A hybrid digital piano combines the physical action of an acoustic piano with MIDI, sound generation, and other features of a digital keyboard. Kawai and Yamaha sell hybrid pianos.

A few years back I decided to build my own. With a custom hybrid, I can use any piano action and even install it as a piano silent system. It gives me complete control over my piano’s features and performance. The boards and sensors could also be used to invent new musical instruments.

The project started in 2020. I experimented with several architectures and its presently on third iteration. Everything to build a fully functional piano is on GitHub, although it needs a separate piano action. Related project references are listed on GitHub.


Repositories:
https://github.com/gzweigle/open-hybrid-piano
https://github.com/stem-piano


Historical short videos after each milestone:
https://www.youtube.com/@gzpiano88