Disklavier

Hi all,

I've recently moved my old Disklavier upright and reconnected it to a computer in a new room.  Playback is lovely.  But recording (MIDI out) from it many of the notes don't get sent.  Playing scales I find that about half of the notes aren't being sent (the same notes each time, and not exactly every other note, but about half of them).  

I've had a quick look inside and the most obvious cable connectors at both sides of the mechanism are securely fitted, and the LEDs in the little holes (that the strip of metal interrupts to read the key being pressed) are on.  Is there anything obvious I could investigate?  Although I know little of the mechanism, I'm not completely electronically hopeless.  Unfortunately, here in NZ I've never been able to find anyone who knows what a Disklavier is, let alone repair one...

TIA,


Charles

Hi,

First, it may be worth checking that all key sensors are working OK. Record a scale playing each key a couple of times (3 should be fine, as long as you play each key the same number of times) onto a floppy disk. Check the playback. If some keys don't play back at all, the sensor for that key may be faulty. If some keys only play onse of twice, you have an intermittent fault on the sensors. Either way, the key sensor assembly may need to be replaced (if it is still available).

Also, in the MIDI settings, make sure "MIDI Out" is set to "KBD OUT" and that "Split" is set to "OFF".

athomik

On Jun 4 2009, tillsbury2000 wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I've recently moved my old Disklavier upright and reconnected it to a computer in a new room. Playback is lovely. But recording (MIDI out) from it many of the notes don't get sent. Playing scales I find that about half of the notes aren't being sent (the same notes each time, and not exactly every other note, but about half of them).
>
>I've had a quick look inside and the most obvious cable connectors at both sides of the mechanism are securely fitted, and the LEDs in the little holes (that the strip of metal interrupts to read the key being pressed) are on. Is there anything obvious I could investigate? Although I know little of the mechanism, I'm not completely electronically hopeless. Unfortunately, here in NZ I've never been able to find anyone who knows what a Disklavier is, let alone repair one...
>
>TIA,
>
>
>Charles
>
>
>
>------------------------------------
>
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Ok, thanks for your help.  All the MIDI settings are correct(otherwise it wouldn't be outputting only some specific notes and missing lots of them in between).  Amazingly, although the floppy drive gave out about 10 years ago, I managed to find an old disk and write to it before the drive decided not to play ball any more!  

So, recording internally to the floppy gives the same result.  For example, from middle C a scale of C records only C, E, and B -- reliably the same notes.  A couple are missing from the next octave.  Same throughout the keyboard (although possibly interesting is that there is a slightly higher proportion of missing notes in the centre of the keyboard compared with the extremes).  They reliably don't fire, to floppy or to MIDI out.  They were certainly working last time I used the piano, about four years ago.  Since it's a sudden failure of a large number of keys (not a gradual breakdown), that's why I thought it might possibly be cable related.  The LEDs on the sensors are all on, and the sensors are clean and visually perfect (no dust clogging or similar).

Is there anyone who might be able to repair these, give an indication of who might be able to repair a disklavier, or know where spare parts can be found?  Yamaha's service system over here seems to consist of a group of people who have no idea what a disklavier is, backed up by a group of people who assume that if you move house you're not entitled to take your piano with you, and treat you as if you've bought a grey import from some untrustworthy country such as Japan -- which is ironic considering where they're from...

While disklaviers are great (when they work), I've never seen any company like it for leaving you in the lurch when it goes wrong.  There's certainly a market for someone to produce a similar product and then support and service it properly.


Charles

Send an email to bbrandom@... and see if he can help you.

