Why our Doutreligne Digital Piano is interesting for you too!

Our knowledge of piano building is unique in Europe. The Chris Maene workshop not only builds replica pianofortes, but also its own Chris Maene Straight Strung Concert Grands, a line of top-range straight strung grand pianos. These concert grand pianos have made headlines worldwide, the many CD recordings by international artists confirming their premium quality and importance in the music world. In addition, since 2004, Piano's Maene has had its own second line of instruments, "Doutreligne" (named after Zulma Doutreloigne, mother of Chris Maene). These excellent self-developed acoustic pianos and grand pianos can now be found in many living rooms, conservatories, concert halls and other venues. The premium line "Doutreligne Master" allowed even the most demanding pianists to find their way to Doutreligne.

We knew what we wanted! Only: we are a piano builder and specialist, but not an electronics company with software programmers and sound engineers. So we had to find one or more partners to realise this dream. Finally, we found a German partner who wanted to work with us on the piano that had been in our heads and hearts for so long. We sat down at the drawing board to create a piece of furniture that would be as close as possible to our acoustic Doutreligne pianos and grand pianos. The individual furniture parts are manufactured in Asia and shipped to Germany. All the rest of the instrument is developed, manufactured and assembled entirely in Europe. Behind the sound generation technology are a number of renowned research partners, such as the Fraunhofer Institute, the Max Planck Institute and the Universities of Stuttgart and Nuerenberg. But Piano's Maene's knowledge of piano construction and sound also contributed to the result. Together with the sound engineers of the German partner, we determined the quality and timbre. All user menus were written in Dutch and French.

Most digital piano manufacturers have a whole line of often dozens of instruments. Sometimes even to the extent that it is unclear to many what the differences still are, or the added value of a more expensive instrument in the range. Therefore, we wanted to limit the number of models, and very clearly tailor them to the typical pianist we had in mind. In the end, we chose to incorporate all this know-how and design in two basic models: the entry-level "Etude", and the "Sonata" model, where the speakers as well as the keyboard are of a higher quality. The Etude is mainly intended for the real starter, the pianist who still has a lot to learn and is looking for a simple but good instrument. The Sonata, on the other hand, is aimed at those who want to invest a bit more, or opt for an even better keyboard touch for educational reasons.

We are very proud of these instruments. You will never hear us claim that they are better than instruments from traditional suppliers in the same price range. But they were developed and produced in Europe, and their concept, sound and software were co-developed by our own Maene colleagues. Curious? Then take a look at the brochure and video below for more details, or just come and try one of these instruments in our showroom!