The new C. Bechstein VARIO digital system & Vario app

The new C. Bechstein Vario Duet enhances your grand or upright piano with the features of a digital instrument to give you the best of both musical worlds.

100% acoustic instrument + 100% digital possibilities

 

Enjoy that unmistakable C. Bechstein sound through your headphones while your piano is muted, whether you want to avoid disturbing others or just to be your only audience. This is possible thanks to the free Vario app that expands your acoustic piano by the addition of handy features for practicing, recording, and sharing your music.

But the new C. Bechstein Vario does more than just mute your piano. This digital system is a holistically designed solution that leverages the qualities of your acoustic instrument and complements them with a number of applications.

The digital Vario system is available for all current models of C. Bechstein brands, whether installed at the factory or retrofitted by a certified dealer. The Vario Duet is made up of several components that together form a truly innovative system.

• The hammer rail is tailored to the instrument and prevents the strings and soundboard from generating any sound.

• The sound module brings the piano's music to life in your headphones, which are included in delivery.

• State-of-the-art electronics connect your instrument to a number of digital applications on mobile devices to let you creatively enrich your playing.

 

The VARIO App integrates itsself seamlessly into the VARIO digital system and offers a comfortable handling of detailed features. Your favourite settings can be saved directly in the VARIO element and can be accessed by the push of a button without the app.

 

Getting more out of every note

With today's technology, recording and sharing your music is child's play.

It's so easy to connect your instrument to apps on smartphones, tablets and PCs, whether using Bluetooth or the advanced USB-C standard, to add creative possibilities that go beyond piano playing. The intuitive Vario app is the central component of the Vario experience. Compatible with both iOS and Android, the Vario app enables unlimited recording, makes it incredibly easy to share your music, and delivers a wealth of additional features.

The Vario app is available for all mobile devices with Apple iOS and iPadOS built in 2015 or later. A version for tested Android devices with the new Vario control functions will be available free of charge in early 2020. Moreover, MIDI functions are available in all mobile and desktop operating systems (Windows, macOS, Unix/Linux), independent of the Vario app.

Silence when you need it

Put on your headphones and play the piano to experience the pure C. Bechstein sound in digital form.

Maybe you just want to play piano on your own. Or you don't want to disturb family, roommates or neighbors. At the touch of a button, you can put your piano in silent mode. The Vario mute system developed exclusively by C. Bechstein for all models of grand and upright pianos prevents the strings from sounding, while you hear the sampled notes of our best instruments in your headphones.

Any questions on the C. Bechstein Vario App?

If you have any technical questions on the C. Bechstein Vario App, its installation and usage, the C. Bechstein Digital team will be glad to help you:

C. Bechstein Digital GmbH
Kantstraße 17
D-10623 Berlin

Tel.: (030) 2260 559 395

E-Mail: apps@bechstein-digital.com

Technical data

General information

 
Operation
1-button user interface, volume control, app for smartphones and tablets
 
User presets / favourties
4, selectable via app and button
 
Silent fuction
Hammer stop bar, activated via Bowden cable
 
Sensor system keyboard
Optical, contactless, continuous detection
 
Sensor system pedals
Optical, contactless, continuous detection
iOS & iPadOS, main functions

App functions

 
Calibration
Calibration of the sensor system
 
Dynamic Adjustment / Velocity curve
Flexible setting options for conversion into MIDI note ON velocity, 5 zones (keyboard ranges)
 
Recording fuction
2-track sequencer, virtually unlimited capacity
 
Sharing music
Share via email, messages, cloud services, etc.; MIDI & audio
 
Metronome
Flexible setting options, freely selectable clock types, multiple sounds
 
Software update
VARIO app via App Store firmware update via app

Sound generation

 
Source of the main sound
C. Bechstein Concert D 282
 
Number of sounds
19
 
Polyphony
256
 
Pedal sounds
Yes, adjustable
 
Key noises
Yes, adjustable
 
Release samples
Yes, adjustable
 
Sympathetic string resonance
Yes, adjustable
 
Sympathetic damper resonance
Yes, adjustable
 
Una Corda
Yes
 
Sostenuto
Yes
 
Forte pedal half position
Yes
 
Tuning
+ / - 100 Cent
 
Transpose
+ / - 24 semitones

Effects

 
Hall (Reverb)
Small room, piano hall, concert hall
 
Echo
Tempo (metronome) dependent delay
 
Equalizer
4-band fully parametric

Connectivity

 
Bluetooth
Bluetooth-MIDI via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Single Mode, practical usable range approx. 15 m
 
USB
Type-C USB 3.0, USB-MIDI PD (Power Device Management; support for power supply of connected devices)
 
Audio, headphone jacks
2x 6.3 mm (jack, stereo)
 
Audio outputs
2x Cinch (L/R), -10 dBV
 
Audio inputs / AUX in
2x Cinch (L/R), -10 dBV

Power supply unit / power supply

+
Input voltage power supply unit
110-240 V

Von ppp-fff stufenlos kontrollierbar, Anschlags-Dynamik per Graphik am Display mühelos einstellbar.

 
Power consumption
6.3 W in normal operation (plus connected devices if required, see below)
 
Optional power supply for connected mobile devices
5 V / 0.9 A, 9 V / 1 A, 15 V / 1 A, 20 V / 2.5 A
 
Standby
0,285 W
 
Energy saving / Auto power off
Yes
 
Dimensions (mm)
Front modules side by side 190 * 190 * 27 mm
 
Package contents
Power adapter, power cord, headphones (incl. cable and adapter), display stand, manual

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