Carol Beigel

----- Original Message ----- 

From: "tillsbury2000" <charlessteadman@...>
To: <disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 2:29 AM
Subject: [disklavier] Disklavier 100MkII dropping notes on MIDI output


> Hi all,
>
> I've recently moved my old Disklavier upright and reconnected it to a 
> computer in a new room.  Playback is lovely.  But recording (MIDI out) 
> from it many of the notes don't get sent.  Playing scales I find that 
> about half of the notes aren't being sent (the same notes each time, and 
> not exactly every other note, but about half of them).
>
> I've had a quick look inside and the most obvious cable connectors at both 
> sides of the mechanism are securely fitted, and the LEDs in the little 
> holes (that the strip of metal interrupts to read the key being pressed) 
> are on.  Is there anything obvious I could investigate?  Although I know 
> little of the mechanism, I'm not completely electronically hopeless. 
> Unfortunately, here in NZ I've never been able to find anyone who knows 
> what a Disklavier is, let alone repair one...
>
> TIA,
>
>
> Charles
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> To Post a message to the group, send it to:   disklavier@...
>
> To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and 
> moderator, send it to:
> disklavier-owner@...
>
> To reach our group's web site go to:
> http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier
>
> THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP?
> If you are thinking of unsubcribing because you are getting too much mail, 
> go the the web site and change your email delivery option instead.  That 
> will fix the problem, while maintaining your access to the group.  If you 
> insist on leaving us completely send a blank email to:
> disklavier-unsubscribe@...
>
> Know someone who wants to join?  Have them send a blank email to:
> disklavier-subscribe@... or give them this link:
> http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier/join
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
> Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
> Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.12.39/2134 - Release Date: 
> 5/25/2009 6:14 PM
>
>
>

I would suspect that you have a problem with the key sensor assembly. The most likely cause is a faulty key emission circuit board (part number VZ141901), but there is also a key receive board, which may be causing the problem (part number VN244500). You need to contact Yamaha to order the parts, they may also be able to recommend someone who can carry out the repair.

BTW where are you located?

athomik

On Jun 5 2009, tillsbury2000 wrote:

>Ok, thanks for your help. All the MIDI settings are correct(otherwise it wouldn't be outputting only some specific notes and missing lots of them in between). Amazingly, although the floppy drive gave out about 10 years ago, I managed to find an old disk and write to it before the drive decided not to play ball any more!
>
>So, recording internally to the floppy gives the same result. For example, from middle C a scale of C records only C, E, and B -- reliably the same notes. A couple are missing from the next octave. Same throughout the keyboard (although possibly interesting is that there is a slightly higher proportion of missing notes in the centre of the keyboard compared with the extremes). They reliably don't fire, to floppy or to MIDI out. They were certainly working last time I used the piano, about four years ago. Since it's a sudden failure of a large number of keys (not a gradual breakdown), that's why I thought it might possibly be cable related. The LEDs on the sensors are all on, and the sensors are clean and visually perfect (no dust clogging or similar).
>
>Is there anyone who might be able to repair these, give an indication of who might be able to repair a disklavier, or know where spare parts can be found? Yamaha's service system over here seems to consist of a group of people who have no idea what a disklavier is, backed up by a group of people who assume that if you move house you're not entitled to take your piano with you, and treat you as if you've bought a grey import from some untrustworthy country such as Japan -- which is ironic considering where they're from...
>
>While disklaviers are great (when they work), I've never seen any company like it for leaving you in the lurch when it goes wrong. There's certainly a market for someone to produce a similar product and then support and service it properly.
>
>
>Charles
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------
>
>To Post a message to the group, send it to: disklavier@...
>
>To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and moderator, send it to:
>disklavier-owner@...
>
>To reach our group's web site go to:
>http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier
>
>THINKING OF LEAVING THE GROUP?
>If you are thinking of unsubcribing because you are getting too much mail, go the the web site and change your email delivery option instead. That will fix the problem, while maintaining your access to the group. If you insist on leaving us completely send a blank email to:
>disklavier-unsubscribe@...
>
>Know someone who wants to join? Have them send a blank email to:
>disklavier-subscribe@... or give them this link:
>http://Yahoogroups.com/group/disklavier/join
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
><*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/disklavier/
>
><*> Your email settings:
> Individual Email | Traditional
>
><*> To change settings online go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/disklavier/join
> (Yahoo! ID required)
>
><*> To change settings via email:
> mailto:disklavier-digest@yahoogroups.com
> mailto:disklavier-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
><*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> disklavier-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
><*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>