Few days ago I started thinking about how I could re-purpose the keyboard of the dismantled piano I keep in the garden, so I thought to build a new instrument by combining it with some other parts I had laying around. I ended up with this mechanical hybrid thing I thought to call "Bassoforte" (bass + pianoforte).
The neck is from a broken electric bass, as a bridge I used a cabinet handle, the pickups are from a guitar and the part at the top where the strings are attached is a chimney cap, which works as resonator as well as percussive sound.
The track I created is a tribute to my dad who is a big fan of Western comic books and "spaghetti western" films, and because of him, I am a fan too.
The neck is from a broken electric bass, as a bridge I used a cabinet handle, the pickups are from a guitar and the part at the top where the strings are attached is a chimney cap, which works as resonator as well as percussive sound.
The track I created is a tribute to my dad who is a big fan of Western comic books and "spaghetti western" films, and because of him, I am a fan too.
This was taken while I was still figuring out how to build the Bassoforte.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/8675612d-3117-4923-866f-08000048f198/e6a73367-45a8-496d-8799-ff7b44ff68fa_rw_600.jpg?h=e09b77577a7d39935f591e67dd0507e9)
Detail of the chimney cap. Every note played on the strings makes it resonate.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/8675612d-3117-4923-866f-08000048f198/9ae22aeb-86ad-4ee6-a574-aa88f0061c50_rw_600.jpg?h=ff072b9d74ba45e05cdd8dc67f612190)
Here I was playing the Bassoforte with a double bass bow.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/8675612d-3117-4923-866f-08000048f198/0b545e84-4939-4cf1-9f91-a3afb8bc9361_rw_600.jpg?h=6d5449d3005406b54e1c99511234b061)
I installed the guitar pickups so I could play acoustic and electric sounds.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/8675612d-3117-4923-866f-08000048f198/15bdf990-102d-4eb1-855e-cbeb5cd81ce3_rw_600.jpg?h=3157a54ad2a61112ad021097053a08b9)
A screenshot of Amplitube 3, the amp software I used to amp the bass line and the distorted sound.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/8675612d-3117-4923-866f-08000048f198/c38ecf54-d069-4514-89ef-6c7658f48616_rw_600.jpg?h=9b766bcd172cb3c2af457039eab2f72a)
Here you can see how the keys/strings action works. The neck is slightly tilted so when I press a key I can push all four strings at the same time. but because the piano keys are not perpendicular to the frets the tuning is imprecise (which I like) and can also generate in between semitones. How strong I push the keys also affects the tuning. It can be a little tricky to play but overall I'm very happy about how it came out.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/8675612d-3117-4923-866f-08000048f198/6626d821-567a-4c7f-bbff-2f5deb44341d_rw_600.jpg?h=65585068e7f4595ba4d7c740b97f6ace)