Disklavier

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008, Carl Youngblood wrote:

> As far as player pianos are concerned, it seems like there is a big
> gap between the competition and disklavier.  There is definitely room
> for someone to come up with equivalent player quality for more
> down-to-earth prices.


I'd say the newly-introduced Live Performance LX system gives the
Disklavier a run for its money, rivaling the playback quality of even
the latest Mark IV instruments:

   http://www.live-performance.com

The LX can be installed into any grand piano for about $7-8K.  It plays
Yamaha Disklavier, QRS Pianomation, and PianoDisc CDs in addition to a
proprietary high-resolution data format.  As with PianoDisc's iQ, you
can drive it from the high-fidelity audio source of your choice,
including CD/DVD players, MP3 players, laptop computers, whole-house
music systems, etc.

This system was developed by Wayne Stahnke, who has been designing
solenoid-based player piano systems since the 1970s.  He is a former
consultant to Yamaha, and his innovations are found even in today's
Disklaviers.  (He invented, for example, the method of accurately
recording expression by measuring hammer velocities using optical
shutters on the hammer shanks.)

The LX does not include a tablet or PDA interface, onboard computer,
recording capability, MIDI synthesizer or the extensive multimedia and
networking capabilities of the current Disklaviers.  But for those who
don't require these features and just need accurate piano and
piano+audio playback at a competitive price, the LX could be an
attractive solution.

I had the opportunity to hear an LX in action last October and shot
these two videos of it:

  Albeniz: El Puerto (from "Iberia") played by Gerald Robbins
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnbkuM0qwA

  Scarlatti: Sonata in A, K.533 played by Gerald Robbins
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjhOvi5-Rk0

Both are high-resolution performances recorded in the early 1980s on the
Boesendorfer 290SE reproducing piano (another invention of Wayne
Stahnke's).

Mark