As a professional piano tuner, I’ve had the privilege for several years of working at some the most beautiful music venues. Cadenza is nestled right in the heart of Freeport at 5 Depot St, and this venue attracts music lovers who come to enjoy live performances and the beauty of its Yamaha C7 grand piano.
From classical concerts to jazz nights, the musicians who grace its stage are some of the most talented and passionate. The piano itself is a magnificent instrument, and has been a centerpiece of the venue for many years. They take wonderful care of it. I have spent many hours tuning and caring for this beautiful instrument, and it’s well-loved by the performers who play on it.
Whether you are a music lover or simply appreciate the finer things in life, this venue and its piano are not to be missed. I highly recommend taking the time to visit and experience the magic of live music and the beauty of this magnificent instrument.
I’ve recently started recommending customers with worn-out floppy disk drives upgrade them to so-called “Floppy Disk Emulators.” There are a couple of these on the market, but it looks like the easiest to use and most reliable is the Nalbantov USB Floppy Disk Emulator. I use these regularly in Yamaha Disklaviers, but they can also be installed in keyboards. I install these quite regularly. If you do order from Nalbantov directly, make sure to use the AlexPiano for a 5% discount on orders from Nalbantov.
Why Upgrade?
There are several reasons why you might want to replace an old floppy disk drive with a USB floppy disk emulator, including:
Increased reliability: USB floppy disk emulators are more reliable than traditional floppy disk drives, as they have no moving parts and are less susceptible to mechanical failure. Most customers reach out to me after their floppy disk drive has failed.
Compatibility: USB floppy disk emulators are compatible with modern computers, which may not have floppy disk drives built-in or may no longer support floppy disks.
Speed: USB floppy disk emulators transfer data faster than traditional floppy disk drives, making it easier and quicker to transfer large amounts of data.
Convenience: USB floppy disk emulators can be easily connected and disconnected, making it easier to transfer data between different computers or to store data.
Cost-effectiveness: USB floppy disk emulators are often more cost-effective than purchasing a new floppy disk drive or repairing an old one.
I’ve found some floppy disk drives now cost more than the replacement USB emulators, especially if they’ve had minimal use. And hardly anybody knows how to actually repair a floppy drive—that’s a nearly lost art.
Operation
After the Nalbantov is installed, you can use a single USB stick to represent up to 1000 floppy disks. Because it’s a floppy disk emulator, the Disklavier actually believes you’re inserting a different floppy disk. As you switch between virtual “disks” by pressing the arrows, you’ll see the display on the Disklavier behave as though you’ve inserted a new disk. Of course, if you have more than 1000 floppy disks, you can invest in another USB stick, although I haven’t run into this particular situation yet!
This is the #2 track on the #27 floppy disk stored on that USB stick!
Installation
Some customers opt to install the Nalbantov unit themselves. Depending on the design, this is quite doable, although I don’t recommend attempting it with most Yamaha MX100II Disklaviers (see below). It is a very easy installation on, for instance, the DKC5R and the DKC500RW, just to pick a couple.
With some generations of Disklavier (most notably Mark II / MX100II / MX100A / MX100B devices), the floppy disk drives are mounted behind a shaped plastic piece. In these cases, you’ll need to cut away the old plastic facing (a pair of flush-cut nippers is helpful here), install the new drive, and put some kind of buffer around it. I’ve experimented with a few different choices for something functional and attractive. Purchasing neoprene strips is a cheap solution.
New solution: I have a 3D model of a floppy bezel that’s sized to fit around a Nalbantov. You can 3D print this yourself, or I can mail you one. This mount holds the Nalbantov in place, and also fills in the gaps around the edges. It’s an all-in-one solution for mounting the Nalbantov, and allows you to reuse the same screws the original floppy disk drive was installed with.
For backing up your current Disklavier floppy disks to a format that can be stored on your USB stick, see my article on Backing up Disklavier Floppy Disks. They can then be moved onto a virtual “disk” with Nalbantov’s proprietary tool.
One or more keys play at full volume even though I’m hardly pressing them!
Keyboards use very sensitive contacts to determine how fast you’re pressing the key (or the velocity). A keyboard with dirty contacts (such as the one pictured below) will misjudge velocity, and will cause the key to play at incorrect or, often, persistently loud volume. In the case of the picture below, that wood chip would cause a perpetually quiet key—if it moved to the depression directly above it, then it would cause a perpetually loud key. Cleaning is sometimes an effective option.
They can also simply wear out. If you play your keyboard for hours a day, the rubber itself will eventually degrade, as will the graphite pads on the button. In that case, they’ll need to be completely replaced, which is typically possible for keyboards that are less than ten years old, but becomes progressively more difficult with age. Replacement is usually the best option.
In desperate times, if contacts just aren’t available, you can swap contact strips from the ends of the keyboards to replace keys you play more typically. There are products like Oak Tree Vintage’s Key Contact Repair Kit, but I view these as an absolute last resort. Direct rubber contact strip repair is a desperate measure.
Here are some typical keyboard contacts from a Yamaha Clavinova. There appears to be some kind of wood shaving in one of the contacts (toward the center of the image). This will cause misfiring.
