Disklavier

Good evening, everyone.

Answers below:

On Dec 29, 2008, at 2:04 PM, boyler1999 wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am using the Metro SE MIDI sequencer and player on my Mac to bypass
> the dead floppy drive on my old Mark II (MX100II) Disklavier. So far,
> it's been working great. I read some of Carol's great web pages on
> proper MIDI settings for the Disklavier, but I wasn't able to locate
> the piano manual so I can't really figure out what all the MIDI
> settings are used for, or which settings are optimal for my setup.
>

You can find many Disklavier manuals here:

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/manual/english/result.php

I am not sure why yours is not included. Most of the features are the  
same as those in the Mark IIXG.

You might want to call Yamaha Piano Service: (800) 854-1569 between  
8:30-5:00 PST and see if they can provide you with a manual or--better  
yet--the Disklavier II Reference Guide (a spiral bound guide, printed  
in color, that I wrote for Yamaha years ago).

> I
> tried looking through the user manuals on the Yamaha web archive, but
> it looks like they only go back to the Mark IIXG. So, I figured I
> would post the settings that my Disklavier is currently configured
> for, and see if anyone has any comments. (These settings are viewed
> from the FUNCTION button.)
>

I recommend that you look at the MIDI section of the Mark IIXG manual.

> Since my setup seems to be working well, I don't think anything is
> wrong, but just in case something looks glaringly wrong, I'd love any
> feedback you experts might have. Or, if you're so inclined to provide
> commentary on what some of the important settings control, I'd be
> interested. For example, I have no idea what "Remote" is used for...
>
> MIDI IN
> MIDI IN CH=01
>

So far, so good. This means that in your computer music software  
program, you need to make sure that your piano track(s) are assigned  
to MIDI channel 1 and that the non-piano tracks are assigned to  
channels 2-16. If you have to change the track numbers, make sure that  
you don't put different instruments on the same channel, and don't put  
anything on channel 10 unless it was already assigned to channel 10.  
Most of the files that you are likely to use are General MIDI files in  
which channel 10 is reserved for the drum kit.

> MIDI IN=REALTIME
>

Real Time input does not give the best results. There can be problems  
with rapid notes and repeated notes, especially. Best to use the Delay  
In (500ms delay) setting. That way, the Disklavier buffers in the  
incoming MIDI data and has time to figure out when to move each key so  
that the hammers strike at the right time with the right intensity.


> MIDI OUT
> MIDI OUT=KBD OUT
>

This setting is correct if you wish to play the piano and record  
yourself in the computer. However, if you wish to play an ensemble  
song file on your computer (in which there is a piano part plus  
orchestrated tracks), you need to set MIDI OUT = DELAY OUT. When you  
do so, the MIDI Out port becomes a MIDI Thru port that passes the  
other channels of MIDI data to the external tone generator and adds  
the correct amount of delay to match that of the piano.

> OUT CH=1
> SPLIT[OFF]
> TRANS= 00
> VOICE=###
> VOL=###
>
These settings are fine when you are recording yourself into the  
computer.


> REMOTE
> REMOTE OUT=ON
> REMOTE IN=ON
>

If these functions are on, you can control Start, Continue, and Stop  
commands in your computer from the buttons on your Disklavier and vice  
versa. In your case, I don't think you need these features, and I  
suggest turning them off to avoid confusion.

> ENSEMBLE
> PIANO PART MIDI OUT=ON
>

This only affects what happens when you play a disk in your Disklavier  
and want to send the data out to the computer. In your case, this  
setting does not matter.

> RHYTHM CH=10
>
This is correct. It makes sure that percussion tracks are not  
transposed when you use the transpose feature during playback. Since  
you are not using the internal drive, this setting does not matter.

Regards,
PianoBench


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