Hi everyone,
Hope it's okay to post about this?
I joined after reading a thread on Russian pianos, which was really interesting for me as I'm part of a project in Rwanda to build uprights - and we're basing our string frame on a Russian piano, as it's the only piano we could find. (The fact that it's the only piano we could find is mostly why we've decided to start building them.)
The project is called Kigali Keys, and we've got until 11 June to complete
our crowdfunder on Indiegogo (there's a video there explaining what we do). We've also got
a blog,
YouTube channel,
Facebook and
Twitter - any help spreading the word would be hugely appreciated.
We're hoping to cast our first frame in the next couple of weeks, and we're looking for a string manufacturer to work with. Somewhere with a lot of patience and at cost postage policy
We're very landlocked here, so postage and import is a pain.
We're working with pretty basic tools and no experience. Not aiming for a concert-style grand, but for a practical, playable instrument with a touch of Africa. Something people can afford.
On a completely random note - has anyone ever played a piano with leather hammers? I know it's all about felt nowadays, but I'm curious to know what it sounded like. We're most likely to import felt hammers, but we'll also be experimenting too. We're trying to use as much as we can find locally because each time we import, the cost goes up. If there is another way to do something, we're open to it. I know a piano is a very precise instrument, and there are tried and trusted ways of doing things that we will stick to. It's just interesting to consider the options within those methods.
Really interested to hear experiences from people who have built their own pianos - especially where the action is concerned.