As promised, here is the summation of the informal Solenoid Piano -
Acoustic MIDI survey I asked MMDers to respond to.  It is very long...

I contacted the manufacturers of the modern systems by email asking for
input, but received no replies.

I received a great response from the MMD, and was surprised to see some
of the projects you folks are doing with these new player systems.  I was
also amused by some of the off line email exchanges that debated the need
for this technology since pneumatics already exist!  It sounded much like
a Duo Art owner and an Ampico owner debating which system is better ;-)

I have chosen not to use any names in this posting due to the contentious
nature of a few of the emails.

I'll start by recounting the perceived weaknesses of the solenoid and the
pneumatic technologies discussed by various MMDers.

The biggest hit on the solenoid piano was the inability to do rapid
repetition at low volume.  The Pianomation system apparently uses a
calibration box to balance the solenoids, the PianoDisc has a "hidden
feature" in the software that allows balancing, it was not disclosed how
the Disklavier handled this.  When the systems are properly calibrated
and balanced, the repetition at low volume works well (dependent on the
quality and condition of the piano action), but the pneumatic pianos
still have a slight edge.  For much of the music out there this is a moot
point.

The second perceived problem was the durability of diskette media.  It is
anticipated that the diskettes will have a life span of 7 years, although
they can be copied and refreshed.  The new files on CD should have a much
longer life span.  Another concern was the durability and serviceability
of the electronics. Personally I assume that there will be collectors and
enthusiasts working on all of these things for years to come.

The biggest drawbacks of the pneumatic system (as compared to the
solenoid) are the background noise introduced by the motor and the main
pump, the hula dance they perform, the Duo-Art key length and Ampico knee-
banger problems, and the dearth of qualified technicians.

The strengths of the solenoid pianos were the ability to play music for
hours on end without changing rolls, the ability to record and sequence
your own music, and the ability to download MIDI files directly from the
Internet and play them (this is the era of instant gratification after
all).

The strengths of the pneumatic players were their historic value, the
quality of pianos they were mated with, their expression systems, and the
arrangements on the music rolls that were published for them.

Here is a breakdown of strengths and weaknesses of solenoid pianos by
brand:

Pianocorder:

Obviously out of business.  Bought out by Yamaha, who reportedly still
supports owners of the systems. QRS makes tapes for these systems.
Expression system was unsophisticated.  Many tapes were transcriptions of
Ampico and Duo-Art rolls.

Disklavier:

Best record system, best pedal handling.  Only available on Yamaha pianos,
can only play Disklavier diskettes and CDs (rumors say the latest
software release allows playback of SMFO Standard MIDI Files).

PianoDisc:

Record system seems to exaggerate rapid repetition, Can play Disklavier,
PianoDisc, Pianomation and SMF0 MIDI files.  MSR (parent company) has
purchased the Mason & Hamlin, Knabe and George Steck names, and factory
installs the PianoDisc on these pianos.  PianoDisc can also be factory
installed on any existing piano, and is available in kit form for the
do-it-yourselfer. Supports CD and Diskettes.

About their pianos; Mason & Hamlin is being built in Massachusetts to
original M&H designs, reportedly a phenomenal piano.  Knabe is being
manufactured by Young Chang to an original Knabe design (mostly scaling).
A good piano IMHO.  It is not known who will manufacture the George Steck
line.  One can assume the Steck will be a low end draw with Knabe as the
intermediate and M&H as the high end.  Classic piano market segmentation
never dies.  ;-)

Pianomation:

Manufactured by QRS, available factory installed on Samick-built Story &
Clark pianos, so-so pianos IMHO (not meant to demean the S&C built pianos
in any way).  Rumored to be building a custom Pianomation system for
Baldwin.  Pianomation is available as a kit (I'm not sure about factory
installations on other pianos, my assumption is yes they would, best to
contact QRS directly).

