Disklavier

Hi Ron,
 
There are several things you can do to quieten down the piano.  I suggest
the following:
 
1)  Place a rug under the full length of the piano.  The sound reflection
off the oak floor will have a significant impact on the perceived loudness.
I too have hardwood floors and the difference before and after the rug is
quite astonishing.  The depth of pile of the rug should also be considered.
Plusher rugs tend to work better at this task.
 
2)  If a rug under the piano alone does not meet your needs for acoustic
dampening, then you need to consider similar dampening of other large
surfaces that are sound reflective  (i.e.  your walls).  If the walls are
bare, then they should be the next 'target area' after the floors.  Every
one has different taste, style and needs when it comes to wall decorations.
Decorative rugs work well in my opinion.  I have 3 young children so I also
use a fabric covered notice board on which I pin up the never ending supply
of drawings, painting and certificates of participation that get sent home.
 
3)  I purchased a genuine Yamaha piano cover moreso to protect my
investment, but it also helps dampen the acoustic loudness of the piano.
The outside of the cover is finished in a black satin (or similar) whilst
the inside is soft scarlet felt that matches the colour of the felt used
inside the piano.  Personally, I leave the cover on most of the time and
only flip open the front of the lid.  In that way I gain a good compromise
between loudness and visual effect.   It is also possible to open the lid
and leave the cover on.  I only take the cover off when I am putting on a
performance, the rest of the time it stays on and it looks the part. 
 
4)  Furniture placement is also a factor, especially items that have large
flat surfaces such as glass display cabinets.  Perhaps some rearrangement of
furniture might be doable ?
 
  
 
 
Re the blemish, I can well understand your angst !  One of my children is
severely autistic and much to my horror, when left in the care of a so
called 'professional carer' one day a couple of years back, he was 'allowed'
to chew all over the top of my music rest :(  Eventually my insurance
company made good on my claim of accidental damage, and I was provided with
a new music desk and rest, but not without a fight.  Luckily, you have
immediately pointed out the problem to your dealer.  It is their
responsibility to fix this, so keep at them until they do !  I know music
desk/rests, legs and lyres etc are available as spare parts from Yamaha so I
would be extremely surprised if lids were not also available.  I also
suspect that it would not be too difficult to get any such replacement lid
to fit your piano perfectly.  Yamaha spare parts are really good and the
fact that this piano is mass produced makes me suspect that tight tolerances
exist.  I'm sure someone else on this list has some experience with
restoring pianos and could perhaps confirm interchangeability of lids
between the exact same model of piano.
 
I sincerely hope that you do not have to go to the extent of getting the
whole piano replaced.  That sounds extreme given the problem is a minor
blemish which your dealer should take care of.
 
Best of luck and do let us know how you go with this.
 
Michael Weinstock
Melbourne, Australia
 
 
ps.  If you really want a smaller piano, I'd gladly swap you my DGH1 which
is 5'3".    I'd even throw in the much beloved aforementioned cover ;-)  
 

-----Original Message-----
From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of manhattanboy100
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 1:46 PM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] So Disappointed - Just purchased my brand new DC2 Mark
IV.....



after waiting all this time and agonizing between the the DGC1 (5'3")
and the DC2 (5'8"). So I finally went for the C2 and had it 
delivered to my condo last week and, firstly, I can't believe how 
loud it is. I do have oak floors and only 8 foot ceilings but after 
listening to the C2 for hours in the store never thought it would be 
that loud in my place at the lowest setting (on acoustic). The 
dealer does not think the smaller DGC1 would be any quieter (not 
sure I agree), so I guess I am stuck and will be using the digital 
setting much more frequently than planned which really defeats the 
puropose. I haven't even tried the Disklav yet on the setting where 
other instruments are playing in the background. But... MUCH WORSE, 
the lid on my brand new baby has a blemish on it that was not 
noticeable in the store during the day but is very apparent in my 
home in the evening under the lights. Its about the size of a 
quarter on the top left edge in the very spot where the front lid 
flap comes down onto the main lid in the open position - so its only 
apparent when the full lid is closed, but very noticeable. It will 
not come off with with a damp cloth. The dealer is telling me not to 
worry - they will come look at it and that it will be fixed but I am 
worried about having anything done to a brand new piano after 
reading all the recommendations against applying any polishes or 
other chemicals that can damage the finish. And the thought of 
having it refinished really scares me. The dealer did say that in 
the worse case scenario they can replace the lid from another C2. 
Has anyone heard of doing that? Another dealer I happened to be 
chatting with said you can't do that - that each lid is unique to 
its own piano - i.e. that a lid from one C2 cannot just be put on 
another C2 - that it will not fit perfectly. I guess one other thing 
I could do is put a rubber stopper on the lid over the blemish to 
hide it (would have to put one on the other side as well) as I 
noticed that some grands have rubber stoppers on the lids for the 
front flaps to sit on - but Yamahas do not. Can anyone PLEASE give 
me some advice? I am so upset. New piano maybe? Thanks.
Ron