Disklavier

Many thanks to all who have replied.  They are all excellent 
suggestions, and I've begun initiate some of the ideas.

As far as playing with midi's, I'll let you know how that turns out.

Thanks again!
Jeff



--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, Robert Welcyng <rwelcyng@a...> 
wrote:
> I'm not suggesting that programs for modifing note velocities, such 
as 
> your Midimod2, are not useful.  In fact, I use them frequently 
myself. 
> In my opinion, when diskettes, which I presume are PianoSoft, play 
too 
> loud at DKV volume -10, adjusting note velocities is not going to 
be a 
> good solution.
> 
> PianoSoft songs have a nominal velocity range of about 20 to 95 and 
> those should play on a DKV at a comfortable listening volume 
without 
> modification of the velocities.  MIDI files from other sources may 
have 
> velocity ranges of up to 1 through 127.  The latter can be tamed by 
> software such as yours.
> 
> Note, however, that anytime you "scale-down" a range of velocities, 
that 
> is, multiply them by some percentage less than 100, you are 
reducing the 
> dynamic range.  The DKV's volume control does basically that.
> 
> I believe Jeff's best approach would be to reduce the acoustic 
output 
> level in his room through voicing of the C3, adding baffles or 
blankets, 
> or adding more absorbing materials to the room.  By doing so, he 
will 
> not lose any dynamic range in a PianoSoft performance.
> 
> 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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among
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> -- 
> Robert Welcyng
> Anchorage, Alaska