Pianomation is the only system that allows playback of recorded symphonic
performances with the player system.  (Both Disklavier and PianoDisc use
sampled playback for orchestration).  Pianomation also has a "Magic
Pedal" feature which emulates sustain pedal on Vorsetzer-type systems.
Supports files on Diskette, VHS tape and CD.

Owners of all three system types seemed happy overall.

Music:

Most people agreed that the music being produced by Pianosoft
(Disklavier), MSR (PianoDisc), and QRS (Pianomation) is somewhat bland.
Pianosoft seemed to be the favored producer.  (Could this be from the
translated Ampico and Duo Art files they purchased from Marantz
Pianocorder?  :-)

My take is that the music is being developed for a perceived market, aka
the wine sipping yuppies discussed in a previous MMD digest.  There are
independents out there making pretty good music diskettes, and there are
a few good compositions on the Internet (check out Robert Finley at:
http://www.ultranet.com/~rfinley/ for a sample of great MIDI files for
piano -- I believe that QRS has recorded him recently).

Here are some of the things MMDers are doing with their pianos (each
paragraph represents a different respondent):

Pianocorder owner (just the unit, no piano) doing a masters thesis on a
project to compile a definitive computer-based archive of the entire
Pianocorder music library.

Steinway Upright built in 1920 with a Pianocorder in it.  The piano is a
non-functioning Duo Art, with the Pianocorder installed in such a way as
to allow restoration of the pneumatic player later; it will take a remote
pump.  It has a Piano Automation MC-1 MIDI interface that physically
attaches to the bottom of the tape recorder unit and is wired in between
the tape recorder unit and the rest of the Pianocorder system.

Working on is an 'Electronic Roll', a device that clamps to the tracker
bar of a roll played instrument and would be driven by a computer.

QRS Pianomation system installed in a Ludwig studio and a QRS Pianomation
nickelodeon kit installed in and old empty player piano (Pullman).  Owner
put glass fronts on them and lights them with neon.  The nickelodeon has
glass in the bottom panel where the percussion is.  The xylophone is
mounted on top of the pin block cover. Also considering building a new
band organ using MIDI.

PianoDisc installed in a Grotrian concert grand.  Not pleased with the
PianoDisc unit.

A large Yamaha upright with Disklavier. It works well, but totally put
off by the selection of music Yamaha sells for the unit.  Buys software
from Stahnke and Piano Mania.  Neighbour has an old upright with the
Pianocorder unit installed.  It does not work anymore and he has not
found any place for service.  A local motel, dining room has just
installed a new upright with the QRS system in it.

Pianocorder in kit-set form installed in an old British John Broadwood
piano that had been gutted of its player components.

1920's era Wurlitzer baby grand piano with a PianoDisc unit.  The piano
was in pretty bad shape but after about six months of refurbishing and
refinishing it was playing nicely and looking great.  It was at that
point he had the PianoDisc installed.  Since then he's played it almost
every day.

Uses a Yamaha Clavinova to play Disklavier disks.  He hopes to retrofit
his pumper with a midi controlled playing device sooner or later.

Rebuilt a Knabe 5'8" grand (which was an Ampico player), removed all of
the player components, and installed the Pianomation from QRS.  Took
about a week for the install.

A Yamaha DC-5 Disklavier (which plays soft repetitions well), and a
Vorsetzer that incorporates the complete reproducing systems of Ampico,
Duo-Art, and Welte-Mignon, playing both the standard W-M licensee rolls
and the German red rolls on a double tracker bar.  This was built for Joe
Tushinsky in 1973, and is being restored.

A Disklavier MX100B owner who loves it dearly, but is disappointed with
softly-played notes and sequences of fast repeating notes unless they are
played at the loudest volume.

Hope you found this information interesting.  I enjoyed the virtual
interaction with all of the MMDers that took part in this.

Regards,

Scott Currier

 [ Thanks for the fine survey, Scott.  I hope we have more on these
 [ instruments.  Some day they, too, will be collectibles.
 [ -- Robbie