Strung Out

We received this in the post the other day. It's HellerBass's special tape measure for determining the length of new bass strings. It's got a little loop on it to attach to the pins.

The process seems rather complicated, and the forms are in German, so we're relying on friends to help us work out what goes where. Unfortunately, Google Translate reckons stimmwirbelbestellung means 'voting invertebrate order.'

Still, we have time.

We've been quiet whilst Chillington continues to work on the string frame. They made one casting but need to modify the tuning pin holes and recast. They're used to making hulking great agricultural machines, so the fine detail on a frame takes some adjustment.

Both the new and old frames need to be encased before we can take the measurements, because it's based on length between pins and bridge pins. The pins are on the frame, but the bridges (with their pins) are in the case. This means putting the original frame back in Lirika, then building a case for the new one to exactly the same specification.

Once we've got the measurements, we'll put in our order for strings and tuning pins, then sit back and wait another few weeks for everything to arrive. 

Building the first piano will take time as everything is new, but once we've got the process down we should just be able to order more frames and strings very quickly.

Meanwhile, take a look at what someone else has made. It's extremely cool - a fluid piano.