[REVIEW] 21323 Grand Piano

[makoy]

Piano is not my forte.

 

The end. 

 

Oh, you're still here. Okay. Let me try again. The statement above is a joke but it is also true. No pun intended.

This review is about the Grand Piano set, a LEGO scale model with ornate details inside and out.

If you were around back in April, my last review was about the immaculate 1-piece LEGO white baseplate. Today, I am about to review a set with over 3600 pieces.  Not much of a difference, really.

Now, let's begin with my 32nd RA review, set# 21323 Grand Piano.

 

Overview

Name: 21323 - Grand Piano
Theme: IDEAS
Year: 2020 (2H)
Pieces: 3662
Minifigures: 0
Price: USD 349.99 / EUR / GBP 319.99 
 

Introduction

I have very fond memories in my childhood wanting to play an upright piano whenever my mom and I visit my aunt's house. In fact, I have a picture of me pretending to play that piano -- it is one of my favourite childhood photo. Sadly, the untapped potential got wasted because I never had any proper training to play a piano, or any musical instrument for that matter. I don't think I could ever read sheet music as that take years of practice too. I only understand music alphabets - those 7 letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Regardless, I enjoy music and I am one of those person who could listen from rock music to gospel song, then to jazz, switch to EDM, then back to classical symphonies. I love music and that's why I appreciate this set that celebrates the art of music.

With this LEGO set, I could fool you into thinking that I am also an expert musician. I am not kidding. I will be expertly playing Fur Elise like Beethoven himself, towards the end of this review, so keep on reading.

Before proceeding, let me thank TLG and Eurobricks for giving me the opportunity to review this remarkable set. All opinion about this set is my own. 

 

Front Box Panel

The new branding of 18+ looks very premium especially with the gold font used in the grand piano branding. It just exudes class. 

Side note -- for some reason, the gold and black colour scheme reminds me of a Belgian chocolate brand.

Back Box Panel

The classiness continues at the back. The back panel shows the dimension of the grand piano, as well as the Powered Up components featured for its auto-play feature. There are minimal text in the packaging so it is not explained how this feature works. More about that later.

If you have not bought the set yet, I encourage you to know how the play function works first before making any purchase because it could lead to disappointment if you don't do any homework or research.

Now, let's carry on. Carry on, it doesn't even matter... (for the mostly parts)

 

The box is a lift-up type similar to that of the recent Technic sets such as 42115 Lamborghini Sian.

While looking premium, the box is so huge that 4 tapes are needed to seal the box. I wonder how long the seals are going to last.
 

What’s inside the box?

There is a box within a box. I am not tracking how many such LEGO sets have this kind of packaging -- but when I do see one, it means serious business.

Really serious.

 

Below, you can see the contents of the smaller black box laid down. The other half remained inside the bigger box for the time being. There are are so many pieces that I cannot take picture of them all in one go.

 

Instruction Booklet

For a set this expensive, I already expected there is no sticker sheet. Indeed, there is no sticker sheet in this set, and I prefer it that way.

The instruction book looks very good but I am not keen on using this for building reference. I thought that it would ruin the bindings because the instruction book is too thick and I don’t want to ruin it by flipping it over and over. As you can see from the picture above -- it is 2 bricks tall. I decided that I will be using the LEGO Instructions app for this round. 

So, looking at my phone, I now have more LEGO games and apps that I could ask for. That’s because  in the last 24 hours upon receiving this set, I downloaded 3 more LEGO apps on my phone. I even have The LEGO NINJAGO Movie game on PS4 which my kids and I recently got platinum trophy. These LEGO apps and games just keep on coming. 

 

LEGO is everywhere. In the playroom, in the living room, and even in my pocket.

 

Build

Starting with the build overview, the screenshot from the instruction app is a very good starting point.

 

From bag 1 until bag 10, the focus is mainly on the frame and body of the piano.

 

From bags 11 to 15, the focus is shifted onto keyboard, while bags 16 and 17 are meant for the fall board, music shelf and desk.

 

Then, bags 18 to 20, are all about the lid only.

 

Finally, bag 21 is meant solely for the chair.

 

Ready for the long read?

Adagio.

 

Bag 1 out of 21

 

 

The interior of the grand piano is mostly tan. I like this colour and it’s the obvious choice for the frame as the cabinet cavity is mostly made of wood. Dark tan makes sense here as well.

 

Bag #1 progress - cabinet underside and spine

 

The first in-progress picture and it looks odd because I oriented this the wrong way. The tan side should be flat on the ground because it is the bottom of our grand piano. The black flat wall of the piano cabinet is called the spine.

