Darrell Fandrich is a “micromaker” of pianos. He takes lower quality mass-produced pianos from China and upgrades them to high performance instruments. Fandrich uses European parts and his proprietary engineering system to upgrade a relatively cheap assembly line grand piano to a fine instrument.

“People are getting a very custom-made piano where someone has really put a lot of thought into it and a lot of labor for a good price,” he said.
His work remains an open question for others. He’s trying to upgrade a Hyundai to run like a Bentley, for the price of a Honda.

With his higher-end grands — which the Fandrichs named “HGS” for “Holy Grail Scale” — they start with pianos built in China. He and his workers gut the piano, replacing the hammers, felt and bass strings with German and American parts. They reinforce the underbelly of the piano by installing short ribs — spruce beams between the existing main ribs.

Using a computer program designed in-house, the keys are reweighted across the board to eliminate friction and even out the response. The reweighting gives the Fandrich pianos their signature touch, one that some players have described as buttery, effortless.

To get the sound he wants, Fandrich voices each hammer by driving needles into the felt. Flat notes that plunk take on undertones, overtones and resonance. He made some of his voicing tools himself out of brass, wood and sewing needles.

Via PSFK & Seattle Times