Disklavier

my computer is screwing up after that last win8 update. not sure how much i can do while traveling. hope it recovers. it looks like the most recent version of on off to gradual pedaling is on the download page of my web site. Geoff reads this list. he recently had some "problems" with the program but it turned out to be misunderstanding of what it could do. he remembers better than i so can probably answer questions. i know he has successfully used it to reduce both soft and sustain pedal noise. be sure to use the on off to gradual, not the reverse. the program has to interpolate ramped controllers. it does the best it can but you have to choose settings for some strange files??? probably best to use the default settings until you figure out something better.

http://spencerserolls.com/Files4Download.html

Thanks Spence - I would be interested...

Sam

www.keyboardcollective.com

(212) 684-3304

On Feb 18, 2014, at 11:13 AM, Spencer Chase <lists@spencerserolls.com> wrote:

about pedals, i have a program that interpolates progressive pedaling in to MIDI files. not sure if i put it on my web site or not. i recently went through testing with Geoff Ward and i believe we found the program to do what it should. it definitely reduces pedal noise. i am really busy right now getting ready for a trip but will probably be stuck in the airport for hours later today (weather) and can make sure a working version is posted to my server.

if anyone is interested, let me know. i have a lot to do so will not bother unless people want it.

On 2/18/2014 12:01 AM, Skanter123 wrote:

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Sorry about that. I mis-read your question. George will need to respond on your Controller 7 question about how it affects the Disklavier. I just know that Controller 7 is set to 100 at the beginning of Yamaha PianoSoft Disklavier files.

Hmmm...I'm wondering how MIDI volume (controller 7) can affect an acoustic piano. It seems the only way to affect volume on a DKV is by velocity or soft pedal (bringing hammers closer),

I have not seen any sort of volume control curve for Disklavier.

Noisy pedals - This is usually the result of playing MIDI files that have ON/OFF pedaling, instead of incremental pedaling. During playback, ON/OFF pedaling goes from full OFF to full ON and then back to full OFF. This is much noiser (and much less musical) than incremental pedaling. I imagine that when you record on your Disklavier, the playback of the pedals is much better, right?

Yes! This makes sense. Â I wonder if there is a simple way to control this when playing MIDI files that only have ON/OFF? Probably some utility somewhere...

Thanks again!

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: Skanter123 <skanter123@gmail.com>
To: disklavier <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: disklavier <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:53 pm
Subject: Re: [disklavier] DKV volume

Â

SamÂ

www.keyboardcollective.com

(212) 684-3304

On Feb 18, 2014, at 1:36 AM, Bill Brandom <billbrando@...>

Bill, thanks for your detailed reply. I'm still confused about a few things, though.

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You stated that you are reducing MIDI velocities and not hearing a difference on the Disklavier. My guess is that your music must be playing pretty softly and the Disklavier will not attempt to play it any softer, even with the velocities reduced. Just to confirm that your velocity changes are or are not working, take a very high velocity note and reduce its velocity considerably and see if the Disklavier plays it back considerable softer.

I said that lowering MIDI VOLUME (not velocity) produced no affect. I'm not sure how changing MIDI volume (controller #7) affects the DKV if at all. Is it supposed to?

The built in volume control on the Disklavier compresses the playback, reducing the highest velocity notes much more than the lower velocity notes. On your MPX100II, at a certain volume level (I think -7, the hammer rest rail of your piano moves the hammers much closer to the strings, thereby making the piano play much softer.)

On my DKV, the velocity seems to decrease as I bring it down from 0 to -10, but I'm not sure what the curve is. Is there a graphic showing this curve? I assume the  volume control affects velocity only, and not the soft pedal?

Another unrelated issue i have is that, on some MIDI file playback, the damper pedal is quite noisy. It is sustaining notes properly but moving up and down more than it needs to (like some of my beginning students who stamp on the pedal until they learn to use it). Â Is there a way to control the continuous movement of the pedal to limit it's movement somewhat so it will be quieter?

