'looks' beautiful, 'sounds' beautiful and is unique to me. Now, I just need to find a way to squeeze this project into my to-do list!
I've been thinking about designing my own piano for many years. Long ago, I accepted the fact that I would never be able to afford to buy a new commercially manufactured grand piano so I've been creatively designing my own piano. The truth is, this plan has been simmering in the back of my mind for quite some time but, lately, I've been more persistent and detail-oriented in figuring out dimensions, sketching ideas, and working out design issues.
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| Some of the many sketches of a bored maniac... |
So, while lying there on the couch next to my current piano, I've been thinking of my to-do list but also thinking about finding a way to affordably upgrade my piano.
There are a few details in which I am not willing to compromise.
I want a graded hammer action for the keys... I want the functioning traditional three piano pedals... I want a deep rich sound of a grand piano... I want the nuances of a classic grand piano... I want specific modern features like dual voices, layering voices, split voices, rhythms, transposing... I would even like a built-in sound system capable of handling the very broad frequency range of a piano as well as handling microphones for voice. Additionally, I want a beautiful high gloss ebony cabinet with details unique to only my piano. One of the advantages of designing and building my own piano allows me to create a piano which is completely unique.
Yamaha's higher end and most costly models have identical keyboard actions as their concert grand piano cousins. In the interest of saving thousands of dollars, I'll settle for one level below these highest quality keyboard actions. Their highest level digital keyboards are indistinguishable from their concert grand piano keyboards but I'm not sure this added level of detail is worth the cost. Of course, if prices come down over time, I can always swap out the keyboard for one with a superior action.
I also needed to 'build' my own sound system and find a way to squeeze it into a mini grand piano cabinet while still keeping things as simple as possible and unobtrusive. I have mostly figured this out but am still trying to figure out ways to minimize cost without diminishing quality. I'm leaning toward my two favorites for audio... Sony and Yamaha.
The base Yamaha piano keyboards I am considering each have a graded hammer action so my piano will feel quite nice. These particular Yamahas also have sound samples of Yamaha's CFIIIS 9 foot concert grand piano as well as a Bosendorfer concert grand piano in addition to hundreds of sound samples of other instruments. Each of these sound samples includes sounds of the unique nuances of an acoustic piano for added realism. These are very high quality sound samples!
I've been focused on making this mini grand piano unique... making it "mine". I've been incorporating little details traditionally only found in custom high end grand pianos costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I'm excited at the prospect of finally having a piano that 'feels' beautiful, 'looks' beautiful, 'sounds' beautiful and is unique to me. Now, I just need to find a way to squeeze this project into my to-do list!
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