Delacour’s bass string making factory was founded in 1984 and immediately set new standards for bass strings in England. Frustrated with the poor quality and unscientific design of bass strings available from existing makers, John Delacour began first to design his own bass scales and provide the string-makers with detailed requirements. In 1984 the first Macintosh computer was launched and using this he made all the drawings for a new string-making machine, produced programmes for the calculation of scales and much more besides. That original machine is still going strong and to it has been added a second machine of a different design.
Every set of strings is fully calculated to obtain the best possible bass tone from a given instrument and though we keep records of hundreds of scales designed by use, covering a great range of makers from the most well-known to the rarest, we strive constantly to make further improvements and a scale for each new order received is calculated on the computer.
Bass string making cannot be done purely by numbers and long experience is needed to know what sort of scale will be suitable for a certain piano; for example the style of scale used for a 5’ Blüthner grand will be quite unsuitable for a 5’ Steck grand, and vice versa. Certain scales were designed over 100 years ago and, though many of these are good, others were designed according to false principles, with too high tension or perhaps to produce a tone that is less acceptable today than it may have been then, and which can be improved upon. All these variables are taken into account when we design and make a new set of strings for a piano and we aim to produce strings that not only sound as well as possible but are also good-looking.
Since we are not merely string-makers but have long experience of every aspect of the piano and have done much research and experimentation into the acoustics and design of the piano over the past 30 years, the bass strings we make for our customers are of a quality equal to the very best.
