Disklavier

Greetings Robert,

Agreed that there must be something seriously wrong with Jeff's
listening environment that adjusting velocities will not fix. Maybe
his wife just doesn't like piano music or maybe the piano is very loud
and the room is very small. I have heard pianos in very small rooms
that I could not stand also. Can't tell without being there.

I changed midimod2 so that it adds a text event saying that the file
was modified and that the note velocities may not be original. Will
upload the new version when I have a faster connection later in the
week.


Thursday, July 29, 2004, 10:27:27 AM, you wrote:
RW> I'm not suggesting that programs for modifing note velocities, such as
RW> your Midimod2, are not useful.  In fact, I use them frequently myself.
RW> In my opinion, when diskettes, which I presume are PianoSoft, play too
RW> loud at DKV volume -10, adjusting note velocities is not going to be a
RW> good solution.

RW> PianoSoft songs have a nominal velocity range of about 20 to 95 and
RW> those should play on a DKV at a comfortable listening volume without
RW> modification of the velocities.  MIDI files from other sources may have
RW> velocity ranges of up to 1 through 127.  The latter can be tamed by
RW> software such as yours.

RW> Note, however, that anytime you "scale-down" a range of velocities, that
RW> is, multiply them by some percentage less than 100, you are reducing the
RW> dynamic range.  The DKV's volume control does basically that.

RW> I believe Jeff's best approach would be to reduce the acoustic output
RW> level in his room through voicing of the C3, adding baffles or blankets,
RW> or adding more absorbing materials to the room.  By doing so, he will
RW> not lose any dynamic range in a PianoSoft performance.

RW> Spencer Chase wrote:
>> Greetings Robert,
>> 
>> I am not recommending neglecting the piano if it needs voicing nor
>> putting it in a location where it can only sound bad if the location
>> can be improved.
>> 
>> The reason I wrote Midimod2 is specifically to enable the adjustment
>> of dynamics to suit unusual situations. Instead of using the volume
>> control that flattens everything in order to reduce the extremes, you
>> can remap the dynamics to whatever you like and still not lose the
>> structure of the original music. Linear mapping retains the relative
>> dynamics but changes the loudness at every level. You can still have
>> occasional peaks without overloading the listening environment. Using
>> non linear mappings, you can reduce just the peak levels if that is
>> what is putting your room over the edge. The dynamic range will be
>> compressed at the top end but you can still retain the delicate
>> structure of the lower ranges where the real artistry resides.
>> 
>> Midimod2 is simple in concept but requires a bit of experimentation to
>> achieve what is right for your unique situation. Personally, I prefer
>> music with a full dynamic range in spite of the fact that my room is a
>> bit small. I just give the music a chance to adjust my brain. I only
>> listen to piano music when I want to listen to it. I do not listen to
>> it in the background. For those who do, it really doesn't matter much
>> what the dynamic structure is, as long as it is quiet enough to allow
>> other processes. For those situations, the volume control may suffice.
>> 
>> 
>> Wednesday, July 28, 2004, 5:39:57 PM, you wrote:
>> RW> It sounds as though your room may be too live or too small. If so, the
>> RW> piano will also sound too loud if you play it from the keyboard.
>> 
>> RW> Don't despair.  The option of having a sound-absorbing blanket or
>> RW> baffles installed may work well.  See 
>> RW> http://www.pianosupply.com/acoustic/ for some examples.
>> 
>> RW> As suggested by others, voicing for a quieter sound is a possibility,
>> RW> but may sacrifice the crystal-like tones that distinguish the C3.
>> 
>> RW> Adding carpeting (if the floor is bare) and drapes to the room will also
>> RW> help.  The drawback is that most fabrics and upholstery absorb the
>> RW> higher pitched sounds more than the lower pitched sounds.
>> 
>> RW> You can try playing with MIDI note velocities, but I expect you will be
>> RW> disappointed since you are already running the DKV Volume at -10.  With
>> RW> the DKV Volume set at -10, you are effectively setting the note velocity
>> RW> of all reproduced notes to about 22.  In other words, a note of velocity
>> RW> 95 will sound with the same intensity as the same note at velocity 22.
>> RW> That means that the dynamic range so artfully incorporated by the
>> RW> performer will be completely flat--making for dull music.
>> 
>> RW> To help you sort these ideas out, I suggest consulting an experienced
>> RW> piano technician.
>> 
>> RW> jeffb0413 wrote:
>> 
>>>>My 1990 disklavier C3 (wagon controller) was just delivered 
>>>>yesterday.  Luckily, it came with about 40 disks.  Unfortunately, the
>>>>thing plays these disks very loud.  So loud, in fact, that my wife is
>>>>very disappointed with my purchase decision.  From what I understand,
>>>>this is a fairly common complaint, even with the volume on the 
>>>>disklavier turned to -10.
>>>>
>>>>In the interest of marital harmony, is there any way to take an 
>>>>existing Yamaha disk and modify the files to decrease the volume?
>>>>I've looked through past messages and played around with some of the
>>>>utility files posted on this group, but I can't seem to figure things
>>>>out.  Instead of re-inventing the wheel, is there anyone who has had
>>>>success in this regard?
>>>>
>>>>I was thinking that I could use the program Veloset to decrease the
>>>>volume of some of the files.  Perhaps I can use the various utilities
>>>>to copy the files to my computer, convert the ESEQ files to MIDI, 
>>>>decrease the volume using Veloset, convert back to ESEQ, then save to
>>>>new disk.  Would this work?  I'm having trouble even opening the 
>>>>EEXPLORE program...I get an error message and the program is forced
>>>>to close.  (I'm running Windows 2000 Professional at work.)
>>>>
>>>>I'd greatly appreciate any help.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks!
>>>>Jeff Bagley
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>> 
>> 
>> 



-- 
Best regards,
Spencer Chase        mailto:spencer@...
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