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Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

2003-01-06 by jraziano <jraziano@yahoo.com>

I am the same person who is considering getting the DC3 with the 
Mark IIXG system in it (the paino says NP98 on the bottom, so I 
assume it is year - 1998 - the piano was born).  

Anyway, if it has a MarkII-XG platform on it (it also has the CDrom 
strapped onto it) - can you simply buy the MarkIII box and plug it 
into the piano or is there something more to it than that?  Is the 
newer box only compatiable with newer painos or is the hardware 
control in the painos the same?????

If it is the same how does one go about getting a mark III box and 
how much do they cost?

THanks again for all your responces.  This is truly an unbelievable 
group!

Re: [disklavier] Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

2003-01-07 by Carol Beigel

At the moment, there is no upgrade kit that turns a MarkIIXG into a MarkIII. 
  The MarkIII has an audio amplifier as well as a tone generator, stereo 
speakers, a Silent Feature, and the software capability to run Piano Smart.  
Just the Silent feature alone uses different piano action parts.

Sorry about the wrong information concerning the solenoids.  I think there 
are three different kinds; the ones on the MarkII, the Pro solenoids, and 
the "bobbins" on the DGT2.  I'm not sure which ones are on the MarkIII - my 
guess is they are the same as the MarkII.  That technology is now in at 
least the 4th generation from the Pianocorder!  It all has to do with the 
nuance of performance.  Sometimes that is done with the algorythms and 
sometimes, as on the Pro, it is a combination of extra sampling as well as 
"pulse" technology.  Anyway, the solenoid thing is not really relevant when 
considering the difference between a MarkIIXG and a MarkIII.

Carol Beigel
crbrpt@...


>From: "jraziano <jraziano@...>" <jraziano@...>
>Reply-To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
>To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [disklavier] Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?
>Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 23:59:00 -0000
>
>I am the same person who is considering getting the DC3 with the
>Mark IIXG system in it (the paino says NP98 on the bottom, so I
>assume it is year - 1998 - the piano was born).
>
>Anyway, if it has a MarkII-XG platform on it (it also has the CDrom
>strapped onto it) - can you simply buy the MarkIII box and plug it
>into the piano or is there something more to it than that?  Is the
>newer box only compatiable with newer painos or is the hardware
>control in the painos the same?????
>
>If it is the same how does one go about getting a mark III box and
>how much do they cost?
>
>THanks again for all your responces.  This is truly an unbelievable
>group!
>


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Re: Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

2003-01-07 by jqw2 <johnq_10@schwaller.org>

Here's how I answered Mel...

My understanding is that on a Pro model you should be able to replace 
your control unit and, by doing so, get the latest features.  The 
Pros already came with the latest level of solenoids (mechanicals) as 
the Mark III pianos.

Your current control unit should be a DKC500RW.  You should be able 
to unplug the 15-wire cable in the back, and replace it with the 
latest control unit, the DKC55RCD (which you should be able to buy 
from your dealer).  This should give you CD playback and access to 
the PianoSmart recordings.

Note an unexpected limitation of the DKC55RCD (if you're computer 
literate): the CD player cannot play MIDI files – so don't expect
to download a bunch of MIDI files from the Internet, cut them onto a 
CD-R on your computer, and carry them to the piano.  You'll still
need the diskette drive to play and record MIDI files.

– John Q. Walker

Re: [disklavier] Re: Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

2003-01-07 by MELAMAT@aol.com

John:

Thanks for the detailed feedback. Any idea of what the street price without installation is for the DKC55RCD? I should be able to plug it in myself unless a technician must calibrate it to the piano. I don't have a calibration manual but likely could perform that operation if I had one. I have already downloaded and upgraded the firmware once on my DS6Pro.

Another option which I was considering is the QRS unit which allows playing other piano/vocal/instrumental CD's from Baldwin and others (Except for the Yamaha custom format). The advanatge is that a standard CD player with a carousel can be used. The disadvantage is the increased clutter of more electronic equipment around the piano.

Any thoughts or words of caution.


Mel Amato

Re: [disklavier] Re: Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

2003-01-08 by PianoBench@aol.com

Good evening, everyone.

Regarding Mel's recent inquiry and John's response:

<<We have a MarkIIXB Pro disklavier. Is it upgradeable to MarkIII?>>

The answer--at least at this moment--is no, and Yamaha has not indicated that 
this situation will change.

Although it maybe technically true, as John said, that you can plug in a Mark 
III control unit, you will not hear any audio when you play a CD.

If you compare the backs of the Mark IIXG and the Mark III control units, you 
will note that the Mark IIXG has audio outputs that you can plug into 
speakers. The Mark III does not. Instead, the Mark III has what appears to be 
a serial-style port called CD Control. I believe that it carries an audio 
signal to a sound card somewhere. Another difference is the little headphone 
unit that is positioned under the left side of the keyboard. On the Mark IIXG 
vintage Pro, it has an audio out port on the back. I don't think that this 
audio out port is present in this location on the Mark III.

