Here’s the latest out of our custom shop: A Helpinstill 64 Road Piano with a one-of-a-kind electronics set up, a fresh white paint job, added Wurlitzer legs, and a complete mechanical overhaul to boot. These are fascinating instruments, with a design that features a folding keybed for transport.
This is certainly not our first foray into Helpinstill restorations, it’s not even the first white Helpinstill that we’ve done, but the electronics configuration of this piano implemented a brand new custom design that allows for more versatile output control options. The client who contracted this build had the idea to separate the outputs for each of the three onboard pickups, covering the bass, midrange, and treble register respectively. His thought was to have the ability to pan the piano across the register of the instrument when recording.
With a little ingenuity, our electronics tech Keegan Meuris was able to re-wire the piano internally and add a separate breakout box. Aesthetically inspired by the later Roadmaster era output boxes, Keegan’s electronics set up allows for three separate outputs, each with a dedicated volume control. You can also use the instrument with the standard balance mixed mono output, and the volume controls allow you to dial in a mix across the piano’s register for balanced or unbalanced outputs.
We immediately plugged this in to three different amps around our shop, and the result was very exciting. The treble register was drenched in reverb from one of our shop Fender Twin Reverbs, at the same time the bass register was nice and fat through our shop Ampeg B-15N. We quickly had the thought to try different effects simultaneously with this piano. You can hear the results below.
The Wurlitzer legs certainly add a nice “console piano” look to the Helpinstill, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. First of all, our client wanted to keep the piano’s wheels usable while adding the Wurlitzer legs. Because of the extra length of the Helpinstill’s wheels, we had custom leg extensions fabricated to make up the difference.
Additionally, the legs add a level of consistency to the piano’s regulation. Due to the design of the keyframe, there is always a small amount of extra play when the Helpinstill keys are folded out. The legs ensure that the keyframe sits in the same position each time the piano is set up, ensuring that the player is getting properly regulated action each time the piano is moved and played.
The mechanical nature of these pianos makes them a joy to work on. In our experience, Helpinstills are almost always begging for action work, and they generally get more road worn than their Yamaha counterparts. New action springs and felts, replaced bushing felts, and proper action regulation ensure the piano feel like new.
The Winter White paint job makes this Helpinstill a real winner – not to mention the matching white output box. We couldn’t be happier with how this piano turned out, aesthetically and functionally, and we’re already looking forward to the next one that comes through our workshop.
If you’re interested in Helpinstill services please contact us at info@chicagoelectricpiano.com
