Every product made for the consumer market comes in various shapes and sizes, vying to capture the hearts of customers who hail from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and possess different tastes. In the free market, vendors need to display creativity in their offerings, more than ever, to differentiate themselves from their competitors and to establish a niche for themselves. The same is true for the piano market. In recent years, transparent pianos have been gaining popularity. While many still prefer the traditional, wood-based instruments with a glossy lacquer finish, the fine examples of which grace concert halls and jazz clubs, others are opting for their modern, transparent counterparts that present a contemporary feel.

Even though transparent pianos are a faily recent phenomenon, the patent for transparent piano lids dates as far back as 1976. Originally filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in November 1974 by the Libby-Owens-Ford Company, a manufacturer of flat glass in Ohio, the patent also covered the hinge mechanism that connected the lids with the body and saw such transparent lids put to use by the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.

Transparent pianos may exist in two forms: A fully-transparent piano that allows an unhindered view of the inner workings of the instrument and one that has a transparent lid over a plastic-encased wooden body. Either way, such modern pianos not only are visual treats in their own right but also enable the audience to now have a better look at the players, something that had largely not been able to have been accomplished in the past. Transparent pianos largely come from seven piano-makers, each with its unique strengths.

Lucid Pianos from Spain also offers transparent pianos, in partnership with Blüthner. The partnership between the two companies is a complimentary one - one that sees Blüthner, with its long history and rich heritage, supplying its manufacturing expertise, and Lucid contributing its designing skills. Lucid’s pianos excel with their aesthetically-pleasing and futuristic designs that bring a modern touch to the world of piano. Purchasers of Lucid pianos are able to customise their pianos in the form of the colours of the frame and the soundboard, the type of veneer used on the piano’s exterior, as well as optional LED illuminition that can be added upon request. Among the interesting pianos Lucid has come up with are a transparent, digital grand piano and a piano attached with a side bar.

Like Lucid Pianos, Crystal Music Company (CMC), operating out of Zeewolde, The Netherlands, offers elegant transparent pianos for modern pianists. The bodies of the pianos are produced by Acrylic Couture, which is based in Germany. CMC has the deserving claim of being the world’s only manufacturer of fully-handcrafted transparent grand pianos since 1996. Among the beautiful pianos that have been introduced by CMC are the CMC First Edition and a white-and-transparent-themed grand piano that participated in the Masters of LXRY Amsterdam 2015 exhibition.

Also on the list is Schimmel Pianos, a four-generation family business originally founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1885. Schimmel has been making traditional pianos but had to declare bankruptcy in 2009. After successful restructuring, it became solvent again in 2010.  Interestingly, long before other piano-makers introduced transparent pianos, Schimmel already developed the idea of producing a semi-transparent piano. In 1951, Schimmel presented a prototype of such a piano. It has survived through the years, to be known as the Schimmel Plexiglass.  The current model is known as the K213 Glass.