Jigsaw is collaborating with Future Piano Ltd to bring to the market a revolutionary hybrid vertical grand-piano.
Our piano design is radical: by sending our strings vertically up from the keyboard, we've designed an acoustic grand that stands in the space of an upright - the piano is space-saving; secondly, our piano uses new materials to redraw the main frame of the instrument which holds the string tension - our piano will also be lightweight.
Our aims are that it can be moved much more easily and that it delivers the sound of a big instrument in the same space as a modest upright. The piano we are building could disrupt the entire piano market: world-class concert venues, education institutions and millions of homes across the world.
It is the first major redesign of the acoustic piano in 200 years. The value proposition is a lightweight grand piano with the footprint of an upright, with a sound, look and feel equal to a traditional grand piano.
Grand pianos are large, heavy and cost a lot to move; they dominate normal rooms; upright pianos save space but have a muted sound and are still heavy; digital pianos are cheap and portable but have substandard sound and touch. There is a resurgence of people wanting to buy good quality pianos, but logistical challenges are hindering acoustic piano sales: houses are getting smaller, with high-rise living more pervasive. Reduced transportation impact would also improve environmental footprint.
We are seeking to disrupt the piano market with an innovative lightweight, space-saving, grand piano. The traditional, heavy cast iron string frame is replaced with a lightweight carbon composite structure - applying aerospace technology to musical instrument design.
Our piano radically rethinks the shape of the instrument to create a vertical grand piano, employing new materials and a world-first structural innovation and will be more portable than any existing acoustic piano on the market.
The Standing Grand – The Future Piano team secures crowd funding
The Standing Grand will be light and compact enough to bring the fullness of a grand piano’s sound into modern spaces. The Future Piano team is aiming to significantly reduce the total piano weight by building a hybrid demonstrator, using a combination of traditional (metal and wood) and advanced materials (composites) for the optimum sound, cost and weight ratio. As we build this first piano prototype, we are a step closer to making acoustic grand pianos much more accessible.
Our Crowd-Funding campaign has been a great success.
Thank you to all our backers and please share with other enthusiasts of piano, music, design, engineering or invention.