This Piano was handmade in Winchester, England. it's very similar to the model that Mozart played on - his, of course, was much older. This piano is a straight-strung instrument and there's very few of them left. One thing I like about this instrument is its natural warmth and deep, dark, rich tones in the bass. It's a very fine piano and I have enjoyed it. This is my personal piano. It has wonderful depth and clarity in each note. The new prototype piano that I'm in the process of building has a lot of the features of this piano in it. This is one of the few pianos I've seen with such quality and it's inspired me to build my prototype with the same qualities in it. The sounds that come from this Grand are not available on the market today and I would like to make them widely available and to bring back an art form.
This piano was originally designed like an instrument of the church. The Pipe organ became the instrument of the church because pipes are the most similar to the human voice. This instrument also is designed like the human voice. Back then, in order to own an instrument like this you had to be a museum or a church. This piano was built back in the day when you would use natural light to light your music - either a candle or a whale oil lamp. The case is Brazilian rosewood and this wood has not been refinished- the reason for this is because the patina of the wood has lighted up over 130 years. We don't want to strip and sand it and make it look brand new because I like the patina of this wood - that's my personal choice. Being of proper mindset for period instruments, period antiques and museum-type restoration - it would be wrong to take off this sort of patina. Unfortunately, the case in not in perfect shape - not correcting that are some of the judgment calls we make as we want to keep the instrument's unique vintage look preserved.