While building this, I am curious as to how the ball joints will be used later. More on that soon...ish.

 

Bag 2 out of 21

 

 

I was not too familiar with the newer battery unit / smarthub so when I learned I needed 6 AAA batteries, the AA batteries that I prepared were useless. So, I needed to get spares quickly.
 

 

Bag #2 Progress -  Powered Up smarthub, motor and motion sensor

 

I felt that having these electrical components at bag #2 is too early in the build. So much bricks will be added on different directions and it is very likely that these component might be locked inside this build permanently, or until dismantled.

Take a good look at the arrangement of these Technic beams. All the colours point in the same direction.

 

Bag 3 out of 21 

 

 

Bag #3 Progress - Damper wires

The dark bluish grey pins are meant to be the damper wire.

These damper wires hold the dampers which stop the note once you release the piano keys. Just remember this for now because it is a long way before we even get to the dampers.
 

Bag 4 out of 21

 

So far, this bag is full of 1x6 tan tiles, and I really like the smoothness of the build so far.

 

Bag #4 Progress - Soundboard

At this angle we can confidently say that the studless to studfull ratio is off the charts already.

 

Bag 5 out of 21

At this point, I got confused that I could not see bag #5 from the smaller box that I have unboxed. Then, I realised that it was outside the smaller box, and inside the bigger box. Due to my confusion I almost forgot to take the in-between progress after building bag 5.

 

Bag #5 Progress - tail

Bag #5 is essentially the buttocks of the piano.

Remember the ball joints earlier? With technic pins connecting the upper parts (soundboard), the job of the ball joints below is to connect the piano tail on its belly. I know it doesn’t sound right but I did not make up the names of the piano anatomy...

Just remember that in case you want to take the motor out of the piano’s belly, or perhaps even its motion sensor -- you need to remove the tail cover at the back first and detach the ball joints so you can pull the tail off to have access to the cabinet cavity.

Finally,  the chubby tail of the piano is completed.

 

Bag 6 out of 21

I am very pleased that there are many tan and dark tan parts in this set up to this point. However, we are mostly done with the interior of the piano, so we will see more black parts from here onwards.

 

Bag #6 Progress - Keybed Part 1

I hope that you are learning the parts of the piano as we go along this building process because surely, I am. This section of the build is part of the keybed. This is literally where the action happens in the piano and where the piano action mechanism is located.

 

Bag 7 out of 21

Bag #7 Progress - Keybed Part 2

 

Bag 8 out of 21

Bag #8 is essentially the pinblock of the piano where you can find the pins, which are represented by the pearl gold tile 1x1 with open O clip. The pins hold the string securely with the right tension to produce the right frequency for the note.

What's not included in the picture are the pearl gold hoses that serves as bass and treble strings. Those are attached to the pins, on top the pinblock, in the subsequent pictures.

 

Bag 9 out of 21

 

Bag #8 & #9 Progress -  pinblock, pins, strings, cheeks and bent side cover

At first glance you can see the gap at the bent side part of the piano. At first I was very distracted by it, but as I finished the whole build, I grew used to it..

In case you don't know what are piano cheeks, those are the ends of piano keyboard. It is built with part # 6005 brick, arch 1 x 3 x 2 curved top.

At this point, you are instructed to reset the gear by pressing the encircled icon in the Powered Up app. Missing this important step might cause frustration later. The reason is simple - if you don’t reset the gear, the technic beams will be in random position so they would obstruct the keyboard rear end. The gear reset will set the beams in neutral position so you can fully slide the keyboard in. Take my word for it, I learned it the hard way.

 

Bag 10 out of 21

Bag #10 Progress - Legs

These legs are chunky, but they look proportional to the chunky grand piano as well.

You have to remember, the entire weight of the piano rests on these 3 legs so they need to be strong.

 

Bag 11 out of 21

From bags 11 to 15, it is all about the keyboard. That includes the keyframe, as well as the individual keys, and the action mechanism.

 

Bag #11 Progress - F4 to B4

Provided the middle C in this pretend piano is C4, as it is the widely accepted middle C, then the lowest register in this grand piano build would be C3. That would be the leftmost white key in this build. 

But let me step back a little bit. I thought initially that the build will start from left to right but it’s not the case. The  build starts somewhere in the middle left. If that makes sense. These keys correspond to F4 - B4 range. Just play along for now.

The keyframe itself would be the array of plates underneath which hold the keys. Interestingly, the only connection that holds the keyframe and the keys are those conical shaped parts, which is conveniently named “ice cream cone” in Bricklink. Technically, they are not even connected. The key is simply positioned on top of the keyframe, guided by inverted ice cream cone. The gap beneath allows someone to push down the key, and this tilts the key from the top of the dark medium flesh slope like a lever. 

