In my case, the general point of doing the CD and computer thing is
to have a truly portable player.  I tried to make a business out of
a portable player piano (paper rolls) about 20 years ago.  I put a
piano on a carriage so it was easy to roll around, and built a special
trailer with a mechanism to lock the piano into place so that it was
safe to haul.  Needless to say, I had to charge a fairly heady fee for
showing up.

And there was at least one case where I could have gotten a gig if
the piano had fit into an elevator it was too long for.  I am also
a vocalist, and singing to the player piano while operating it doesn't
make as nice a show as having the piano do its thing while the vocalist
performs unencumbered.

Currently I am in the process of putting a Clavinova on a carriage
that it will be easy to detach from in a way that both pieces will
fit into the back of my station wagon.  I'm also in the process of
repairing a keytop player for the purpose of teaching the Clavinova how
to play the rolls.  The Clavinova also has voices available which will
make an enhanced rendition possible if a guy figures out how to take
advantage of them.

Other than that, the paper roll device is ideal for an instrument that
sits at home all the time, although the top-of-the-line Disklavier,
which is a baby grand with strings upon which the keys go down, I
think, probably has as good a performance capability as the paper roll
device, except for the fact that not sitting there pumping is a bit
soulless, and you don't get the 'teleprompter' advantage of the words
scrolling in front of you.

Lee Rothrock,
Springfield, Oregon, USA