The "Z Box" 

Great story. Glad to see that instrument back in use. I built a Z. Flemish harpsichord back in 1973 and is still in use. It stays in tune forever as does the Z. virginal and clavichord I built in the mid 1970s. Zuckermann makes great stuff!

Thank you for the comment! This old Z-boxes can be made to sound great and work dependably.

4:58 The decay sound of that last chord was incredibly beautiful.

What a joy it is to see this video. I have recently finished refurbishing a Z-Box that was in non-climate controlled storage (Florida) for about thirty years. Following a thorough cleaning, action upgrade, and much loving care, it is now a joy to play.

This instrument has a beautiful sound!

Lindo som! Parabéns à equipe de restauração! Lindo instrumento! Parabéns à proprietária! :-)

What a beautiful sound this instrument has.

Yes, indeed, Matthew E -- a Z-box with upgraded strings and plectra, well voiced, can really sound quite decent. My own instrument is similar (though the upgrades were done by a professional harpsichordist rather than by the Zuckermann shop and it has the old jacks, adapted, rather than the new jack kit -- and possibly a slightly different stringing schedule). The fact that a Z-box goes to A in the bass makes it a great affordable instrument for a violist da gamba such as myself -- that's the range you need to accompany all the French solo literature for viol, matching the downward range of the 7-string French baroque bass viol. Admittedly the lowest few notes on a five-footer aren't going to sound spectacularly well-defined no matter what you string it with and in what gauge -- the limitation is inherent in the short string length given the Young's modulus of available types of brass, if I correctly understand and recall a paper that Paul Poletti has written on the subject. But at least the low notes are at least there, and for most of the range it sounds very good indeed, a considerable improvement to the sound of the original steel music wire. It occasionally moves between A-415 and A-440 (with a day or two to settle and retune) without complaining, as well. The scale is (just) short enough to do A-440 with iron.

Wow... really good sound for a 5 foot instrument with a "straight"-side

What a great instrument. You guys have done a very well job. :)

Louis Marchand

I wonder if the tone is so good because of the quality of the soundboard wood. Or maybe because the bentside is straight!

Saludos,Donde se encuentra su fabrica de clavecines?

How hard is it to find a z box with keys like this and a 4 stop?

please tell me whats the pieces hes playing?

What temperament do you usually tune to?