Disklavier

Hi everyone,

I used to have access to one of the Linux tableted Disklaviers a few years ago but that is no longer the case. I've found a cheaply priced MX80 and I've done some research and read all the posts referencing it here but I still have a couple questions and would like some opinions.

My intended use would be to make MIDI sequences of things beyond my dexterity and then have the Disklavier perform them.

It's my understanding that the MX80 has the worst sensors and the fewest gradations on things like velocity and the smallest polyphony (16?). It seems to me that these things would be detrimental if I was trying to transcribe a performance on the keyboard into MIDI but I would think that I would be able to get sufficiently much variance in velocity and pedaling for playback. Yes or no?

I'm going to check this piano out on Monday. Does anyone have a MIDI file that would be a good test of the entire piano? Like something that does pianissimo to fortissimo across the entire range of keys with lots of pedaling. I don't care if it sounds like music or not. I would just like to evaluate the instrument without taking up too much of the seller's time.

Also, what sequencers are most of you using to create sequences (on the computer, not record from the keyboard) and/or play them back via the Disklavier? I'm particularly interested in what Linux users are using but am also curious to hear what people are using in Windows.

Anything else I should know about the MX80 that might not be readily apparent? Like if there was some major design compromise or there's any sort of problem they tend to develop over time.

Thanks for reading!

-- 
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(707) 984-8356 
(707) 972-3149

>
>   if you can hook the piano up to a computer with a MIDI interface, you 
> can use my virtual keyboard program to test every note ate a range of 
> velocities. you  can check for repetition at a variety of rates. there 
> is no pedal control on the keyboard so you would have to hold the pedal 
> on yourself or if you really need it, i can add a pedal button to the 
> keyboard. you can find it on the following page about half way down:
> 
> http://www.spencerserolls.com/Files4Download.html
> 
> 
> On 8/7/2010 5:49 PM, mechanix99 wrote:
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I used to have access to one of the Linux tableted Disklaviers a few 
> > years ago but that is no longer the case. I've found a cheaply priced 
> > MX80 and I've done some research and read all the posts referencing it 
> > here but I still have a couple questions and would like some opinions.
> >
> > My intended use would be to make MIDI sequences of things beyond my 
> > dexterity and then have the Disklavier perform them.
> >
> > It's my understanding that the MX80 has the worst sensors and the 
> > fewest gradations on things like velocity and the smallest polyphony 
> > (16?). It seems to me that these things would be detrimental if I was 
> > trying to transcribe a performance on the keyboard into MIDI but I 
> > would think that I would be able to get sufficiently much variance in 
> > velocity and pedaling for playback. Yes or no?
> >
> > I'm going to check this piano out on Monday. Does anyone have a MIDI 
> > file that would be a good test of the entire piano? Like something 
> > that does pianissimo to fortissimo across the entire range of keys 
> > with lots of pedaling. I don't care if it sounds like music or not. I 
> > would just like to evaluate the instrument without taking up too much 
> > of the seller's time.
> >
> > Also, what sequencers are most of you using to create sequences (on 
> > the computer, not record from the keyboard) and/or play them back via 
> > the Disklavier? I'm particularly interested in what Linux users are 
> > using but am also curious to hear what people are using in Windows.
> >
> > Anything else I should know about the MX80 that might not be readily 
> > apparent? Like if there was some major design compromise or there's 
> > any sort of problem they tend to develop over time.
> >
> > Thanks for reading!
> >
> > 
> 
> -- 
> Best regards, Spencer Chase
> 67550-Bell Springs Rd.
> Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
> Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
> Spencer@...
> http://www.spencerserolls.com
> (707) 984-8356
> (707) 972-3149
>

Hi Spencer,

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah, I was planning on taking a laptop with a MIDI interface. I'm not looking for software to send MIDI data though. There's a lot of that freely available for Linux.

What I'm hoping for is that someone has already made a midi file that just runs through all the keys and pedals at all the velocities so I can just quickly test the complete range of functionality of the piano much more quickly than I could by hand. I could make such a file myself but I'd hate to spend the time doing unnecessary work if there's already a resource available.

Also, I don't remember how the pedaling works. IIRC, full pedaling is on one channel and partial pedaling is on another channel but I don't remember what those channels are or what data to send on them.

Thanks!

