Yamaha Disklavier repair, upgrade, and music-management guides from Alex’s Piano Service. Learn about Disklavier troubleshooting, floppy disk recovery, Nalbantov USB upgrades, PianoStream, firmware updates, power supply repairs, compatibility questions, and MIDI/E-SEQ tools for older and newer Disklavier systems.
A practical fix for recording on older Yamaha Disklaviers with Nalbantov USB floppy emulators, including downloadable blank HFE files that work with Mark I and Mark II systems without creating unreadable or reformatting-loop virtual disks.
A practical guide to Yamaha Disklavier upgrade options, including PianoStream, Nalbantov floppy emulators, replacement power supplies and LCD screens, DKC-850 and DKC-900 upgrades, firmware updates, SSD replacements, and compatibility considerations for Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, E3, ENSPIRE, and DKC-900 systems.
If you have a suggestion, please send it in to [email protected] or reach out through my contact form. If you’re looking for free music for your Disklavier, please see my list of free sources of songs and MIDI files. These options are all paid. Yamaha MusicSoft for Disklavier Yamaha MusicSoft is the largest and most … Read more
Customers routinely ask me whether their Disklaviers can play MIDI, or only E-SEQ (often written ESEQ), what services they support, and whether they can be upgraded. I’ve constructed this chart of Disklavier compatibility to answer those questions. This table lists various Disklavier controllers and their corresponding floppy disk formats, recording capabilities, and playback options. Please … Read more
Usually, no. The Yamaha MX-100II and its Japanese counterpart, the HQ-100, normally play Yamaha’s proprietary E-SEQ files from floppy disk rather than standard MIDI files. However, some later-production units do appear to support SMF Type 0 MIDI playback from floppy disk, depending on ROM version. For the broader model picture, see my Disklavier Compatibility Table. … Read more
I use a wide variety of software tools when reading floppy disks and preparing E-SEQ and MIDI for the Yamaha Disklavier. Below is my attempt to compile the most useful tools I use on a daily basis. If you have any input or want any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me. APS MIDI … Read more
This is an article about backing up your Disklavier Floppy Disks using a specific tool called a Greaseweazle. If you do not have a Greaseweazle, and want a straightforward and less technical solution, please see the article on backing up your Yamaha floppy disks using simply an external floppy disk drive and downloadable tools. I … Read more
The Yamaha Disklavier is a sophisticated piece of technology, but typically, you’re limited to Yamaha’s song library. Many Yamaha songs include both a piano part for the Disklavier and an accompanying music track, though the Disklavier piano part might differ dramatically from the original piano part in the song. In many cases, the piano tracks … Read more
I’ve recently installed some external speakers for various Yamaha Disklaviers. Hopefully my experience with this helps somebody else! The Yamaha Disklavier Mark IV is a well-loved, sophisticated instrument. However, upgrading its control unit to the DKC-900 offers several benefits—most notably, access to Yamaha’s ENSPIRE radio stations and On-Demand radio. This is one of my recommended … Read more
Yamaha sold Smart PianoSoft floppy/CD sets for Disklavier Mark III, Mark IV, and DCD-1 upgrade systems. The floppy controls the acoustic piano while the matching audio CD provides the accompaniment, vocals, or backing track. This was a revolutionary technology: You could insert a floppy disk designed to play the actual acoustic piano alongside an audio … Read more