Among the projects was fitting a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano into the shell of a classic instrument. The classic piano, also made by Kawai, was shipped directly to Fineline's warehouse in Bristol from the factory in Japan with no keys or strings. Liaising closely with Muse backline technician Des Broadbery, Fineline's Dave Harris then took delivery of a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano, which had to be fitted inside the original.
The grand piano was carefully inserted into Fineline's 5-axis router, where the key bay was machined into the correct shape to receive the MP8 keyboard. The MP8 was then stripped right down to its component parts and mounted correctly into the grand piano.
The piano's left hand side block was machined so the Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels could be installed - by which time the keys were virtually indistinguishable from those of the original grand piano. The MP8s Sustain and Damping pedals were also modified, keeping the original brass pedals of the grand piano.
The original lid was then removed, drawn and replaced with a 20mm thick acrylic version, again machined using Fineline's 5-axis router. The result was a clear lid exactly the same shape as the original. Inside, five slots were machined, complete with fabricated brackets to install five PixelLine LED battens.
Chris Vaughan also asked Harris to produce a futuristic looking 'radio controlled guitar technician'. He used the chassis of a battery driven golf caddy, stripped down and modified to take two guitars - one for Matt Bellamy to pick up and a space for his current guitar to be stashed - to make the swap-over easier.
The unit was then 'dressed' to look futuristic, and clad with sheets of mirrored acrylic to 'bling it up', complete with a flashing xenon beacon and blue LED under-car style lighting.
Specifically for the Wembley gigs, Harris created two fake guitar amplifier head units - the brief being to produce slightly different 'Dr Evil' style cartoonesque units, with moving and glowing green VU meters and 'big knobs'. The housings were constructed from scratch and styled to replicate an off-the-shelf amplifier using buffalo effect cloth covering.
(Jim Evans)
