The Stanway Story

Updated Marketing Hype

The Stanway faux-grand piano designer realized that many people would love to have a grand piano in their home. Most players prefer to look and sound like they’re playing a fine, grand piano rather than playing a toy-piano or steel-guitar-looking contraption. However, many of these potential piano-owners are deterred by the cost of a fine instrument and by the size of a grand piano that can be a problem in most urban living-spaces.

We believe that the Stanway would be a great-looking and great-sounding solution for you. The Stanway is available in an amazing range of sizes, materials, and colors. We provide configurable internal sound systems to present a beautiful-looking and beautiful-sounding partner for 63, 76, and 88-note professional keyboards. The Stanway provides notebook and tablet computer accessibility, providing Ethernet, WiFi, Firewire, USB, and MIDI conduits.

Create your own solution, one that demonstrates your personalized blend of form and function. The Stanway represents an evolution from “faux-piano” cases that were used as “props” for stage use. In its smaller version, the “Baby Stanway” requires a much smaller operating space than larger models, and can be ideal for today’s lifestyles and spaces.

Reality Sinks In…

I have de-prioritized my plan to manufacture and market the Stanway faux-grand piano. Now, my work related to this is to continue refining my 3D piano model (pictured, right). Surely, I will be able to eventually print it with a 3D printer.

Over a period of years I have observed a number of similar “faux-piano” projects that have come and gone… The first such piano of which I became aware, was one constructed for a rock-band that I cannot remember by a person whom I also can’t remember. Touring with real grand piano is a burden and this model used a MIDI keyboard that allowed the case to be an empty shell without the weight normally associated with the piano’s harp-assembly. Such “faux-pianos” allow the performer to insert a portable keyboard, connect to internal or external sound sources, and thereby produce piano sounds while sitting at an instrument that “looks” like a grand-piano. The hollow piano cases helps to avoid the burden of moving a real piano for stage use. As such, most faux-piano models are primarily designed to be lightweight and easy-to-transport.

This seemed like a great idea to me for a long time. Now, the opinion polls are in, and, I see no significant interest in such… Maybe, in another lifetime.