The firm Heller Klavierbau was founded on 1 January 1985. Very soon, Heller began to specialise in the production of high-quality bass strings for upright and grand pianos – today the registered trademark Hellerbass®.
Not far from Heidelberg, the Bechstein firm manufactured its upright and grand pianos in the 1970s and 80s. Walter Heller was first employed there as a carpenter, went on to train as a piano maker and acquired the master qualification in 1981. When Bechstein transferred its piano production to Berlin, Walter Heller founded his own piano workshop on 1 January 1985. At first, the workshops were located in the basement of the family home.
Piano repair, piano sales and bass string production developed very well right from the first years, so that further employees were needed. For this reason, son Gregor gave up his studies in finance and taxation and began a piano maker’s apprenticeship in his father’s firm. In 1995, like his father before him, he passed the master craftsman’s examination.
As early as 1988, a new workshop was built on the adjacent plot of land.
True to the philosophy of the firm, “Quality will always succeed”, father and son successfully steered the company and gained further market share. Continual checks during the production process guarantee consistently high quality. The introduction in 1986 of a special tape measure with an attached eye for measuring the string lengths was a decisive step towards the firm’s success. This dispensed with the troublesome packing and sending of the old original strings. As an unmistakable sign of this quality product, every bass set is marked with a transparent plastic sleeve bearing the yellow “Hellerbass” lettering.
In 1997, at the age of 60, Walter Heller transferred the company leadership to his son Gregor. Since then, Gregor Heller has been present at numerous trade fairs in Germany and abroad. The design of the homepage was also an important further development for presenting the products.
It is complemented by a Facebook account and an Instagram account, which provide information on additional string materials and trade fair dates. Today, 98% of all orders are processed electronically (by email to service@hellerbass.de or online).
There are currently nine members of staff employed at Heller Klavierbau. With a production share of 60%, repair shops and the piano industry in Germany and worldwide are supplied with bass strings for upright and grand pianos.
The “family business” tradition is upheld. Wife, mother and even the father are employed in the firm. “Fortunately,” says Gregor Heller, “this allows us to offer our delivery service all year round without a summer close-down. It is also the only way to ensure that I can attend trade fairs in Germany and abroad as well as piano makers’ conventions.”
Grandson Moritz began his piano maker’s apprenticeship at Steinway & Sons in 2016 and successfully completed it in 2019. He then headed Spirio production there for six years. In 2025, like his father and grandfather before him, he passed the master craftsman’s examination in piano making. Since the beginning of 2026, Moritz has been working in the family business again, thus continuing the family tradition.