Thanks in advance for your help...

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: Skanter123 <skanter123@gmail.com>
To: disklavier <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:43 pm
Subject: Re: [disklavier] DKV volume

Â

Thanks, George.

Being a synthesist as well as pianist, I was there at MIDI's start, and know my way around SYSEX charts, but am still confused about how MIDI volume and velocity affects an acousto-electric instrument like the DKV.Â

I see no affect when I lower MIDI volume of MIDI files with a sequencer. How is that supposed to work? Also, does changing velocity values affect the force or speed of the hammers, or just implement the soft pedal? What exactly does the built-in volume control on DKV do, is it the same on all DKVs? Mine is a 1997 MPX100II.

SamÂ

www.keyboardcollective.com

(212) 684-3304

On Feb 17, 2014, at 7:04 PM, Bill Brandom <bill.brandom03@...> wrote:

Â

George,

Great Disklavier volume explanation!!

Bill

On Feb 17, 2014, at 2:41 PM, George Frederick Litterst <PianoBench@...> wrote:

Â

Good afternoon, everyone.

Here is a comprehensive dissertation on the various elements that affect playback volume of the Disklavier:

(1) Disklavier's Volume Setting on the Control Panel

For all Disklaviers except the Mark IV, volume is set on a scale of 0 to -10. A setting of 0 is the default (full volume) and is the only setting that properly plays back a file that was recorded on the instrument. All of the other volume settings on the control panel result in the volume being scaled down, with -10 as the lowest setting.

The Mark IV is a bit different. The hand-held PRC has a volume meter that goes from 1 to 127. A value of 100 is normal, full volume. A higher value scales up the volume beyond normal, and a lower setting scales down the volume.

Bottom Line: For accurate playback, set your Disklavier's volume to 0 (or to 100, in the case of the Mark IV).

(2) MIDI Note-on Velocity

Depending upon the model of Disklavier, MIDI note-on velocity represents either the hammer velocity of the note (in the case of instruments that have hammer sensors) or the key velocity of a note (in the case of the Disklaviers that do not have hammer sensors). The range of possible values is 0 to 127. A value of 0 in the MIDI world is the same as a note-off message. Therefore, the effective minimum value is 1 and the maximum value is 127.

In the case of casual playing, the Disklavier generates note-on values in the range of about 40 to 90. When an artist pushes the dynamic range of the instrument, the low values may start in the 15-20 range and go up into the 105-115 range. It is rather unusual for a pianist to generate note-on values above 115. Note-on values below 20 are often brushed notes that were barely played and/or which may have been accidentally played.

Unfortunately, there is no industry standard for what a particular MIDI note-on value actually means. If you record a MIDI file on certain Yamaha keyboards--such as an AvantGrand or a Clavinova, the playback on the Disklavier will sound pretty good. If you record on a Yamaha DGX-640, playback may sound OK in the soft range but will sound bizarre in the medium to loud range with certain notes unexpectedly jumping out at you. The reason is that the velocity profile of the DGX-640 does not match the velocity profile of the Disklavier.

Many light action keyboards routinely generate velocities in the range of 100-127. When those files are played on a Disklavier, it may sound as though one is taking a sledgehammer to the instrument. The best way to adjust for these files is to scale down the velocities so that they are within the Disklavier's normal range. That does not mean that the resulting velocity profile will match up musically with the Diskla vier's profile, but at least the sound will not be excruciatingly loud.

Bottom Line: It's best to stick with files that were recorded on the Disklavier or which were recorded with instruments that have similar velocity profiles.

NOTE: The Disklavier PRO records note-on velocity with higher than normal resolution, effectively on a scale of 0 - 1023 where the Disklavier PRO's 0 normal MIDI 0 and the Disklavier PRO's 1023 normal MIDI 127. The extra bits of resolution are stored as MIDI controller data. Â

(3) MIDI Controller 7

The MIDI spec has provision for 128 controllers, numbered from 0 to 127. Many of these controllers are defined for specific purposes. For example: