I recently had a customer ask me to tune their piano to A432, and had to quickly calculate how many cents flat relative to A440 to tune. This calculation isn’t especially complicated, but it’s inconvenient to do quickly in the field. I decided to create this simple tool for my own quick and easy reference. … Read more
This is a free online tool to convert MIDI Type 1 (Format 1) to Type 0 (Format 0) for Disklavier and other player pianos. It allows for batch upload, and you can download the converted files individually or as a ZIP. This is useful for Yamaha Disklaviers, drum pedals, Casio keyboards, older digital pianos, and … Read more
I frequently recommend PianoStream for older Disklaviers and other player pianos. This page answers the most common “PianoStream isn’t working” questions, especially for Yamaha Disklaviers (Mark I, Mark II, MX‑series, Wagon Grand) and systems that use Nalbantov USB floppy emulators. We’ll cover floppy/USB requirements, Analog and Digital mode, MIDI‑Bluetooth issues, and how to use PianoStream’s … Read more
Many Yamaha Disklavier systems and most other player pianos work best with Standard MIDI Files saved as Type 0 (also called Format 0). You can check my Disklavier compatibility table for more information, but even on modern systems, Type 1 files sometimes behave unexpectedly. Most MIDI files you download online are Type 1, so it’s … Read more
Normally your ENSPIRE will inform you that an update is available, and will apply it at the push of a button. However, if you don’t have an internet connection, or if your ENSPIRE stopped mid‑update or the app now won’t cooperate, the fastest, least‑painful fix is an offline USB update. If you can’t connect with … Read more
If you’re struggling to read your Yamaha Disklavier or Clavinova floppy disks, you’re not alone! This guide explains why older Yamaha disks often look unreadable to PCs, what tools reliably extract the files, how DD/HD media mismatches and drive issues cause read failures—along with what to do to recover your songs. Yamaha Disks Have Copy … Read more
I periodically receive requests from customers reporting that their keyboard or Nalbantov floppy disk emulator can’t read their USB stick. Usually, the issue is that the USB stick isn’t formatted correctly as a FAT32 device, or that it’s corrupt. I’ve created this guide to explain how to format your USB sticks in a manner that’s … Read more
A customer recently asked me to upgrade his DKC-500RXG floppy disk drive to a Nalbantov USB floppy disk emulator. I’ve recommended the Nalbantov emulator for many years. It has no moving parts and a capacity of 1000 floppy disks on a single USB stick, and is an excellent replacement for the original floppy disk drive. … Read more
The Yamaha PPR-200E remote control plays a key role when converting the Yamaha DKC-800 to a DKC-850. In fact, it isn’t possible to change the PianoType parameter without a working remote control! I’ve also been collecting signals from other Disklavier remotes, such as the PPR-103E for the Mark III, and even the PPR-100 for the … Read more
In my Disklavier Upgrades guide article, I make reference several times to DKC-850 conversion cables. These are the cables you use to connect your older Yamaha Disklavier to a newer DKC-850 control unit (or a DKC‑800 converted to act like a DKC‑850). The original conversion cables were provided by Yamaha as part of the DKC-850 … Read more