Keybird pianos

Del Vento

@HZPiano Yes, The Netherlands it is 🙂.

Since you are "right there", have you had the opportunity to try these: https://keybird-instruments.com/ ?

I'm very curious about such instruments!

QuasiUnaFantasia

Del Vento Since you are "right there"

Actually, they seem closer to my neck of the woods, being in Denmark. But I've never heard about them before.

HZPiano

Del Vento Since you are "right there"

Fun and interesting initiative. I must have heard/read about it sometime before.

On a geographical note, The Netherlands is not in Denmark or vice versa 😉.

Cheers and happy discoveries,

CyberGene

I am fascinated by the idea and have subscribed on their website as one interested in purchasing the "piano". Haven't received any updates ever and it might as well be a year already. I'm wondering if that was a feasible idea at all. BTW, they posted an update on their Facebook yesterday about looking for a product manager. Not sure if the old one was fired 🤣 Or hopefully it means they're moving forward with their plans.

danno858

Anyone hear how it sounds?

Del Vento

Joe You will notice the difference between a prototype and a product, when you start trying to get spare parts for maintenance and repairs. Maintaining a prototype is usually as expensive as building a new one.

I understand your skepticism, but in my opinion you are being too blunt and severe.

The whole USA economy is based on prototype and small companies becoming big (start-ups). Of course it's easier in software, and really thriving in that field, but it works for hardware too. Especially for piano, that's a very capital-intense industry, attitude like yours have stifled innovation for the last 50-100 years. In particular, I find ironic that the vast majority of the piano innovations (right before they stopped) was to dramatically increase the sound volume. And they succeeded so well, that now we have the opposite problem, i.e. instruments that even at small size are too loud for apartments, and arguably for homes too. I applaud this company for what it is doing. Now it might succeed or it may fail. And if it does fail it can be for a variety of reasons including the ones which you rightly point out -- but that's the best way to start a new company.

Drew-r HZPiano On a geographical note, The Netherlands is not in Denmark or vice versa 😉.

Since when!?

Depends from how far you look. From Pluto, Colorado and the Netherlands are the same place. From Colorado (where I am), the Netherlands and Denmark are close enough (and besides COVID, the EU border rules make it even more so) 🤣

In any case, in anybody is interested and finds the opportunity to try one, please share.

danno858 Anyone hear how it sounds?

Some of us have heard the recordings the company shared. No independent recordings, and I am asking if anybody "close enough" is interested to pay them a visit (assuming they are accepting visits)

Drew-r

Given that you all generally recognize by now my piano pedigree ( i unabashedly hale from the lower-middle class end of the purist’s gene pool) , being aware of absolutely nothing about Keybird other than having followed the link and gawked at the home page, i too am fascinated by the visible appeal of what looks like a suitable harp affixed to what otherwise looks like a DP cabinet … do my eyes really deceive or do they see actual strings in that there piano?

Joe

In general I'm very skeptical of people who create the marketing material before the actual product. Sales is the final step, when the product is ready to ship, not the first one.

Also the first step is not creating a functioning prototype of a product, but to create a functioning prototype of a production line. Without a production line you can only create digital products: fancy JPEGs, but nothing that materializes into the real world.

Drew-r

Joe In general I'm very skeptical of people who create the marketing material before the actual product. Sales is the final step, when the product is ready to ship, not the first one.

Lots of institutionalized businesses have been doing such for years …. big medicine has a knack for creating arcane names for conditions they otherwise cannot / have not diagnosed all the while naming some few of the most observable symptoms ….. and in lock step, big pharma is marketing a lineup of cleverly named pills ( replete with bought&paid-for rights to classic-rock hits as marketing jingles …… ‘ you can go your own way …..’ ) …. to treat the symptoms of course, because you generally cannot treat causes when you steadfastly avoid discovering / reporting them.

QuasiUnaFantasia

Joe In general I'm very skeptical of people who create the marketing material before the actual product.

Sounds reasonable, but in this case they seem to have delivered the product already. At least they claim so on their web page. Also, they manufacture these things on demand, so when an order comes in, they take three months to build it, and deliver it (again, according to their web site).

