Pianomation by QRS

QRS has been making rolls for the old paper type player pianos for many years. Recently they expanded their operations to get them into the present day of computers by coming up with a retrofit that will fit almost any piano out there. It plays the piano, records and can interface with any midi device. They are more geared towards specially encoded CD's as a medium for playback and so the accompaning sounds are as real as they get. They also have 3.5 inch floppy disk based mediums as well but my impression is that the CD's are the way to go. They also have some music videos that play the piano for you while you watch the TV. The Pianomation library of specially encoded CD's and disks, has that old player piano sound that made QRS a leading supplier of rolls for the old player pianos that you had to pump with your feet. Player pianos have come a long way from the days when you had to pump hard to get any music.

This unit is fairly easy to install if you're a piano technician. The instructions are well written in my opinion. I've installed numerous PianoDisc units previous to Pianomation and so my experiences with them made installing Pianomation a breeze. The most time consuming part is designing the sustain pedal mechanism. I've read their descriptions and have considered their supplied levers, but I have found it easier to design my own using 1/2' cold rolled steel a small torch and a big hammer. Using the supplied solenoid you have to use the specified leverages or the pedal won't work right.

Pianomation compared to other players

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You can email me at larryf@pacifier.com