1) the more money you throw at the process, the better the results.
2) The price of proper gear/software has really come down. If you can afford a Disklavier, you can afford the accessories.
3) all attempts I made with free/cheap software and slow computers produced frustrating results. You need at least 2Gig ram memory and a reasonable fast processor on your computer to do this work without frustration. A PC computer that can play action games or an iMac is a good place to start. Also, most of the good software wants you to keep the computer drive that holds the software different from the drive that holds the data. That means that you need a fast USB2 or firewire external drive as well.
4) the better the soundcard/ digital audio converter/ software, the better. Digital audio is just tables and tables of algorythyms. You pay for what you get.
5) CD format is 41000 and 16 bit. All the new fancy equipment that does 96,000 and 24 and 48 bit for DVDs and surround sound has to be downconverted (you lose the high resolution data) is not needed to make CDs so save some money there.
That being said, the first task is to convert the MIDI file to digital audio. In this case, on a Mark III, refer to page 67ish in the Advanced Owner's Manual to set the MIDI to OUT and the keyboard to Out. Also make sure the volume control on the silent system is turned up. Underneath the piano is a black, square box with Audio Outs. Connect the L and R audio outs to the Line In on your computer. You can get an audio cable at Radio Shack. The soundcard on your computer probably came with some recording capability. It would help to know whether your computer is a Mac or a PC. You could try this on a laptop. You would then hit Record on the computer and Play on the Disklavier.
Other ways to do this simply is to put the audio cable from the Disklavier into a the line-in of a hand held or otherwise portable Digital Audio Recorder. I really like my Sony PCM I bought years ago for $500, but other brands are now available for about $100 and work fine. Personally, I think this one of the handiest gadgets I own. I have even made acceptable audio choral and piano recordings on mine. These things also come with bundled software that you can use to edit music files and burn them to a CD or MP3.
The worst sounding MIDI to audio I ever heard came through my PC computer just using the soundcard. I used PG Audio's "rendering" to convert the MIDI file and the resulting sounds came from the awful soundcard in my computer. When I ran the MIDI file through a VST (virtual piano) it sounded much better. Yamaha's The Grand worked great. I never had any luck with the Grand II. Yes, virtual pianos are software programs. They are hungry, memory eating, high resource hardware hogs, but they sound really great. Native Instruments used to sell their 5 package Akoustic piano for $200 and give you 5 options. Now your can buy just one. Go to their website and listen to the options.
Although you only need one good software package, I personally settled upon an iMac and use Logic Studio 9. It was $500. I also bought (though not necessary) a DigiDesign MBox2 with Pro Tools (8?) which included the hardware and software for $500 that sounds heavenly. The new Pro Tools is now distributed by AVID and I don't think you need the "dongle". My favorite software on a PC is Cool Edit which is now sold as Adobe Audition. You can probably download a free old version like Cool Edit 96 from the web that works just great. Like I said, I need to do some research and update the website with pictures and prices.
Carol Beigel
On Sat, May 21, 2011 at 6:32 PM, Barbara Graff <barbaragraff23@yahoo.com> wrote:
Carol, sounds great. Sounds easy and good sound quality.What exactly is a "virtual piano" is it software? Also where do I get the software you mention such as Native Instrument's acoustic piano. Do I go to a music/piano store, online, what do you suggest?I want to clarify that what I am doing is recording to a floppy disc on my Mark III Disklavier piano and then want to transfer this to an MP3 CD or DVD so it can be played in the car or any stereo.Online, I see "freeware" as well as paid options but I don';t know if any of these are a safe option (you never know downloading things over the Internet) or effective way of converting a MIDI file from a floppy disc to a wav or MP3 file: there is midconverter.com, MIDI converter studio, www.nch.com, www.midi2wav.com, download.cent.com,www.hamienet.cpom,www.ezsoftgmagic.com, www.midi2wav.com.... has anyone used any of these and recommend them?
