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Without Hands

  Tobias

Everybody knows the self-playing piano. It enabled the well-off to enjoy the sound of a real piano in their own home without the need of tiresome practising and the risc of public humiliation. In the golden days of the Pianomation, there were even "tapes" available which copied the playing of the great masters (and were actually recorded by them in a special studio). A new sensational technical invention is transferring the same idea to the violin.

QRS, who pride themselves of being the first Software company in the world (they invented the Pianomation), is once again responsible and the result is called "The Virtuoso Violin". A real bow moves across the strings of the violin and an elaborate mechanism imitates the hands of the player, creating effects such as glissando and vibrato. All of this is controlled by a little black box called the Chili Pianomation Controller, which also enables you to play duets with the "Virtuoso Violin" on your piano in perfect harmony and provides an accompaniment if you don't own a Bosendorfer yourself. You can even record your piano performance (or singing) to the Controller and have everything played back to you and your guests at a later point of time - a great antidote to stage fright.

There's a lot more to be said about this wonderful piece of technology, but before getting too excited, we'd like to mention the price tag attached to this gem: At $12.500, the "Virtuoso Violin" is probably absolutely fairly priced. But it's still for us to muster anytime soon. For the moment, we'll have to stick to those CD-rereleases of the classic Pianomation recordings.

Homepage: QRS Music