Disklavier

Damper pedal drop noise
My first contribution to a forum I have been reading for many years! I have
a Mark 4 C5 Pro Disklavier, replacing a Mark 2 DKV in a C7 piano. The Mark 2
exhibited damper pedal noise, but I could fix this by lowering the height of
the damper lift. Not so easy on the Pro, which will shut down pedal
operation if it finds pedal adjustments to be outside the calibrated
settings. Recalibrating does not always work with the lowered damper height,
so best left as Yamaha intended.
 
I am a PhD student researching ways of archiving reproducing piano rolls,
the type that highly esteemed historical pianists recorded for. Pedal data
on these rolls, and therefore the MIDI files is simply on-off, which
generates intolerable noise on the C5 Pro. The noise is due to the dampers
hitting the strings, not the pedal mechanism hitting the end of its travel.
 
The first solution I tried was using a MIDI processor unit that would set
the pedal height to around 90, not 127. This unit was fitted between the
computer and the DKV, and operates in real time. While this helped, it was
not the complete answer.
 
Presently I am using software produced by Spencer Chase that adds
proportional pedal data according to available settings in the software.
Again not the complete answer, as rapid pedalling still generates noise
because the software tends to favour slowing the pedal after the dampers
have hit the strings, not before. Subsequently, I have resorted to editing
the pedal data in files processed through Spencer's software, which will
typically solve about 90 percent of the noise problems, leaving ten percent
for me to fix.
 
I have found that the E series DKVs do not seem to have the pedal noise
problem. My enquiries to Yamaha suggest the software slows the damper drop
speed. A friend who has a C5 E series can play all my files without the
slightest damper noise.
 
If anyone has more ideas on how to solve the damper noise problem. I am all
ears!
 
Best wishes to all from Sydney
Peter
 

Peter Phillips

(02) 9773 4734

web: www.petersmidi.com