 

Bag 12 out of 21

Bag #12 Progress - C4 to E4 + F4 to B4

We have just added 7 more keys. That is 4 white keys and 3 black keys. These 7 keys are added on the left side of bag #11 build.

 

Bag 13 out of 21

 

Bag #13 Progress - C4 to E4 + F4 to B4 + (middle C) C3 to E3

Bag 14 out of 21

Bag #14 Progress - C4 to E4 + F4 to B4 + (middle C) C3 to E3 + F3 to B3

 

This is the most repetitive part in the build and it does not help that you need to do different variants of the keys. It is interesting nonetheless because the end result is beautiful.

 

Bag 15 out of 21

 

The last key (C2) is found in bag #15, which also happens to include the keyslip. This is the part that runs across the front of the piano which protects the keyboard assembly from sliding out.

 

Last look inside the empty keybed.

 

Bag #14 Progress - Complete keyboard, range C4 to C2

For reference, you may compare the keyboard layout to the finished keyboard assembly below. With 15 white keys, this keyboard features 2 octaves and an extra C note at the highest register (rightmost). 

Attached to the keyframe, the assembly looks like the picture above, just before sliding inside the keybed. 

Provided you did not skip the crucial step found in Bag #9, sliding the assembly should be easy as pie.

With the keyframe fitted in, we now have the keyboard ready for action. 

Note that the keyslip and the keyboard, are not connected by any studs. They just slide in together.

To secure the keyboard, the keyblock is secured using a technic pin that locks the left and right side, underneath the piano cheeks. Since the keyslip is connected to the keyblock, this prevents the keyframe from sliding out, and keeps the keyboard safely intact.

 

Bag 16 out of 21

Bag #16 is the fall board or key cover. The most interesting part for me here is the single inverted tile 2 x 2 with old LEGO logo circa 1934. 

 

Bag #16 Progress - Fall board

The instruction wants you to slide in the fall board or the key cover while the keys and keyframe assembly are already fitted inside the keybed.

However, I find it much easier to remove the keyblock, keyslip and the entire keyboard assembly and just attach the fall board on top just as how it is pictured below.

 

Once the cover is fitted, just slide them back inside, then put back the pin locks underneath again.

 

Now, enjoy the key covers. The cover has a slight friction preventing it from slamming onto your fingers. With the right push, it will stay in position as pictured above. As noted by the fan designer, the fall board is supposed to have a soft close feature. Meaning, it won’t slam on your fingers because closes down gently.

 

Bag 17 out of 21

 

This bag contain parts for the music shelf and music desk - the one that supports the sheet music as well as your phone if you choose to use it for the auto-play feature.

 

Apart from this, this bag also contains the parts for the dampers. Those are the black convex shaped things that are found on top of the strings.

 

Bags 18, 19 and 20 out of 21

Frankly I am not sure why these parts are broken down into 3 separate bags when these bags are meant for the piano lid only. That includes the main lid, front lid, as well as the hinge which connects at the spine of the piano.

The parts are all black. Here they for your viewing pleasure:

 

Bags #18, #19 and #20 Progress - Lid

This is the top of the lid. I don’t think you can find a build as straight forward and smooth as this in any LEGO catalogue.

The underside is just as interesting, with technic bricks running across the lid that makes the structure rigid.

Once attached, the cover does a really good job in holding itself even when fully opened. However, I suggest you don’t do this on purpose because the technic bricks with pins, which connects the hinges on the piano spine, will be stressed so much with the lid’s sheer weight. 

 

Now, the moment I am waiting for -- with the lid closed down and the key cover shut, join me in admiring the beauty of the piano case and its sexy body shape.

 

Viewed from the tail, I can appreciate the chubby proportion of the build because it is a toy. If this is a real piano, the rim height is just too high for its body. For what it is, the proportion is very toy-like.

 

Also, can someone please let me know if there is any other set smoother than this?

I checked many times. Save the 3 legs which have 4 exposed studs each, I cannot count any exposed stud in this closed-lid grand piano body. There are 2 anti-studs at the spine edge of the lid but they do not count as studs, do they?

 

Bag 21 out of 21

Finally, we came a long way to finally build the last part of the Grand Piano set. The ultra-luxurious looking chair with a lift mechanism.

 

This chair looks more comfortable than the IKEA chair I am sitting on right now.

