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Wing Upright Piano
Wing Upright Piano

Far from the common specimen, this rare Wing Upright Piano from 1900 is one of the most beautiful and unusual vertical pianos ever made. This century-old upright grand has a strong, warm sound with gorgeous sustain – instantly reminiscent of the turn-of-the-20th Century. We meticulously captured all the quirks and unique nuances of this remarkable upright piano with multiple mics.

Looking downward, you immediately see something unusual – instead of the two or three pedals usually found on upright pianos, this one has four! The two pedals on the left control the "Instrumental Attachments,” a mechanical factory option that permitted the player to, in the words of one of their print ads from 1903, "imitate perfectly the tones of the mandolin, guitar, zither, harp, and banjo."

Wing Upright Piano

The first pedal is labeled, "Tremelo." It brings a mechanism fitted with metal balls on springy blades into contact with the strings, so when the hammers strike the strings, their vibrations cause the balls to bounce – similar to a Marxophone – sounding like a hammer bouncing on a zither, or, if you use your imagination, a tremolo mandolin!

The second pedal is labeled, "Orchestra." It lowers a bar fitted with small metal rings suspended from felt strips, positioning the rings between the hammers and the strings. The hammers hit the rings, which then hit the strings, transforming it into a classic Tack Piano sound, without destroying the hammers. The incredibly inspiring sounds this instrument made for us are destined to be a favorite of our film composer users!

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All musical instrument manufacturer and product names used in Keyscape are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Spectrasonics. The trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose tones and sounds were studied during Spectrasonics sound development. All names of musical artists and instrument inventors have been included for illustrative and educational purposes only and do not suggest any affiliation or endorsement of Keyscape by any artist or instrument inventor.