From: Carol Beigel <carol@...>
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, May 20, 2011 9:59:27 AM
Subject: Re: [disklavier] MP3 recordings
As always, everything George says is true and very helpful. As someone who does a lot of this kind of work, I would like to add one more option as it is the one I have personally found to be the most easy and satisfying. I take the MIDI file, edit it as necessary, then run it through a virtual piano. The resulting wave file can be burned to a CD to play on any stereo system.
I have been recording my father's piano playing on my MIIXG, using Logic Studio 9 on my iMac to edit the resulting MIDI file. There are several virtual pianos that are included with this software package but I prefer Native Instrument's Akoustic piano using the Steingraber upright sound. My family has enjoyed very much the resulting CDs.
On a PC using Windows these virtual instruments are called VSTs.
Carol Beigel
On May 20, 2011 9:25 AM, "Barbara Graff" <barbaragraff23@...> wrote:
> Thank you George, this is very helpful.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: George Frederick Litterst <PianoBench@...>
> To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sun, May 15, 2011 6:26:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [disklavier] MP3 recordings
>
>
> Good evening, everyone.
>
> Barbara, there are two ways to make an audio recording from a Disklavier
> recording:
>
> (1) produce the audio recording without microphones, using the internal piano
> tone generator of the instrument
>
> (2) use microphones
>
> Option #1 is possible if you have a Mark IV.
>
> If you want the very best results, you should use option #2.
>
> When you record with a microphone, you need to get the audio into the computer.
> This can be done by either:
>
> (a) recording to a standalone recorder and then importing the recorded audio
> into the computer
>
> or
>
> (b) connecting your microphone(s) to your computer and recording the audio
> directly into an audio recording program running on the computer
>
> In either case, you end up with a digital audio file that can be burned to a
> CD.
>
> Here is a sample scenario:
>
> --Use a device like the Yamaha Pocketrak W24 recorder to record the audio (being
> sure to select the highest audio quality setting):
>
> http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/recorders/pocketrak_w24/?mode=model
>
>
> --When the recording is over, plug the Pocketrak into the USB port of your
> computer, locate the audio recording, and import it into iTunes. (iTunes is
> available on all Macs and is a free download for PCs. It is an excellent program
> for burning CDs.)
>
> --Use iTunes to create a playlist that includes your recording, click the Burn
> button, and let the computer do the rest.
>
> When you burn the CD, be sure to use CD-R media for complete compatibility with
> legacy CD players.
>
> If you want to take a more professional approach, you'll need to get quality
> microphones, a digital audio interface to connect them to the USB port on your
> computer, and you'll then need to use an audio recording program, such as the
> free Audacity. Of course you'll need to set volumes levels within Audacity. When
> the recording is finished, save a .wav, import the file into iTunes, and finish
> the job.
>
> Yamaha's Audiogram 3 or 6 will work well as a USB audio interface that connects
> your microphones to your computer:
>
> http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/interfaces/audiogram/audiogram6/?mode=model#tab=product_lineup
>
>
> Regards,
> PianoBench
>
>
> www.georgelitterst.com
> www.timewarptech.com
> www.zenph.com
>
> On May 15, 2011, at 5:02 PM, Barbara Graff wrote:
>
>
>>
>>
>;>Do I need a Yamaha CD burner? When I contacted Yamaha they told me they no
>>longer sell the burner
>>
>>
>>
>>
> ________________________________
> From: Alan Chapman <dj_9225@...>
>>To: "disklavier@yahoogroups.com" <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
>;>Sent: Sat, May 7, 2011 10:36:21 AM
>>Subject: Re: [disklavier] MP3 recordings
>>
>>
>>
>>
>;>do you have a Mark IV?
>>
>>
>>
> ________________________________
> From: Barbara Graff <barbaragraff23@...>
>>To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
>>Sent: Friday, May 6, 2011 5:51 PM
>>Subject: Re: [disklavier] MP3 recordings
>>
>>
>>
>>;Does anyone know how to take the MIDI file on a disc from the disklavier piano
>>and make an MP3 recording that you can play on your automobile CD player.
>>
>>I am able to transfer the disc to a CD I can play on my laptop but not for the
>>car or a CD player. thanks.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>