Built custom upright "shell" for electric piano

[morganhop]

Hi all!

Last week I finished building a custom upright piano "shell" to house a Nord Stage 88 keyboard.  I wired a sustain pedal input, an audio output, and power down at the bottom under the keyboard, running through the inside up to right behind the keyboard to keep from having visible cables hanging all over the place.  Covered the controls and left the back unfinished to make it look more like a "real" piano.  

Thinking about building more of these things and just wanted to get some general feedback - what do you like, what don't you like, what would you have done differently, what kind of price tag would you put on an item like this?  Not trying to sell anything or advertise a service.  Just want to make sure the ones I build in the future are the best they can possibly be!











I appreciate any and all constructive criticism.  Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

[chessman]

I don't know about price but this looks amazing

[bronnestam]

I cannot say anything about price either, but it was a great idea and I also think it looks terrific!

This has a nice vintage look. Of course you can also consider a more contemporary design/finish for your next attempt.
As laptops often are a part of the equipment around DP:s in these days, you could try making a clever design which allows a laptop to fit in smoothly ... I have no real good idea how, actually ...     But consider it as a challenge! Perhaps making a shelf in the big box, a shelf that can be hidden behind a door when not used.

Very good details with the handles and the wheels.

[justharmony]

What a creative idea and you executed it quite nicely, it seems.   I'm a little unclear as to the purpose, I guess, because if you have a stage piano, isn't the point of it to be able to move it around easily?  But for those wanting a piano "look" but a digital keyboard, this is a great idea.  I'm not sure how many people are out there in this category.  I'm also not sure what I would price it, but that really ought to be based on what you spend making them - time, effort, and materials. You know, honestly, there are so many free uprights out there, I wonder if it would be possible to start with a real piano and take the "guts" out to accommodate a keyboard?  hmmmm....

A couple of suggestions... Is there room in the empty "upright" for a good set of speakers?  Then you could cover the back (or maybe even the front - see examples in some older uprights) with mesh and have some better sound options that are all contained within the unit.  Also, if it were me, I'd use piano hinges, not door hinges.  That will help the look a lot, in my opinion.

Love your thought process and creativity! 
JH

[night_hawk]

Like the others, I have no idea on pricing. I must say, however, that it looks gorgeous. If it weren't for the red border of the digital piano, I would think that it's a real piano. Just a tip, in my experience, upright pianos seem to have more ribs on the back (though this probably isn't an issue because the back will be facing the wall anyway-- you could probably get away with having no ribs).
Out of curiosity, how difficult is it to put a piano in that shell?

[joshuapflu]

This looks awesome! How did you put the sustain and output jacks on the bottoms of the piano? Is it some sort of extender or home-remedy wiring? Would love to try and build my own!

[outin]

Very cute! Even a handle ont he side for moving it around. I assume the piano is easily removable if necessary?

The only thing that bothers me is the red plastic showing. I guess it's difficult to cover with the wood, so it would need to be painted black?

And yes, adding speakers sounds like a great idea... and fitting pedals to the "piano" as well.

[jimbo320]

Well done!

[indianajo]

Nice finish. beautiful furniture, and it would help keep the plastic from rocking around when one treats it like a real piano. 
Yours has the same problem the one my high school friend built for his yamaha 88 key kb.  You've got a vertical wall right behind the back of the black keys, with the handles projecting out over them.  I found I was banging my fingers into the wood while trying to play.  He unscrewed something and I finished Pictures at an Exhibition. My Steinway console has a bar 1/4' higher than the back of the keys, then back 3/4 " to the key cover vertical wall. 

[chopinlover01]

Nice finish. beautiful furniture, and it would help keep the plastic from rocking around when one treats it like a real piano.  
Yours has the same problem the one my high school friend built for his yamaha 88 key kb.  You've got a vertical wall right behind the back of the black keys, with the handles projecting out over them.  I found I was banging my fingers into the wood while trying to play.  He unscrewed something and I finished Pictures at an Exhibition. My Steinway console has a bar 1/4' higher than the back of the keys, then back 3/4 " to the key cover vertical wall.  

Absolutely gorgeous! To fix this problem, you could simply remove the knob (saw and sandpaper works well in my experience for that, unless it's on a screw system of some kind) from the front of the cover, and put it on top instead, if you see how I mean that.
Otherwise, a great purchase. I'd easily pay $250 for it, I'm getting an 88 key piano soon and it'd be great, though I may want to build one myself.
All in all, fabulous project.

[hfmadopter]

 I'd easily pay $50 for it,

Gotta love it, the guy easily has more than double that in it just for materials, never mind the hours of labor. But ya know what, there in is the problem. Few people appreciate hand crafted wood working for it's actual value but yet others would pay $300 for a hand crafted nut cracker. Totally depends on the niche market.

[chopinlover01]

Wow. I meant to put in $250. Huge mistake... I am editing the post now! Thank you for pointing this out. I've worked with wood before and it's a right pain in the arse sometimes. Will definitely be making one of these!
The only issue is, if you're going to spend that kind of money, you might as well get an upright/console..

[lhorwinkle]

$250 ?  For a custom-crafted unit?  How very generous! Not!

The raw wood might cost nearly that much, and the labor much more.

A cheap chip-core office desk costs more than that. And those are mass produced.

So ... $250 for a custom-crafted unit like this? Just silly!

[chopinlover01]

I said $250 from a business standpoint. No matter how gorgeous it is, if I'm spending upwards of $250 for an accessory for a digital that takes up as much space as an upright, I'll take the upright. Plus it gets rid of the portability of a digital, unless it can be taken out quickly (doesn't look like it if the cords run through the wood).

[joshuapflu]

I said $250 from a business standpoint. No matter how gorgeous it is, if I'm spending upwards of $250 for an accessory for a digital that takes up as much space as an upright, I'll take the upright. Plus it gets rid of the portability of a digital, unless it can be taken out quickly (doesn't look like it if the cords run through the wood).

You're missing the point of the concept here. It's not to replace an acoustic piano, but rather make a synthesizer/keyboard have a better stage presence. A simple X stand can get quite dull and boring. If all you want out of a keyboard is piano patches, then yes, simply go buy an acoustic upright. This is for those who still want all of the synth and electric samples, just presented in a cool shell.