Disklavier

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, Carol Beigel <carol@...> wrote:
>
> You certainly have a wonderful piano!   

You should know, Carol. You did the first calibration and tune when I bought it about 10 years ago.


>I recommend that a Disklavier tech
> or your new piano tuner who knows how to service a Disklavier, run the
> maintenance mode and make sure the pedals are properly adjusted.  This
> should be done before the piano is tuned, otherwise the louder stages of
> the keyboard calibration can knock out a fine tuning.

I was planning on calling you to arrange a calibration and tune. It was just moved into my new home last week, so I guess we should wait a few weeks to let it acclimate to its new surroundings?


> The only Disklaviers that can be controlled wirelessly are the MarkIVs or
> the DKC850 (E3) upgrade control box.  

That's what I gathered from your Web site, but I wasn't 100% sure.


You still need an internet connection
> and an ethernet cable attached between the DKC850 and your home router.

But I can use a wifi adapter, right? It doesn't have to be hard wired, does it?


>  The DKC850 can be controlled wirelessly with an iPhone or iPad.

No Android app?


> Someone did tell me that years ago they bought a wireless MIDI Jet Pro from
> a Canadian company at
> http://www.midiworks.ca/index.php/products/category/8/wireless-midi-productsthat
> worked well on their MarkIIXG.  It that worked on a MarkIIXG it should
> work on a MarkIII.

Thanks. I may look into this.
 

> Your MarkIII should have 16 memory disks of 1.44 megabites each.  Each
> memory disk can store up to 99 song titles.  Even the DKC850 has a limit of
> 99 albums, or 99 songs per album, or 99 songs in a single playlist, or 99
> songs in your FromPC folder.
 
So the DXC-850 can't directly play files or playlists that are located on a remote PC? They have to be copied to the 850's memory? But I can do that via the network, right? 


> If you buy the DKC850 for your Mark III, it REPLACES your current control
> box.  You would also need to purchase for about $150 the Yamaha USB floppy
> disk drive.  

What do I need the floppy drive for? PianoSoft disks? All the regular MIDI files I have on floppy are on my computer as well. Can't I just copy them to the 850? If I don't want to play PianoSoft material, can I do without the floppy? 

Has anyone come up with a way to copy PianoSoft files to a CD or thumb drive?


>There are no "sales prices" on the DKC850 as they are only
> available from Yamaha dealers.

Yes, I know, and I'm a rather peeved about it. Like many people, my financial situation today is not quite as rosy as it was when I bought the piano ten years ago. $1,500 or so for an upgrade that, as other posters have mentioned, is not an unalloyed improvement, to say nothing of $150 for a floppy drive that should cost a tenth of that, is causing me some hesitation and concern. 

When I first heard about the DKC-850 in 2010, the Jordan Kitts store in Lutherville, MD, was offering it at about $200 off the regular price. But they have closed since then, and other Jordan Kitts stores I called aren't offering that price now. 

A few more questions.

1. One of the disappointments I've had about the Disklavier from Day One has been that even at the softest setting, playback is just too loud. Other player piano systems I've seen can playback softly enough to allow conversation in the same room. Does the DKC-850 improve that, or is there some other way I can achieve that with the DKC-850 or my current controller? 

2. Another disappointment I have with the Disklavier is the grand piano voice it has for Silent Piano mode. There is a range of an octave and a half that sounds distinctly like an electric piano instead of a real acoustic piano. It is inferior to the grand piano voice of the Yamaha electric piano I owned before the Disklavier. Does the grand piano voice of the DKC-850 have a nice, rich sound throughout the keyboard? 

And repeating one of my earlier questions: 

3. If we calibrate with the existing controller, will it have to be redone if/when I buy a DKC-850?

Thanks.