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, Spencer chase wrote:
>
> if you can hook the piano up to a computer with a MIDI interface, you
> can use my virtual keyboard program to test every note ate a range of
> velocities. you can check for repetition at a variety of rates. there
> is no pedal control on the keyboard so you would have to hold the pedal
> on yourself or if you really need it, i can add a pedal button to the
> keyboard. you can find it on the following page about half way down:
>
> http://www.spencerserolls.com/Files4Download.html
>
>
> On 8/7/2010 5:49 PM, mechanix99 wrote:
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I used to have access to one of the Linux tableted Disklaviers a few
> > years ago but that is no longer the case. I've found a cheaply priced
> > MX80 and I've done some research and read all the posts referencing it
> > here but I still have a couple questions and would like some opinions.
> >
> > My intended use would be to make MIDI sequences of things beyond my
> > dexterity and then have the Disklavier perform them.
> >
> > It's my understanding that the MX80 has the worst sensors and the
> > fewest gradations on things like velocity and the smallest polyphony
> > (16?). It seems to me that these things would be detrimental if I was
> > trying to transcribe a performance on the keyboard into MIDI but I
> > would think that I would be able to get sufficiently much variance in
> > velocity and pedaling for playback. Yes or no?
> >
> > I'm going to check this piano out on Monday. Does anyone have a MIDI
> > file that would be a good test of the entire piano? Like something
> > that does pianissimo to fortissimo across the entire range of keys
> > with lots of pedaling. I don't care if it sounds like music or not. I
> > would just like to evaluate the instrument without taking up too much
> > of the seller's time.
> >
> > Also, what sequencers are most of you using to create sequences (on
> > the computer, not record from the keyboard) and/or play them back via
> > the Disklavier? I'm particularly interested in what Linux users are
> > using but am also curious to hear what people are using in Windows.
> >
> > Anything else I should know about the MX80 that might not be readily
> > apparent? Like if there was some major design compromise or there's
> > any sort of problem they tend to develop over time.
> >
> > Thanks for reading!
> >
> >
>
> --
> Best regards, Spencer Chase
> 67550-Bell Springs Rd.
> Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
> Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
> Spencer@...
> http://www.spencerserolls.com
> (707) 984-8356
> (707) 972-3149
>

-- 
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(707) 984-8356 
(707) 972-3149

>
>   i wrote the keyboard program after searching for something similar. 
> there might be something now but there was nothing like it when i wrote 
> it. you can sweep through all the notes at different velocities and can 
> set timed repeats. i wrote this specifically to test player pianos 
> quickly and easily. it finds both player and action problems easily.
> 
> On 8/7/2010 11:23 PM, mechanix99 wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hi Spencer,
> >
> > Thanks for your reply.
> >
> > Yeah, I was planning on taking a laptop with a MIDI interface. I'm not 
> > looking for software to send MIDI data though. There's a lot of that 
> > freely available for Linux.
> >
> > What I'm hoping for is that someone has already made a midi file that 
> > just runs through all the keys and pedals at all the velocities so I 
> > can just quickly test the complete range of functionality of the piano 
> > much more quickly than I could by hand. I could make such a file 
> > myself but I'd hate to spend the time doing unnecessary work if 
> > there's already a resource available.
> >
> > Also, I don't remember how the pedaling works. IIRC, full pedaling is 
> > on one channel and partial pedaling is on another channel but I don't 
> > remember what those channels are or what data to send on them.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > --- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com 
> > <mailto:disklavier%40yahoogroups.com>, Spencer chase <lists@> wrote:
> > >
> > > if you can hook the piano up to a computer with a MIDI interface, you
> > > can use my virtual keyboard program to test every note ate a range of
> > > velocities. you can check for repetition at a variety of rates. there
> > > is no pedal control on the keyboard so you would have to hold the pedal
> > > on yourself or if you really need it, i can add a pedal button to the
> > > keyboard. you can find it on the following page about half way down:
> > >
> > > http://www.spencerserolls.com/Files4Download.html
> > >
> > >
> > > On 8/7/2010 5:49 PM, mechanix99 wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi everyone,
> > > >
> > > > I used to have access to one of the Linux tableted Disklaviers a few
> > > > years ago but that is no longer the case. I've found a cheaply priced
> > > > MX80 and I've done some research and read all the posts 
> > referencing it
> > > > here but I still have a couple questions and would like some opinions.
> > > >
> > > > My intended use would be to make MIDI sequences of things beyond my
> > > > dexterity and then have the Disklavier perform them.
> > > >
> > > > It's my understanding that the MX80 has the worst sensors and the
> > > > fewest gradations on things like velocity and the smallest polyphony
> > > > (16?). It seems to me that these things would be detrimental if I was
> > > > trying to transcribe a performance on the keyboard into MIDI but I
> > > > would think that I would be able to get sufficiently much variance in
> > > > velocity and pedaling for playback. Yes or no?
> > > >
> > > > I'm going to check this piano out on Monday. Does anyone have a MIDI
> > > > file that would be a good test of the entire piano? Like something
> > > > that does pianissimo to fortissimo across the entire range of keys
> > > > with lots of pedaling. I don't care if it sounds like music or not. I
> > > > would just like to evaluate the instrument without taking up too much
> > > > of the seller's time.
> > > >
> > > > Also, what sequencers are most of you using to create sequences (on
> > > > the computer, not record from the keyboard) and/or play them back via
> > > > the Disklavier? I'm particularly interested in what Linux users are
> > > > using but am also curious to hear what people are using in Windows.
> > > >
> > > > Anything else I should know about the MX80 that might not be readily
> > > > apparent? Like if there was some major design compromise or there's
> > > > any sort of problem they tend to develop over time.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks for reading!
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Best regards, Spencer Chase
> > > 67550-Bell Springs Rd.
> > > Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
> > > Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
> > > Spencer@
> > > http://www.spencerserolls.com
> > > (707) 984-8356
> > > (707) 972-3149
> > >
> >
> > 
> 
> -- 
> Best regards, Spencer Chase
> 67550-Bell Springs Rd.
> Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
> Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
> Spencer@...
> http://www.spencerserolls.com
> (707) 984-8356
> (707) 972-3149
>

