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Does anyone own the piano disk system (the new form of player piano)? I've seen them before on piano showroom floors and they seem pretty nice but for the money wanted for one, are they worth it? I've always wanted a player piano. Should I go for the disk/midi system or the piano roll system. Also, can you record disks with the disk system and if so, how much memory can be stored on it? What is the best brand? And finally, is the silent strip a good feature to buy with it or is it just a waste of money?

The system I prefer is Yamaha's factory installed diskclavier. It seems to play smoother at low volume than others. Next in line is the QRS system, which also plays well. Player systems are often installed in the cheaper pianos to keep the overall price down. This is a mistake. The player system takes a toll on a piano action in the form of increased wear. Therefore, a high quality piano makes for a much better installation.
Regarding installation, be aware that installing a player system is a MAJOR modification to a piano, and must be done by an experienced installer, who must also understand the workings of the piano action. If the installation isn't right, the player won't perform at it's best.
Recording is available, but I'm not sure what the current medium is. I've seen floppy disks used, but don't know if cd recording is available. Expect to tune, regulate, and voice a player piano more frequently than you would a regular piano. As to the playing medium, cd's would be my choice, but rolls and 3" floppys work just as well, if you don't want the orchestra accompinment.

Bob,

Good post, but I must say that the Pianodisc PDS 228 is a great machine. Performs well and holds up to abuse, and is a fraction of the price of the Yamie unit.

Granted, installation always effects performance, so the installer should be carefully chosen, but when done correctly, the machine rocks.

My humble 2 cents,

According to Piano Disk,it's apparently very important that the installation is done
by someone "authorized" by Piano Disk only.

Otherwise there will be absolutely NO WARRANTY or guarantee on any parts of the system nor will it be possible to "upgrade" the system later on down the line.

In our city Vancouver, B.C many of these systems were mysteriously installed by very capable but otherwise 'unauthorized' deemed technicians.

I wonder what the owners will think when they
will stumble upon this basic fact one day.

[Beats me, how these "bootlegged" systems ended up in the hands of non-certified people
in the first place!]

I called Piano Disk several times on this one but never received satisfactory answers.

Anybody else on this one? Mystery continues!

Dear Norbert,

Independent techs. can be certified by Pianodisc and some do go to the California school to learn the process. Are you sure that these techs aren't qualified?

On the business end, Pianodisc doesn't want you to spend time explaining and selling the system to have a 1 unit per year tech. undercut you. if you think this is happening, call Pianodisc.

(I can't imagine a consistent installation with that volume, anyway)

[ September 16, 2001: Message edited by: Rich Galassini ]

Dear Rich:

The irony is that,at least here in Vancouver
the situation is exactly the other way around

There is one 'unauthorized' tech in town who apparently installed a good two dozen systems sold by two major local companies who DO NOT have a certified tech themselves but CAN buy the system evidently for cash.
The particular[independent] guy is actually VERY good and a professional engineer himself with large,specific experience,but none of this seemed to matter to anybody at
Piano Disk.[They know of this guy very well]

I wanted to hire this man myself as I had a concrete piano for one customer who chose this particular sustem but INSISTED on the
WARRANTY and UPGRADING part of it.

He fell in love with our Estonia and wanted no other.
The only "certified" Piano Disk technician
lives on an Island three hours Ferry trip
from Vancouver. Needless to say that the particular piano store only sells the system with one of their own pianos.

I'm still dumbfounded that nobody, in this case, was able to acknowledge facts of life and "certify" this [very experienced] guy we have in this, much larger city, Vancouver.

Wonder what all the[many]customers, who he installed the system before, will think, if they find out one day that their systems are neither warranted nor upgradable...........

But that,at least, won't be my problem.

Thankyou for the information. If I ever end up getting piano disk, which I have been considering, I have decided to buy a new piano with the system already installed.

Just make sure you get it from a dealer who can give you warranty for BOTH the piano
AND the system!

Otherwise,YOU carry the risk for the latter by yourself! Good luck!

The disklavier of Yamaha is very good, not only diskettes can be played, but also on the new Mark III GP CD's with audio and MIDI for the acoustic pianopart mixed. That's a great step forward.
The disklavier piano's can be upgraded to a Mark III using the new DCD 1 CD player. Just connect it to the disklavier control unit and you'll have the same options !

According to the player disc build in systems I have to say that the disklavier is more precisely and accurate. Also this is build in in the factory during building¨proces of the piano itself.

Baldwin has gone bankrupt so what will become of their systems? Maybe they will decrease in value? or will they increase? I think that those are the pianos that you have to buy with the system already installed though. I alreay have a piano, I just need to find a system to be installed into it. Well, I still wait. Someday, I will have enough money saved up to buy something good.

The Baldwin system is a QRS system with a Baldwin contole box. When Baldwin went bankrupt, they owed Qrs a boatload of money, which seriously hurt QRS for a while.

Buy Yamaha. EXCEPT dont buy their bottom end grands. That includes the GH and the GP series.
Only but a grand that is a C series

Our church is considering a piano like the Disklavier. However, one of our main concerns is that the electronic side of the piano be able to transpose in real time (rather than after recording). The Disklavier does this only after connecting the midi in/out and going through gruelling steps on the control box. The QRS Seranade Pro supposedly does it with the punch of a button, but it is possibly being discontinued after the new models come out soon. I am in the process of checking the Pianodisc. A full blown electronic piano would do all that we want from that standpoint, but we have people that want strings as well. I thought the Disklavier was the answer until we tried one and found that it didn't transpose in real time. Does anyone know of a piano like the Disklavier that transposes in real time?
(BTW...I was spelling with a "C", as well, but I checked the website and Disklavier is the way they spell it?)
Thanks,
TuneHeister

If you go with pianodisc then get the 228cfx system. Stay away from the opus7. The opus7 is simply a 228cfx player with a $14,000 stereo system attached.