MapleHarpsichords.com
Title
Douglas Maple - Harpsichord and Clavichord Maker
Description
Quality materials and careful workmanship would seem to be obvious requirements of any keyboard instrument, but they are not always present, as I can attest from my years of repair work. I give careful consideration to the best methods of construction, and also to the wood used in my instruments. Choice of species, dryness, and grain orientation are all controlled to produce instruments that are stable and long-lived.
From the sonic standpoint, it is vital to start with an outstanding design. Modern makers are fortunate to have several hundred years of instruments by the old makers available for study. Replication of almost any of the antiques will usually result in a decent instrument, but experience teaches us that a select number have superior traits. I seek to find these noteworthy instruments, and to reproduce their excellence.
My basic philosophy is to work closely in the tradition of the old masters, but my instruments are not slavish copies. I believe that blindly copying an instrument gives no guarantee that the result will be entirely successful. For example, it sometimes happens that several hundred years of string tension have revealed structural flaws in what is otherwise an excellent design. I see no point in copying details that will only give the owner problems, and in such a situation I introduce changes, often small, that stabilize the case without affecting the sound.
