Midi Editor for Adding Expression Coding
By Robbie Rhodes
George Bogatko has introduced an interesting new subject (Re: Ampico-to-Midi in digest 951128).
But Whoops! Back up, George! In digest 95.11.26 I was talking about transferring music data to Midi for archiving, etc., and all-of-a-sudden you are talking about going the other way, from Midi performance into player piano commands. That's a much harder problem, and I don't know of any automated method available right now to do it.
But your enthusiasm appears boundless, and I urge you to talk with our "modern-day Frank Milne", Mr. Eric Bernhoft ("Upright & Grand"), who is indeed creating Ampico and DuoArt rolls, using a Midi editor to manually add the expression channels. Telephone Eric in San Fransisco at 415-885-3335.
You should also study the set of Ampico rolls performed by Leo Podolsky, and published by Chicago AMICA around ten years ago. I transferred the hammer velocities of the recording piano into perforator files for Richard Tonnesen, and also printed a long listing of the velocities. The Ampico coding was added by dedicated coders, guided by the velocity printout, under the supervision of Bob Taylor of Columbia, Missouri. This is almost the same as it was at Ampico after the spark recording machine was developed in 1927!
(Rob DeLand: Are the Podolsky rolls still available?)
Your observations on the coding styles of Fairchild versus Milne are accurate. Milne coded Ampico as though it were DuoArt, using unorthodox techniques compared to the "Ampico Style" developed during the reign of Edgar Fairchild.
The "tracker-bar clamp-on" seems prone to leaking, which is _deadly_ on a reproducing piano. A better method of hearing your editing progress would be with a set of "magnet valves" teed into the tracker-bar tubes under your Ampico piano. Use a set of Reisner vacuum valves controlled by the equipment described by Mike Ames in digest 951126. Be sure that the power supply (12 or 15 volts at 5 amperes) is well-filtered and regulated. You don't want the valve timing corrupted by hum or voltage sags due to crashing chords!
-- Robbie Rhodes
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(Message sent Wed 29 Nov 1995, 07:46:30 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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