Joe

QuasiUnaFantasia Sounds reasonable, but in this case they seem to have delivered the product already. At least they claim so on their web page. Also, they manufacture these things on demand, so when an order comes in, they take three months to build it, and deliver it (again, according to their web site).

That's what I meant, they don't have any production line, they just build and sell prototypes, four per year.

You will notice the difference between a prototype and a product, when you start trying to get spare parts for maintenance and repairs. Maintaining a prototype is usually as expensive as building a new one.

Drew-r

HZPiano On a geographical note, The Netherlands is not in Denmark or vice versa 😉.

Since when!?

😅

…. otherwise, lets see if/where this ‘bird flies.

PS: upon further review 1) i suggest the maker consider adding a kick-plate/shield in the neighborhood of the pedal because 2) from where i look alllllll the way over here in the state of Penn’s Woods, the harp bottom/string termination is effectively as close to the pedal as Denmark is to the Netherlands.

HZPiano

Drew-r shield in the neighborhood of

Drew-r effectively as close as Denmark is to the Netherlands

😁 Denmark and us have such shield in place already -- it is also known as Germany.

By the way, on a visit to Denmark (Copenhagen and way up North) I certainly liked it, and the Danish are polite and helpful people with a decent common sense.

Cheers and happy kicking,

HZPiano

Del Vento Colorado and the Netherlands are the same place.

Hello,

In that case, I'll hop over this minute.

Oh how I would love to be back. I've been to almost or possibly even all states surrounding your state, but as for CO itself, only briefly to Denver and the stretch from the four-corners area to Durango.

Cheers and happy travels,

PS I just had to check, of course: it's all surrounding states except Nebraska and Oklahoma (the latter of which can hardly be called 'surrounding' anyway).

MacMacMac

My take on this piano is: it's all hype. As in ... we can't make a piano that's any better than the established firms, so we'll make one that look strange. We'll sell it for looks alone.

That's all conjecture, of course. But when you see lots of style and little substance ...

Drew-r

MacMacMac so we'll make one that look strange. We'll sell it for looks alone.

Whether or not a person has actually been outside walking in / around the public / culture the last ….. oh, the last 30 years, conservatively speaking, anyone who’s had a peak at the public ….. which is probably one of the few credible albeit virtual services provided by the worldwide television/media apparatus ( ostensibly viewing the modern culture from the comfort/safety of your couch) strange sells, especially strange looks, big time and increasingly so ! ….. just saying, if nothing else, this ‘bird has lots of that in its favor.

Del Vento

MacMacMac That's all conjecture, of course. But when you see lots of style and little substance ...

There is important substance:

very lightweight unlike any other acoustic instrument, because it has one string only per note and (my speculation) less tension in that one string, and because it has a smaller soundboard
and that single string (and less tension, if it's true), not to mention the smaller soundboard, make this piano much less loud, and hence suitable for apartment players
given the single string per note, and hence the absence of unison tuning width, and probably also because of the difference in soundboard, the timbre will probably be not the common one -- which might be good or bad

Now, it could be that it's still hype and marketing as you say, but it's certainly not the look.

Del Vento

@"eddiepiano"Thanks for the suggestion. I heard of them and really like the concept. It would solve some problems - I think it wouldn't be as loud as a regular one. Maybe tolerable for the neighbors. It's also inexpensive and modular. Very good. But unfortunately there are only 69 keys for now - it really has to be 88 for me (or at least 85…).

Well, you have to accept some compromises. And you can always change it later. Are you already studying pieces using the whole compass? Also, you might have overlooked my suggestion to ask them if they'd sell you only the action, in which case adding the missing notes would not be a big deal, or if they'd be interested in doing the piano conversion themselves. I think this design is the best suited (compared to a regular upright or grand) to become silent. Most others have to accept a regulation compromise. This one has the action removable, so it'll be easy for them to make such action "slideable" by enough space (a small one) to lower hammer sensors in between the hammers and the strings, while keeping the same regulation. On uprights you can't do that because the action is not designed to be easy to remove or modified. On grands it does slide, but that does not change the distance from the strings. So "normal" silent pianos have to accept regulation compromises.

CyberGene

Pete14 maybe a Keybird?

Pete14

CyberGene

That’s a good start!