Hey Spencer,

Thanks again for your reply. I will boot up Windows someplace and check it out!

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, Spencer chase wrote:
>
> i wrote the keyboard program after searching for something similar.
> there might be something now but there was nothing like it when i wrote
> it. you can sweep through all the notes at different velocities and can
> set timed repeats. i wrote this specifically to test player pianos
> quickly and easily. it finds both player and action problems easily.
>
> On 8/7/2010 11:23 PM, mechanix99 wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hi Spencer,
> >
> > Thanks for your reply.
> >
> > Yeah, I was planning on taking a laptop with a MIDI interface. I'm not
> > looking for software to send MIDI data though. There's a lot of that
> > freely available for Linux.
> >
> > What I'm hoping for is that someone has already made a midi file that
> > just runs through all the keys and pedals at all the velocities so I
> > can just quickly test the complete range of functionality of the piano
> > much more quickly than I could by hand. I could make such a file
> > myself but I'd hate to spend the time doing unnecessary work if
> > there's already a resource available.
> >
> > Also, I don't remember how the pedaling works. IIRC, full pedaling is
> > on one channel and partial pedaling is on another channel but I don't
> > remember what those channels are or what data to send on them.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > --- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com
> > , Spencer chase wrote:
> > >
> > > if you can hook the piano up to a computer with a MIDI interface, you
> > > can use my virtual keyboard program to test every note ate a range of
> > > velocities. you can check for repetition at a variety of rates. there
> > > is no pedal control on the keyboard so you would have to hold the pedal
> > > on yourself or if you really need it, i can add a pedal button to the
> > > keyboard. you can find it on the following page about half way down:
> > >
> > > http://www.spencerserolls.com/Files4Download.html
> > >
> > >
> > > On 8/7/2010 5:49 PM, mechanix99 wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi everyone,
> > > >
> > > > I used to have access to one of the Linux tableted Disklaviers a few
> > > > years ago but that is no longer the case. I've found a cheaply priced
> > > > MX80 and I've done some research and read all the posts
> > referencing it
> > > > here but I still have a couple questions and would like some opinions.
> > > >
> > > > My intended use would be to make MIDI sequences of things beyond my
> > > > dexterity and then have the Disklavier perform them.
> > > >
> > > > It's my understanding that the MX80 has the worst sensors and the
> > > > fewest gradations on things like velocity and the smallest polyphony
> > > > (16?). It seems to me that these things would be detrimental if I was
> > > > trying to transcribe a performance on the keyboard into MIDI but I
> > > > would think that I would be able to get sufficiently much variance in
> > > > velocity and pedaling for playback. Yes or no?
> > > >
> > > > I'm going to check this piano out on Monday. Does anyone have a MIDI
> > > > file that would be a good test of the entire piano? Like something
> > > > that does pianissimo to fortissimo across the entire range of keys
> > > > with lots of pedaling. I don't care if it sounds like music or not. I
> > > > would just like to evaluate the instrument without taking up too much
> > > > of the seller's time.
> > > >
> > > > Also, what sequencers are most of you using to create sequences (on
> > > > the computer, not record from the keyboard) and/or play them back via
> > > > the Disklavier? I'm particularly interested in what Linux users are
> > > > using but am also curious to hear what people are using in Windows.
> > > >
> > > > Anything else I should know about the MX80 that might not be readily
> > > > apparent? Like if there was some major design compromise or there's
> > > > any sort of problem they tend to develop over time.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks for reading!
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Best regards, Spencer Chase
> > > 67550-Bell Springs Rd.
> > > Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
> > > Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
> > > Spencer@
> > > http://www.spencerserolls.com
> > > (707) 984-8356
> > > (707) 972-3149
> > >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Best regards, Spencer Chase
> 67550-Bell Springs Rd.
> Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
> Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
> Spencer@...
> http://www.spencerserolls.com
> (707) 984-8356
> (707) 972-3149
>

-- 
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550-Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
(707) 984-8356 
(707) 972-3149