The Pianomation reproducing piano system was designed to play all
available software, including PianoDisc, Disklavier, Internet MIDI
files, analog or digital storage media.  It was designed to install
into any piano with as little bother as possible-- to be installed by
the normal piano tuner technician with some minor mechanical
inclination.  It fulfills this very well.

Having installed several hundred electronic players over the last 20
years, I can say that I have found a few secrets that other technicians
never thought about.  I can also say that my Pianocorder installations
had died-in-the-wool pneumatic wizards dropping their jaws and
declaring that no Pianocorder can possibly play that well, yet they
were listening to one doing so.  The secret to this is keeping the core
travel as shallow as the capstan travel. I have seen nothing to change
my opinion of the situation in regards to Pianomation.

Pianomation is normally installed by piano stores and some of them do
it so poorly that I can hear all kinds of problems when they play.  I
have gotten to de-install and then RE-install several systems to get
them right.   I do know that if you remove the weight of the keys from
the equation, the regulation of the volume is not fully possible.  The
problem being, the system is not able to play at forces lower than #24
on the test box readout.

When any reproducing system is regulated correctly, Pianomation
included, each note should be able to play as softly as you can play it
by hand.  That means if the piano itself is not regulated sufficiently
well to be able to play pppp (pianissississimo) then the reproducer
cannot play well either.

I applaud your experimenting with positioning and whatever you decide
to try.  But I suspect when all is done you will eventually agree that
the system plays softest and loudest (and with no extra noise) when the
cores' fully activated position is the same as the key's fully
depressed position.  And, again, with no need of a stop rail.

I hope QRS will soon allow us to crank down the level 24 to lower
levels, as I often must leave the whole piano playing louder than
necessary in order to get keys regulated evenly as to volume from
bottom to top.  I do not wish to experiment as some have done nor
would I condone others doing so on customers' pianos.  Most of the
Pianomation systems are installed onto new pianos and any drastic
changes to piano action may mean voiding of factory warranty.

Also the only place to position a player on modern small new pianos
happens to be under the keys.  I personally discourage Pianomation
installation on any spinet.  I tell them the piano should be worth at
least as much as the Pianomation system.  Having installed systems on
several Spinets, they are always terribly disappointing in sound and
they take lots more work to install.

I prefer to install to the best use of the accepted methods of
installation since I will not be the only person working on the piano.
Someday another technician will be working on the instrument and if it
was installed too far from the accepted standards the technician of
lesser ability will not be able to figure out what was done.  I do all
my pneumatic restorations so that some one may work on it 30 years down
the line with no difficulty as well.

D. L. Bullock -- Piano World -- St. Louis