 

While the piano itself only has 12 exposed studs on its exterior, this time, I could see 2 studs on the chair - one on each side, left and right. I have never been more excited to find exposed studs in a set because it is such a rarity in this build. Viewed from side to side, and top, this set is 14 exposed studs on top only. That is over 99% SNOT perfection. Maybe I am wrong. Let me know, please.

Once again, viewed from a different angle, the studs not on top design in this build is topnotch.

Overall, those who supported the project in IDEAS will be very pleased. Even though the interior is changed, I don’t mind swapping the strings with rigid hoses -- but I am not sure if there are grand piano with gold strings. Maybe the bass strings could use copper colour instead because those strings are commonly using heavy copper wound strings to generate lower bass notes. As for the treble strings, I think that pearl grey or silver would be more accurate. Not really a big deal as long as the build is sturdy.

So, about its sturdiness -- it is strong and well put together even if the case has a hinge at the bent side. I don't fear that it will crumble into pieces at all. Surprisingly, it is very swooshable. It can race with LEGO Speed Champions. Just make sure you race on a smooth surface because a slight bump or level change could nudge or cripple one of its legs. 

To further support my point on how strong it is, I had no trouble putting the piano on its side or turning it upside down.

 

Enjoy the underside of the piano

 

Let’s talk about play features

To begin with, turning the smarthub on feels awkward at first because it opens at the unexpected direction. In my opinion, it would be more natural if opening is on the other side because the green "on" button is further in.

So turn the device on, connect the app via bluetooth, select a song (very limited list) and you have yourself an auto-playing piano. I like the novelty idea very much but I don't see myself playing the piano with the Powered Up phone app because I cannot put the app in background to keep it from playing. It is such a big flaw in the app design. That means in order to play the piano songs, you need the app to be running in foreground all the time. You can't do anything else!

smh...

Playing the keyboard is a good experience. It feels responsive but I can tell that it does not feel like a real piano key at all. For starters, it is very light because it is made of ABS plastic. You don’t need to be a piano expert to know that a real piano key feels substantially heavier. It gets A+ for trying.

The GIF above is me, randomly pressing any key to generate the melody of Fur Elise. Just note that the whole key press action is only being processed by a single motion sensor that tracks the red technic beams as illustrated in the instruction below. When you press a key, the full-length of the black technic axle will move, along with the red technic beams, which is then translated as a key press in the app. Therefore, if you press a single key for the entire song, the Powered Up app won’t even know which key you pressed because the information is reduced to an up and down motion only. 

 

You may not know it earlier while building but the  step shown below is responsible for all the notes you hear on the piano.

 

As I said at the beginning of this review, I will be expertly playing Fur Elise. So, to demo this, I mustered all the courage to record this silly "press any" performance.  First part is the app demo, and the the second part is about the performance itself. Enjoy the playlist.

I don't think that the oversimplified "play your own" music is an insult to pianists or aspiring musicians. It is a limitation of the tech components included in the set. To be fair, the fan designer himself is a music teacher and piano tuner, while the wife of the LEGO designer who worked on this product is a pianist and piano teacher, too. Insulting or discrediting musicians would be the last thing they will do. Just keep that in mind.

 

Parts

While the new parts are not a stand-out in this set, there are exclusive prints and new colour of existing LEGO elements. Take a look at the list below.

New part/recolour list:

6322630 (11203pb055) - Tile, Modified 2 x 2 Inverted with Gold 'LEGO' Pattern, exclusive to this set

6322624 (10202pb016) - Playday sheet music 6 x 6 tile, exclusive to this set 

6322135 (part 65734 in black) - first appearance in this colour.

6310833 (part 32064a in dark tan) - first appearance in this colour.

6311104 (part 32124 in tan) - first appearance in this colour

6322138 (75c32 in pearl gold) - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 32L / 25.6cm (first appearance in pearl gold?)

6322139 (75c26 in pearl gold) - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 26L / 20.8cm (first appearance in pearl gold?)

6173281 (75c16 in pearl gold) - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 16L / 12.8cm (appeared 3x)

6267914 (75c12 in pearl gold) - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 12L / 9.6cm (appeared 2x)

11212 in dark tan - appeared in only in set 75317 so far 

11211 in dark tan - appeared in only in set 75317 so far 

6312473 (part 15068) in medium dark flesh  - only appeared in 2 other Mario sets

6294492 (part 9563 in metallic gold) Money / Gold Bar - appeared in 2 other sets only.

