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Vidal pre-orders are shipping! It’s been a long few months since our last update, and we've been working since then to get production up and running. Today we are now steadily shipping keyboards to pre-order customers, and we're very excited for what comes next.
To everyone who’s placed an order already, thank you! We could not have done this without your support, and we can’t wait to get your instrument to you. Once your spot in the production queue comes up we'll send an email to coordinate shipping.
What Does Production Entail?
Like most aspects of this project, getting production set up was a lot more work than we anticipated. Unlike software where a patch can be issued after release, with a physical product like the Vidal, once it’s shipped we can’t easily make changes. This means we have to get everything right from the outset, so we've spent time fixing bugs and making all the small manufacturing and design adjustments the keyboard needs to live up to its promise.
Our internal quality goal has been to have each keyboard produced in the first batch still in perfect working order ten years from now. Practically speaking, this means we’ve had to make small changes to the design after we’d already started manufacturing. Occasionally, a problem would only became apparent during final assembly.
Each fix requires time and thought, and has to be validated by completing a full manufacturing cycle on the relevant assembly to make sure the change works as intended. This means altering the original design files, propagating those changes to multiple manufacturing programs for the CNC machine, updating the CNC operator on the changes, running new programs on the CNC machine to test them, and then making sure the changes work as intended when using the part in the assembly process. Each change, no matter how slight, needs to be validated in this manner.
To us, the keyboard isn’t just the final object, it's the entire process required to make it. This means that any change we want to make to the final result requires changing and re-validating the process. Every component of the design is interrelated, so even small changes can have unintended consequences downstream.
A Look into Assembly
Our team founded Vidal with two parallel sets of expertise: rebuilding concert grand pianos, and designing complex electronic systems. Together, these have allowed us to design every detail of the Vidal from the ground up to create the ideal piano controller. Thousands of small decisions add up to create the final playing experience, and each one plays an important part in the whole.
Every aspect of manufacturing is controlled in every variable: we know the exact thickness tolerances of every felt we buy, the torque every screw must be tightened to, the precise friction of the key on the balance pin, the height the keys must be set at for optimal dynamic range, and much, much more. The traditional craft of piano making was an extraordinary early-modern exercise in precision with natural materials, and we’ve taken the same approach with the Vidal, engineering the instrument down to the last detail in order to create the best playing experience possible.
Installing pins and felts on the keybed. The keybed is CNC machined to tolerances of +/- .001" (one thousandth of an inch), which is essential for creating the right feel for the instrument.
We make our keyframe out of quartersawn white spruce reinforced with steel plates for the beams running front-to-back, and high-end baltic birch plywood for the rails running left-to-right. These materials are strong and dimensionally stable, and there's nearly zero movement in the keybed with fluctuations in humidity - essential for creating a consistent feel over time. The keybed itself was one of the hardest engineering challenges in creating the Vidal. Designing a structure so light, thin and stable while also being able to resist the inertial forces of the keys was a tall order.
Small parts are organized based on assembly step. Our assembly process is a recipe that's taken months to refine.
Keys as they come off the CNC machine. These are then sanded by hand before installing felts, keytops, and weights.
Cases after glue-up. We use locally-sourced Pennsylvania walnut for the exterior case of the Vidal.
IO Panels after component installation and soldering. One of our earliest design considerations for the Vidal was making sturdy IO. For nearly all keyboards on the market today, the ports felt cheap and flimsy. So, we designed our own IO with a thick aluminum plate and panel-mounted jacks for maximum ruggedness.
A keyboard undergoing final inspection. Every single aspect of the keyboard is checked and tested in detail before shipping to a customer. We also playtest each instrument ourselves.
The final result, ready for packaging and shipping to a pre-order customer.Batch 2 is Halfway Sold Out
Batch 2 is open, and at the time of writing we only have 5 spots left. To secure your spot for delivery this Spring, place your order here.
As always, we’d love to chat over email if you have any questions or comments. You can contact us directly here.