Disklavier

Whatever the velocity numbers are is almost irrelevant to what loud playing
(playing louder than a person sitting at the keyboard ) will do to a piano
action.  Grand pianos can take much more of a beating than upright pianos.
I own an upright Disklavier, and as a piano technician, I think a velocity
number of 100 with the volume set at 0 is WAY too much for my piano!  No
upright piano action can take that kind of pounding without the center pins
eventually walking.  There is no way I can play even PianoSoft disks at a
volume setting of 0 without feeling that long-term damage will occur to my
piano action.  I usually keep the volume at -4 because at -6 the soft pedal
kicks in, and I don't want that solenoid to heat up.  I positively know that
MIDI files playing at a velocity of 127 will eventually damage my piano
action.

Without going into the mechanics of how different piano actions work,
suffice it to say that if you think your piano is playing too loudly - it
probably is!!  We are not talking about trying to carry on a conversation
sitting next to the piano while it is playing at the lowest volume number,
but a piano playing so loud your ears hurt.  Many of us on this list have
different kinds of Disklaviers; some are on all electronic instruments like
the DGT2 or DGT7, some are using Clavinovas, some are installed on grand
pianos and others on uprights.  A MIDI velocity of 90 will sound at a
different volume level on each of those instruments.

I think those of us with upright pianos need to be the most careful about
the velocity numbers.  For my piano and ears, I like the range of 60-80.
PianoSoft disk defaults to 100 so they don't lose the low notes on all
models. That does not necessarily mean that putting the volume control on 0
doesn't cause long-term damage to your piano action.  One of the nice things
about the PianoSoft disks is that they are consistent so you can find a
comfortable volume setting and leave it alone.  As for MIDI files, every one
of them needs to be checked and possibly edited for a safe volume level for
your model of Disklavier.

Everyone should use their best judgement about how loudly to play their
Disklaviers.  The numbers just don't tell the whole story when it comes to
wear and tear on piano actions.

Carol Beigel


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "optimuminput" <tom@...>
To: <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 3:24 PM
Subject: [disklavier] velocities on Pianodisc software


> Hi all
> Just took delivery of a gleaming new DU1A-PE with all the mark
> three disklavier gear on and it is gorgeous . On reading through the
> archives I noticed a question relating to velocities on midi files,
> suggested velocities were around the 65 mark as damage to the piano
> action could result . Shock horror I immediately check all my files
> and discover (using the natty veloset program on the DKV utilities
> disc ) that all my pianosoft discs have velocities up  to 118 is
> this ok or  is it just the midi files that  have the velocity at
> maximum through out the file that are the problem ? I  tried some
> rachmaninoff at the suggested lower velocity and thought it lost a
> lot from the performance . Great group, will keep you posted with my
> progress. Cheers     Tom