 

They look like golden spaghetti strands

 

 

Conclusion

When Donny Chen submitted the original design to LEGO IDEAS, he outlined his main goal in the project. He wanted to capture the mechanical details of a genuine piano, featuring:

• Removable keyboard with 25 independent working keys, each key connects to its own hammer.
• Working damper and pedal function.
• 25 strings.
• Realistic piano lid which can be open either half stick of full stick.
• Realistic fall board with a soft close.
• Removable music stand.
• Height adjustable piano bench.
• Self-playing function enabled by adding PowerFunction, which allows keys to play at different tempos and rhythms.
• Realistic piano wheels.

Overall, the final commercial product by the LEGO designer Woon Tze Chee is very close to Donny’s goals, and to some degree exceeded them even if there were some changes made in the interior and exterior design, for better or worse. To highlight a few, these are:

• The omission of LEGO strings for the treble strings. Likely, looping around strings does not meet LEGO standards so they were replaced by pearl gold hoses instead.  
• The bent side is definitely better in the commercial product despite having a gap, which is necessary to open the door easily.
• The height adjustable piano bench is actually adjustable. The original design was not.
• Grand Piano legs design is slightly better because it uses plates and tiles for added detail.
• No chromed parts. Sadly. On the flipside, there is no paint coat that is going to crack or peel off ever.

If you are a music enthusiast or a musician, there are many things to like about the set. The highlights for me are:

• Great representation of the parts of piano, both exterior and interior.
• 25 keys, which captures the essence of the piano action mechanism, such as hammer, damper and sustain pedal.
• Majestic looking set, which is possibly the smoothest set LEGO ever created thanks to the extravagant use of SNOT techniques.

 

Some of the nitpicks I could think of are:

• The play feature is there, but it is not mandatory to enjoy the set -- majority will display this set only and may not even use the play feature anyway.
• The strings are not angled inside the piano cabinet, like how a modern grand piano might look like.

However, thinking more about the last point, I don't think this LEGO set is trying to be one. I know that the modern grand piano design has 2 bridges, one for the treble and another one for the bass strings. These 2 would cross each other, one on top of the other at an angle, using a wiring method called overstringing or cross-stringing. This has become very common in the modern era as it allows longer strings in a shorter cabinet design. However, grand pianos before the 1800s use a single bridge scale design, without criss-crossing of strings. A simple Google search of Erard grand piano will show that this antique instrument uses an old string wiring method, similar to this LEGO model. As this set alludes to being an antique grand piano design, this is probably the reason why the LEGO designers used the oldest LEGO logo.

Finally this leads me to list down some caution before buying (or not buying) the set (soon).  

• The key press does not correspond to the right note or any particular note for that matter. Using the LEGO Powered Up mobile app, pressing any key will play back the correct note in the phone app regardless if you are pressing the correct piano key or not. Some people may find this misleading because one might think it is capable of doing that due to its hefty price. I understand the argument that a cheap electronic toy piano can play correct notes using the right key, so why can't it do the same? Not my own words, but I am just saying that some people might think this way.    
• You cannot play your own song in the app, even if it is all pretend play. The app is also quite restrictive.
• As one could be building this model to display only, without the intention of ever playing it, the set could have been cheaper if the electronic parts were not included and made as an optional add-on. However, these components were included so you might as well use them for another project. Don't trap them inside the piano if you won't use them for that purpose.
• There are some reports that this is hard to get because it is in limited availability status at the moment. I am not sure if the stock will normalise after few weeks but keep this in mind. Do check with your local retailer for availability first.

 

The inspiration

 

Review summary

Design / Building Experience: 10/10 - I really appreciate the countless SNOT techniques and effort to make the mechanical parts functional depicting that of a real piano. Highly detailed and educational build. My design "complaints" are very minor and easily outweighed by extremely positive results.

Playability: 7/10 - In my opinion, this should have been a display model first and foremost, with optional Powered Up add-ons only. The auto-play does not really add much because the app is restricted to very few songs only. You can’t even add your own song even if it is just a pretend play. Some might think that the pretend play is misleading, especially when someone is not familiar with the limitations of the components inside. 

Minifigures:  N/A - Not applicable / not scored

Price / Value for money: 8/10 - The price per piece ratio is highly reasonable but the set could have been cheaper if the electronic components were not included.

Overall: 8.33/10 - A premium set that is best displayed even if it has very functional parts. It suffers on playability and value but it is a perfect artistic model for music lovers and LEGO fans alike.

 

Full Flickr album could be found here.

[Jim]

What a remarkable set! I'm not into music or piano per se, but this one of the coolest LEGO sets ever released. Such a unique set.

And a very comprehensive review! Nice write-up and great pictures.

Thanks a lot! Sorry for not getting you Sesame Street hehe

 

[rock raider]

Great Review! It's a shame that Lego couldn't figure out how to make each key play a different note. The Nintendo Labo piano did better using one sensor that detected the range to the key being pressed to know which key it was. I know there's a sizable technology gap between the two systems involved but I'm afraid that removes the only function that would have made this purchase worth it for me.

[makoy]

4 hours ago, Jim said:

What a remarkable set! I'm not into music or piano per se, but this one of the coolest LEGO sets ever released. Such a unique set.

And a very comprehensive review! Nice write-up and great pictures.

Thanks a lot! Sorry for not getting you Sesame Street hehe

 

:) Thanks Jim. 

15 minutes ago, rock raider said:

Great Review! It's a shame that Lego couldn't figure out how to make each key play a different note. The Nintendo Labo piano did better using one sensor that detected the range to the key being pressed to know which key it was. I know there's a sizable technology gap between the two systems involved but I'm afraid that removes the only function that would have made this purchase worth it for me.

Thank you for mentioning Nintendo Labo. I did not thought of using that as a reference. Indeed, the implementation could have been better. 

[jodawill]

I agree that the power functions are completely unnecessary. They actually make it seem cheap to me. I think they could have actually used metal tines to create the sound.

 

I love the mechanical stuff in this set, but I would be more likely to buy it if they didn’t include the powered stuff.

I'm curious - could you make the piano thicker if you don't include the powered stuff, or do the mechanical parts also require that much space?

[JaBaCaDaBra]

What a GREAT review
Really an AAA+++

About the set:
Quite nice, not my thing but what I see is absolute a beautyfull design.

Uhm,
I wonder if it is possible to mod the set to an standup pianola.
Honkytonk... western... including sign "don't shoot at the piano player"

[ShaydDeGrai]

Great review, thank you for taking the time to really show what you do (and don't) get with this set.

I really _want_ to like this set, but I find the whole PoweredUp / App aspect more of a liability than a feature.  On the one hand, we have an elegant design that strives for a decent level of fidelity with a real piano; and on the other you've got a hokey little App that doesn't do much and what it does do, it doesn't do very well (and having to stop in the middle of the build to use the app to set the works to the neural position, that was an eye-rolling moment...)

I would rather they'd focused on a pure display model, ditched the app and the power features, made the body thinner (more elegant for its studless character) and dropped the price point.  It's a nice design, probably an interesting build, and looks like a good parts pack as well but the PoweredUp angle makes me feel like I'm paying for gimmicks that detract from the model and I'll never use.

Again, awesome review, I just wish TLG had let the Lego piano just be a Lego piano instead of a phone accessory.

 

[JaBaCaDaBra]

18 minutes ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

to the neural position

A real funny mistype

But OT, the 42100 had this too so it not that special neither new.

[makoy]

7 hours ago, jodawill said:

I agree that the power functions are completely unnecessary. They actually make it seem cheap to me. I think they could have actually used metal tines to create the sound.

 

I love the mechanical stuff in this set, but I would be more likely to buy it if they didn’t include the powered stuff.

I'm curious - could you make the piano thicker if you don't include the powered stuff, or do the mechanical parts also require that much space?

The original IDEAS submission seemed like it was intended to have the motors from the inception of the idea but something as a motor-driven display without the need to use an app -- I like the original approach because it is not pretentious.

As for making it thicker, did you mean thinner instead? Proportion wise, I believe that the height of the case is just enough to make room for all the mechanical stuff. If someone wants a more real-life proportion, one could add more keys so that it is wider, and then add hoses to extend the string length to add depth to the piano.

5 hours ago, JaBaCaDaBra said:

What a GREAT review
Really an AAA+++

About the set:
Quite nice, not my thing but what I see is absolute a beautyfull design.

Uhm,
I wonder if it is possible to mod the set to an standup pianola.
Honkytonk... western... including sign "don't shoot at the piano player"

Thank you. I don't believe a pianola will look as elegant as this but you certainly have the parts to make something more compact. Mechanically, you got all the basic parts for the key action snd you are just making an upright piano version. However, to achieve the western look and feel, you may need to replace the black parts with reddish brown.

4 hours ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

Great review, thank you for taking the time to really show what you do (and don't) get with this set.

I really _want_ to like this set, but I find the whole PoweredUp / App aspect more of a liability than a feature.  On the one hand, we have an elegant design that strives for a decent level of fidelity with a real piano; and on the other you've got a hokey little App that doesn't do much and what it does do, it doesn't do very well (and having to stop in the middle of the build to use the app to set the works to the neural position, that was an eye-rolling moment...)

I would rather they'd focused on a pure display model, ditched the app and the power features, made the body thinner (more elegant for its studless character) and dropped the price point.  It's a nice design, probably an interesting build, and looks like a good parts pack as well but the PoweredUp angle makes me feel like I'm paying for gimmicks that detract from the model and I'll never use.

Again, awesome review, I just wish TLG had let the Lego piano just be a Lego piano instead of a phone accessory.

 

 

Thanks. I made the review for me to understand the inner workings of a piano, too. I had to make sure I understand what I am building as I did tell from the start, piano is not my forte.

For the app, I have to refer you to my answer to jonawill, just a few scroll up.  And to extend that answer, a stand-alone motor function without the need for an app would be simpler too, as you can easily play back any piano tune from external player (e.g. phone) after turning on the auto-play, if it is done that way. Sadly, it isn't the case.

 

4 hours ago, JaBaCaDaBra said:

A real funny mistype

But OT, the 42100 had this too so it not that special neither new.

To be fair 42100 is full Technic build. The amount of Technic pieces on this piano is nowhere close to the Liebherr R 9800. Seemed unnecessary to me to do that step, which is why I skipped it the first time... but then i realised I made a mistake and it was really needed, so I added the comment/advise in my review. 

[MKJoshA]

Fantastic review! What a lovely set. I wish you could play actual music on it, but Lego accomplished some pretty amazing things with plastic bricks and just a couple PowerUp functions so I can't really complain.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

This set is absolutely crazy ...fantastic review! 

[makoy]

On 8/12/2020 at 10:30 AM, MKJoshA said:

Fantastic review! What a lovely set. I wish you could play actual music on it, but Lego accomplished some pretty amazing things with plastic bricks and just a couple PowerUp functions so I can't really complain.

Thanks. I guess no one is really complaining that those features are there -- but more so on the missed opportunity. Besides that, one cannot argue it is a great build. 

3 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

This set is absolutely crazy ...fantastic review! 

Thank you! :) It is also a fantastic set.

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thanks for this great review, @makoy!

This piano is simply outstanding!

Its price is a nightmare. But since the set is that excellent, I fear that nothing will hold me off buying it one day (combined with double VIP points and a nice promotion).

[Options]

This is one of the best reviews that I’ve ever read.  Great work and insights.  While I have no interest in the set, this is a great review. 

[koalayummies]

Fantastic review. The patience to stop building and photograph and keep note of everything, well done.

Amazing set. Wish I could build it but even just enjoying it from the photos its easily one of the most amazing designs for a Lego set ever.

Again, fantastic review, photography and descriptions.

[Kai NRG]

It's a shame you can't play whatever you like.  Turns the playabilty into a bit of a gimmick.  But as a model, it's fantastic.

[JintaiZ]

I'm so impressed, but the price... it's letting me off...

[makoy]

On 8/13/2020 at 6:57 PM, Klaus-Dieter said:

Thanks for this great review, @makoy!

This piano is simply outstanding!

Its price is a nightmare. But since the set is that excellent, I fear that nothing will hold me off buying it one day (combined with double VIP points and a nice promotion).

Welcome. PPP is really decent from the start. Add some discount to this maybe 20-30% and it is great deal overall.

On 8/14/2020 at 7:50 AM, Options said:

This is one of the best reviews that I’ve ever read.  Great work and insights.  While I have no interest in the set, this is a great review. 

Thank you for the compliment. :)

On 8/15/2020 at 1:05 AM, koalayummies said:

Fantastic review. The patience to stop building and photograph and keep note of everything, well done.

Amazing set. Wish I could build it but even just enjoying it from the photos its easily one of the most amazing designs for a Lego set ever.

Again, fantastic review, photography and descriptions.

Thanks, and really glad you enjoyed the photography much as I enjoyed the build. I tried to put that thought while building, as how to capture the experience while building it.

On 8/16/2020 at 5:18 AM, Kai NRG said:

It's a shame you can't play whatever you like.  Turns the playabilty into a bit of a gimmick.  But as a model, it's fantastic.

Really outstanding model as it is. I took the motors, sensor and battery after I finished the review. Regardless, it isa hallmark in SNOT design and it's really a fine looking model even without the music.

On 8/16/2020 at 5:35 AM, JintaiZ said:

I'm so impressed, but the price... it's letting me off...

There is always a possibility for discount or promotions. Just add it in your wishlist for now :)

[JintaiZ]

.

Edited January 6, 2021 by JintaiZ
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[moggy001]

Has anyone else found issues with their hub being unable to drive the motor? I tried the hub from my Disney train and used the same batteries from the faulty hub and the piano works a-ok. Lego sent me a new hub which i tested today and this latest hub has exactly the same problem. I now have 3 hubs but only 1 of them works for the piano (all tested with the same batteries); the 2 faulty ones do seem to work ok driving the Disney train motor.