In other words, the audio systems are designed in a way that does not make 
the swapping of the control units a practical possibility.

<< Thanks for the detailed feedback. Any idea of what the street price 
without 
installation is for the DKC55RCD?>>

I don't think that these parts are normally available for sale.

<<Another option which I was considering is the QRS unit which allows playing 
other piano/vocal/instrumental CD's from Baldwin and others (Except for the 
Yamaha custom format). The advanatge is that a standard CD player with a 
carousel can be used. The disadvantage is the increased clutter of more 
electronic equipment around the piano. >>

If you get a DCD1 instead, you will find that--like the Mark III control 
unit--it has audio inputs in the back. This means that you can connect the 
audio output of a CD changer to the audio input of the DCD1 and play your 
PianoSoft Plus Audio CDs from the CD changer.

Regards,
PianoBench

Re: [disklavier] Re: Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark III?

2003-01-08 by Carol Beigel

At the moment, you cannot convert a MarkIIXG Pro to a MarkIIIPro.  I noticed 
on the Yamaha web site the the MarkIIIPros come in two models - the DC3APro 
with CD and a DC3Pro without CD.  Just switching out the control boxes will 
not do the trick.

Any piano with a MarkIII Silent system will also have the new jacks in the 
piano action.  For 300 years, the escapement design is what has set the 
piano apart from any other keyboard instrument.  This is what makes a piano 
able to repeat notes very fast, and the ability to control the loudness and 
softness when playing.  The new jacks have a double bump so that the keys 
feel the same to your fingers when the Silent mode in turned on.  This is 
just absolutely a huge design improvement.

MarkIIIs with CD players also come with speakers and an audio amplifier.  If 
you connect speakers to a MarkIIXG system, you need to connect to "powered" 
speakers because there is no amplifier.  This MarkIII amplifier can be 
connected to your home stereo system and you can play regular audio CDs from 
a multi-disk changer module through your piano.  There is also the ability 
to turn the piano keys off and send the piano parts throughout your home 
speaker system - although your would be listening to the tone generator and 
not the actual strings on your piano. You can create audio as well as Midi 
performances of your own piano playing.

To archive a piano performance on a MarkIII in audio, you would put the 
MarkIII into Silent Mode and send the keyboard data through the audio out on 
the amplifier to a tape deck.  You could then take the audio data from the 
tape you just made into your home computer and create a .wav file that you 
could burn to an audio CD.  I helped a piano teacher do this on her new 
MarkIII so that each of her students could give their parents an audio cd 
for Christmas.

The MarkIII CD player will play the QRS and PianoDisc CDs.  The QRS CD 
player will not play Yamaha CDs.  You can play QRS CDs on a MarkIIXG by 
buying the converter from QRS, but you will not be able to play Yamaha CDs.  
I have this system on my own MarkIIXG.  I use their analog to digital 
converter and a Sony Walkman CD player.

You cannot connect a new Yamaha CD unit, the DCD1 to a MarkIIXG and play the 
Yamaha CDs.  You can, however, add it to a MarkIII play only system that did 
not have a CD player.  I believe it will also work on a a MarkIII upright, 
but you would need to have powered speakers or your home stereo system to 
hear the singing. Those MarkIII models where you can add this DCD1 will let 
you play regular audio CDs and Yamaha CDs, but NOT have the Piano Smart 
capability.

If you want a piano with a Silent System, buy one with it already installed 
because you cannot do it later.  If you want a MarkIII with all its 
features, buy a MarkIII with them already installed because you will not be 
able to exactly duplicate it later from a MarkIIXG.  Same thing goes for the 
Pro!

Carol Beigel
crbrpt@...





>From: MELAMAT@...
>Reply-To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
>To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [disklavier] Re: Is it possible to upgrade MarkII-XG to Mark 
>III?
>Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 18:16:18 EST
>
>John:
>
>Thanks for the detailed feedback. Any idea of what the street price without
>installation is for the DKC55RCD? I should be able to plug it in myself
>unless a technician must calibrate it to the piano. I don't have a
>calibration manual but likely could perform that operation if I had one. I
>have already downloaded and upgraded the firmware once on my DS6Pro.
>
>Another option which I was considering is the QRS unit which allows playing
>other piano/vocal/instrumental CD's from Baldwin and others (Except for the
>Yamaha custom format). The advanatge is that a standard CD player with a
>carousel can be used. The disadvantage is the increased clutter of more
>electronic equipment around the piano.
>
>Any thoughts or words of caution.
>
>
>Mel Amato
>


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