The Solenoid vs. Pneumatic discussion has gotten hot and heavy in the
last couple of weeks.  One part has concerned complaints about solenoid
pianos not playing softly enough.  The below only speaks for the
Pianomation system.  (I should be considered a biased observer since
I do a lot of the system design and programming for QRS.)

First of all, there should be no reason that any solenoid piano cannot be
turned down to play at a very soft level.  This is simply a matter of
reducing the basic power level to all of the solenoids.  The only problem
with this simplistic method is that many pianos will have keys that are a
bit more reluctant to strike.  Setting the master volume at it's lowest
value may result in some notes not playing at all.

Since having some notes not playing is NOT a good idea, the solution is
to "tell" the electronics the minimum power level that is required for
each INDIVIDUAL note to play.  Then, if a combination of MIDI velocity
and volume settings suggests a final power level that is below the
minimum for a particular key, the saved setting can be substituted.
(Actually, what you want to do is more complicated, but this is the basic
idea.)

The Pianomation system can be adjusted with the use of a calibration box.
This unit, "QRS Piano Test and Alignment", is basically a box with a
display, switches, and potentiometers.  It plugs into the main processor
with a cable long enough to allow placement on a table, etc. while doing
the procedure.

There are three steps (QRS calls them "tests") to do a minimum power
calibration for all of the piano keys:

Test 10:  This step generally sets all of the keys to an average minimum
level.  Doing this test is optional its purpose is just to save some time
in the next step if most minimums are going to need adjusting.

Test 11:  This step allows adjustments to each individual key.  Pressing
one switch moves you up or down one key and that note plays a simple
repetition.  If the minimum needs adjusting, pressing another switch
allows one of the potentiometers to continually change the setting.  When
this key sounds right, just move to the next key.

Test 12:  This isn't really a test.  It purpose is to save the results in
a small memory (for you tech types, this is an EEPROM) in the processor
unit.  Having a separate "save" options means that you can fool around
with the settings, play some music, etc. and not replace the last saved
settings until you are satisfied with the new ones.

The whole operation should take no more than 10 minutes.  I have
installed the Pianomation system here in two different (very average)
upright pianos.  In both cases, these pianos can play so softly that
piano key action noise becomes the issue.  (No, NOT solenoid clicking or
buzzing as Pianomation does not do this.)

Overall for all common solenoid pianos:

The Pianomation MIDI system has had this capability from the beginning.
Philip Jamison (MMD 27 Sep 1997) said "The problem with "soft" playing on
solenoid players was recently improved by PianoDisc.  Formerly, the
lowest volume was adjusted by one control which worked on every note."
I am not familiar with how this is handled on the Disklavier.

Will Dahlgren