Disklavier

Hi Mark!
This is, as always, very informative.

I'm surprised, since the Disklavier runs off of Linux (correct?), that there aren't more hacks for it.  I'd have thought there'd be some tool that could get into the deep, dark settings of the firmware, and change something like the velocity range and who knows what else.  I guess there are so few Disklaviers out there anyway that the overlap between those owners and people who also have tremendous programming knowledge is pretty limited.  Now that I think about it, though, other than tweaking something like the velocity curve, I don't know what hidden settings anybody would want to bother tweaking -- and other than me, I don't know of anybody who even wants to mess with the velocity curve.

I am a little relieved to hear that the Pro likely still caps the output velocity.  It's a bit irritating, particularly if it's just to maintain compatibility with old models.  Good sample libraries have 5-6+ different samples per note, all called based on velocity, so if I'm limited to velocity=100, I'm missing out on at least 20% of my available samples.  It seems that if the instrument is going to be velocity sensitive, it should offer the full MIDI spec (well, within reason, of course).

Maybe I should just write quieter music.
-John


--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, Mark Fontana <mfontana@...> wrote:
>
> 
> Hi John,
> 
> Actually, the Disklavier Pro doesn't use the full range either.  It maps 
> the typical dynamic range of the piano to a MIDI velocity range of about 
> 25-100, the same as any other Disklavier, I guess to maintain 
> compatibility with content created for the earliest models dating to the 
> late 1980s.
> 
> The Pro increases the note velocity resolution by extending the 7-bit 
> MIDI velocities with three additional least-significant bits (specified 
> in a MIDI stream using Yamaha's "XP" mode extensions).
> 
> Since each note event in an XP mode stream is represented by multiple 
> MIDI events whose order is important, it has been a pain to edit XP 
> performances in conventional sequencing software.  The "RePerform" 
> editing software available from Zenph was created to make this task 
> easier.
> 
> My understanding is that the Pro can record and reproduce a slightly 
> wider dynamic range that extends a little higher and lower than the 
> standard range of a standard Disklavier.  But the standard range maps to 
> the same MIDI velocities as on non-Pro Disklaviers, so the effective 
> resolution of a Disklavier Pro isn't quite the full 10 bits advertised, 
> just like the effective resolution of a non-Pro Disklavier isn't quite 
> the full 7 bits of the MIDI spec.  The Pro's three additional bits of 
> velocity data just add intermediate steps to the limited velocity range 
> that Yamaha uses, allowing it to be represented with 8x greater 
> precision.  So instead of 25-100, you'd have a usable velocity range of 
> about 200-800 on a Disklavier Pro.
> 
> Non-Pro Disklaviers can ignore the three additional bits and use just 
> the normal 7-bit MIDI velocities from a Pro recording, thus achieving 
> compatibility between Pro and non-Pro instruments.
> 
> So John, I don't think having a Pro would improve your situation much.  
> You would still need to use external hardware or software to remap the 
> velocities.
> 
> Mark Fontana
> 
> 
> On Tue, Aug 02, 2011 at 08:47:32PM -0000, johnny.robot wrote:
> 
> > Official word from Yamaha is that the velocity curve can't be 
> > modified.  I don't have a pro, but I wish more and more that I'd 
> > waited the extra couple of months for one.  The pro reportedly has 
> > full velocity range up to 127.
> >  ... I kind of can't believe that the non-Pro model maxes the output 
> > velocity at 100, when MIDI goes to 127, but that does seem to be the 
> > case, and Yamaha has basically confirmed as much. -John
>