Est. 1993

Products / The Catalog

The DS Standard
in Specimen and Specification

A working catalog of the keyboards and actions we build. Whether you are outfitting a concert hall, a teaching studio, or a single beloved instrument at home, the registry below is where the conversation usually begins.

Yamaha CFX concert grand fitted with a DS Standard keyboard
Pl. I. DS5.5 fitted to Yamaha CFX, concert grandPl. 001

The Ledger

Grand Piano
Offerings

Two ways to bring a DS Standard keyboard to a grand piano. In both cases the instrument’s action travels to Titusville, Pennsylvania for precise measurement before we begin work. We provide the crate.

Complete New Action

Concert Grade

US$16,800

A complete new action with its own stack, built around new hammers and wippens. Interchangeable with the original keyboard in about five minutes.

Initial installation typically takes an afternoon or a day; technicians spend considerably more hours over time to regulate and voice the action to concert level.

Includes
New hammers and wippens on a new action stack
Swap Time
Approximately five minutes
Build Time
Ships back a few days after measuring
Best For
Concert stage and touring instruments

DS Standard Keyboard

Studio Favorite

US$10,800

A new DS Standard frame mounted with the piano's original hammers and wippens. Preserves the instrument's voice and can be reversed at any time by a competent technician. Because the build is made to measure, we will have your action for approximately three months.

Includes
New frame with original hammers and wippens
Voice
Preserves the piano's original sound
Build Time
Approximately three months after measuring
Best For
Studios, teaching pianos, private residences

Plus shipping and installation. For both offerings the action must first be sent to us in Titusville, Pennsylvania for precise measurement. We provide a shipping box for that purpose.


Adult Sizes, at a Glance

Certified Dimensions

DS6.5®

Conventional
Octave Span
6.500" (165.1 mm)
Overall Width
48.25"

The historical default. Documented as punishing for the majority of adult female pianists and a substantial share of adult male pianists.

DS6.0®

Universal
Octave Span
6.000" (152.4 mm)
Overall Width
44.53"

The primary DS Standard specification. Restores natural relaxation across the broadest distribution of adult hands while allowing rapid adaptation from the conventional keyboard.

DS5.5®

7/8
Octave Span
5.538" (140.7 mm)
Overall Width
41.10"

Engineered for smaller adult hands. Gives a pianist of average span the geometry historically available only to large-handed virtuosi.

DS5.1

Student
Octave Span
5.100" (129.5 mm)
Overall Width
37.88"

A transitional specification for advancing adolescent students with smaller hand spans.

DS4.7

Student
Octave Span
4.700" (119.4 mm)
Overall Width
34.91"

Scaled for younger students, preserving the tactile ratios of the adult DS specifications.


Bass to treble engineering of the DS Standard keyboard
Fig. II. Bass to treble engineeringPl. 018
Precision Engineering

Bass to Treble,
by the Millimetre.

Every DS Standard keyboard is precision engineered using the same computer driven manufacturing processes we have refined over three decades. The result is quiet, consistent, and remarkably easy for a technician to live with.

The design of key leveling alone is a small piece of genius. What used to be a delicate, patience testing adjustment has become a fifteen minute job, and every other regulation step benefits from the same dimensional discipline.

From the strength of the keys through the response of the action, every component is built to meet the standards of serious professional use, and to keep meeting them decade after decade.

Leveling
~15 minutes
Manufacturing
CNC milled
Swap Time
~5 minutes
Calibration
Concert grade

Fig. III / Field Report

“As the piano technician at Ohio University, I am pleased to add my voice to those praising the DS Standard keyboards. From a technical standpoint, these pianos are a joy to work on. The engineering is extremely accurate in all regards. I am continually impressed with the precision and manufacture of all the components.”

Christopher D. Purdy, R.P.T.Registered Piano Technician, Ohio University School of Music

Upright Partnership

Uprights, by Hailun.

Through our partnership with Hailun, the only major acoustic piano manufacturer currently offering DS Standard keyboards, alternatively sized uprights can be placed in practice rooms, conservatories, and homes without the custom retrofit cycle.

DS6.0 Hailun Upright piano
Pl. II. DS6.0 Hailun UprightHU1P / DS6.0
DS5.5 Hailun Upright piano
Pl. III. DS5.5 Hailun UprightHU1P / DS5.5
Stock Offering

Hailun HU1P with DS Keyboard

US$15,800

Available in DS5.5 and DS6.0 specifications


Institutional Impact

“In 2014, the School of Music at the University of Central Oklahoma was extremely fortunate to acquire a DS6.0 keyboard action fitted to a Steinway D concert grand. Students with smaller hand sizes have since been able to unhesitatingly take on and confidently perform repertoire which would normally have been off limits.”

Dr. David ForbatProfessor of Piano, University of Central Oklahoma, School of Music
Correspondence

To commission, to consult,
or simply to hear one played.

Institutional orders, private inquiries, and technician consultations all begin the same way. Write or call, and we will walk you through measurement, options, and timing without any pressure.