Call that a piano?

[magirus]

Nah. This is a piano . . .

[Cat7]

He’s playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order
PS my favourite piano sketch

[jmarchitect]

I would never have believed Gordon Ramsay’s dexterity would extend beyond his knife skills and forming vowels around choice phrases.

[TheFlyingBanana]

Incredibly, that piano was built by a schoolboy who started when he was fifteen, and completed it when he was twenty years old.

https://www.worldpianonews.com/new-p...rgest-piano-2/

[magirus]

Incredibly, that piano was built by a schoolboy who started when he was fifteen, and completed it when he was twenty years old.

https://www.worldpianonews.com/new-p...rgest-piano-2/

I'd hoped someone would be interested enough to either know that or find it out. The string length and it's effect on the sound is very interesting.

[hogthrob]

I'm struggling to understand how it can have a normal tuning.

With a guitar, if you extend the scale length, at 'normal' string tensions you get a lower note. This can be overcome by having higher string tension, but at the extreme that means you need larger gauge strings (or they snap).

I know nothing about tuning pianos, but I assume there's a fairly strict relationship between note, string gauge and string tension. Assuming that's correct, the length of this piano suggests it would need cables rather than strings. It seems to work OK though, so there is obviously a workable solution.

[magirus]

I'm struggling to understand how it can have a normal tuning.

With a guitar, if you extend the scale length, at 'normal' string tensions you get a lower note. This can be overcome by having higher string tension, but at the extreme that means you need larger gauge strings (or they snap).

I know nothing about tuning pianos, but I assume there's a fairly strict relationship between note, string gauge and string tension. Assuming that's correct, the length of this piano suggests it would need cables rather than strings. It seems to work OK though, so there is obviously a workable solution.

I also knew nought about tuning pianos, but I know a little more now. From the comments below the video on Youtube . . .

"It took me a few minutes to realize why it sounded "weird" and NOT with ground-shaking bass. It's because those long bass strings can be tuned tightly enough that they're crisp and clear without the woofiness that we're accustomed to hearing from typical pianos."

[hogthrob]

I found a little more info on the construction here: https://www.alexanderpiano.nz/page/the-alexander-piano

[PickleB]

I found a little more info on the construction here: https://www.alexanderpiano.nz/page/the-alexander-piano

From that link:

...Scale design was based on a formula I had discovered in a 1916 book called A Treatise on the art of piano forte construction.

I was not very good at reading or writing. I skimmed through the book but this critical piece of information came just at the right time in the construction!

...

I found a little more info on the construction here: https://www.alexanderpiano.nz/page/the-alexander-piano

So much to admire.