[makoy]

8 hours ago, moggy001 said:

Has anyone else found issues with their hub being unable to drive the motor? I tried the hub from my Disney train and used the same batteries from the faulty hub and the piano works a-ok. Lego sent me a new hub which i tested today and this latest hub has exactly the same problem. I now have 3 hubs but only 1 of them works for the piano (all tested with the same batteries); the 2 faulty ones do seem to work ok driving the Disney train motor.

Personally I didn't encounter this issue, but this is annoying if it does happen to anyone. So, you reported the issue and got a replacement hub? Sounds great if you got a replacement.

But still, if that replacement hub is not working I wonder if you are plugging the sensor and the motor connectors on the wrong ports?

There are A and B ports there. Motor goes to A and, sensor goes to B.  Just check once. If it doesn't help, I am not sure what could be faulty with the hub.

[moggy001]

4 hours ago, makoy said:

Personally I didn't encounter this issue, but this is annoying if it does happen to anyone. So, you reported the issue and got a replacement hub? Sounds great if you got a replacement.

But still, if that replacement hub is not working I wonder if you are plugging the sensor and the motor connectors on the wrong ports?

There are A and B ports there. Motor goes to A and, sensor goes to B.  Just check once. If it doesn't help, I am not sure what could be faulty with the hub.

Yes, of course I have already checked that; that's how I confirmed that 1 hub does work and 2 hubs are faulty. :-(

I guess I am just surprised that I have 2 faulty hubs and that nobody else has had similar problem.

I shall contact Lego again today to ask them to send me another hub.

[TheWineNut]

Thank you for the fantastic review. I've been waiting for this since it was approved on Lego Ideas, and managed to get one ordered early on launch morning. I'm very impressed with how precisely this kit mimics the actual action of a real piano.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the build and have just installed the keyboard and hammers into the piano. I see that in the 'rest' position the keys are slightly out of aligned. You show this in your bag 14 pic above. I think this is due to the angle the grey 4-hole technic 'stopper bar' on the far left sits in relation to the orange piece at the left end of the long technic bar.

I'm wondering whether to add a pad to the stopper bar to ensure the orange piece stops at true vertical which should allow all the key to be even at the rest position. Any thoughts?

Edited August 24, 2020 by TheWineNut
typo

[makoy]

On 8/24/2020 at 3:03 PM, TheWineNut said:

I'm wondering whether to add a pad to the stopper bar to ensure the orange piece stops at true vertical which should allow all the key to be even at the rest position. Any thoughts?

I understand the problem... but from my limited testing, I find that  the rest position of the piano keys should be flat and completely levelled without any modification. The problem here is that the tolerances of the bricks and pieces underneath those keys contribute to the jaggedness of the keys when you line them up. Even the technic pieces inside shouldn't interfere with the rest position, and yet, the keys appear to be jagged. 

As you pointed out in my photo for bag 14, that alone will give you a clear idea that nothing should interfere on the alignment of the piano keys... and yet, even detached from the rest of the piano, the keys look jagged.

From press release photos it looks very perfect. I also don't know what they did to make it so straight and aligned. 

[TheWineNut]

18 hours ago, makoy said:

I understand the problem... but from my limited testing, I find that  the rest position of the piano keys should be flat and completely levelled without any modification. The problem here is that the tolerances of the bricks and pieces underneath those keys contribute to the jaggedness of the keys when you line them up. Even the technic pieces inside shouldn't interfere with the rest position, and yet, the keys appear to be jagged. 

Thanks for the response, I'll explain my thinking with the photos. In this photo with the keyboard taken out of the piano* the keys are basically even, with slight variations as you note.

Here's the interior showing the mechanism. You can see that the orange piece is not fully vertical, and therefore the red, white and black key strikers are at an angle rather than at 9 12 and 3 o'clock positions.

When you put the keyboard back in the key alignment is not as even, due to the hammer mechanism going under the red pieces. Particularly note the A (6th white from the left), and G (4th white from the right) keys. I could see the keys moving down as I reinstalled the keyboard.

Therefore my thinking that I can get the orange bar to be vertical at the rest position, possibly by extending the grey technic bar, the red strikers will be horizontal rather than angled down and hopefully then the keys will be even.

* That you can remove the keyboard, just like in a real piano, is yet another piece of masterful design by Donny Chen in this brilliant set.

Edited August 28, 2020 by TheWineNut
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