One or more keys don’t play at all.
A common cause of silent keys are bad or damaged rubber key contacts. See above. They should be cleaned or replaced.
Another common cause of silent keys is a damaged or corroded key contact printed circuit board (PCB). These PCBs are, for late-model keyboards, typically available—particularly for Yamaha and Roland. They can also sometimes be repaired: In the case of the image below, some cleanup and a wire jumper fixed the problem.
If there’s sufficient corrosion on the contact circuit board, it will need replacement. In this case, I was able to add a wire jumper to bring life back to this particular board, and then coat the area to prevent further corrosion.
My keyboard doesn’t turn on!
There are many common reasons for this. The most common, in order, are damaged power cords or adapters, a blown fuse, a damaged power inlet (see below), or a damaged power switch. It can also be a sign of an electronics failure somewhere else in the keyboard.
Start by replacing the cord. That’s something fairly inexpensive you can do yourself. Try to find a direct manufacturer replacement. If you require any assistance in this, you can contact me, or you can reach out to a local piano store. In the case of a power cord with an adapter, both the voltage and the polarity have to be correct.
Somebody broke off the power inlet on the back of the keyboard.
This is a common problem. Nearly every pedal inlet for nearly every keyboard is available. I replace them regularly, particularly in schools where the cord might get forcefully pushed or pulled! Depending on the way that it was broken, there might be some collateral damage. For instance, a Roland I repaired recently had the fuse assembly ripped off when the power inlet, acting as a battering ram, scraped the electronics off the rest of the inlet circuit board. However, there’s nothing particularly complicated on there, and their story ends happily!
I’ve got a Yamaha Clavinova and some keys are sticking.
This is a very common issue in Yamaha Clavinovas from the early 2000s. Unfortunately, the tails of the keys would crack, resulting in sluggish behavior. Then they would fully break, causing a sticking key. More than once, I’ve gotten a call after a rowdy child will walk up to the keyboard and spontaneously break a dozen or so keys—it’s not their fault. These keys can be replaced.
I typically don’t recommend doing them one-by-one unless you’re going to be replacing them yourself. It’s much better to replace the entire keyboard assembly or to replace all the keys. This is an expensive repair, but it’s much less expensive than a brand new Clavinova, and if the rest of the electronics are in good shape, it’s worth considering.
I’ve got a Roland RD-xxx and one or more keys are staying down. They seem loose.
Roland RD keyboards from the 2000s and earlier used plastic hammers that crack and break. Unfortunately, Roland no longer manufactures these hammers. If you have such a keyboard, you’re at the mercy of used parts dealers and eBay. I maintain a small stockpile for customers, but this condition is usually terminal.
This is a very distressing situation for me, so if you have any further information that might assist in fabricating these or are aware of a stockpile of these, please contact me. Currently, single replacements sell up to $100 on eBay.
Cracking Roland hammers. All of these are splitting, both horizontally and vertically, around the encased lead weight. They are, unfortunately, irreplaceable.
I’ve got a Yamaha, and it makes a clacking sound when I let go of or hit a key.
Yamaha Clavinovas and portable keyboards have a strike felt and a rest felt. In nearly all cases, rest felts will wear out within a decade. This causes keys will make a clacking sound when released. With heavier use, strike felts can also wear out. Both felts are relatively easy to replace. Both lead to a noisy keyboard.
This is a worn out hammer strike felt on a Yamaha Clavinova. (It had, in fact, already peeled off when I opened the keyboard and was resting on the hammers.) The keyboard rest felt is toward the bottom of the keyboard assembly. It’s the piece the metal hammers are resting on.
This post is intended to help you read from, write to, or replace Yamaha Disklavier floppy disks.
Some of my customers choose to upgrade their older Disklavier’s floppy drive to a Nalbantov USB drive, and want to know how to copy songs from their old Disklavier floppy disks onto a USB. Some of them just want to be able to back up their disks in case they need to make new ones later. Or maybe, you’re just trying to figure out how to write to disks your Disklavier can actually read!
The content on the original floppy disk is protected by copyright and is the property of its respective owners. These instructions are provided to assist owners of legitimate copies in converting the files for personal use on their own Yamaha instruments. Unauthorized copying, sharing, distribution, or commercial use of the converted files is strictly prohibited. By using these instructions, you agree to comply with all applicable copyright laws, licensing agreements, and Yamaha’s terms of use. I disclaim any responsibility for misuse of the information provided.
If you want your floppy disks files saved on a more modern media, you can also mail your floppy disks to me (please reach out to me at [email protected] or through my Contact page). Nalbantov also has a disk transfer service, and they can be very useful if you encounter particularly challenging disks. Make sure to use the AlexPiano for a 5% discount on orders from Nalbantov.
If you’re adding new music to a floppy disk or Nalbantov USB and have an older Disklavier (such as the popular MX100II), you’ll need to make sure the files are in Yamaha’s proprietary ESEQ format. Using the tools below, you can convert your MIDI files to ESEQ so that they will be in your Disklavier’s native language.
Obtaining Files from your Yamaha Disks
Yamaha floppy disks are a great source of songs that you know will be formatted correctly for your piano. However, floppy disks often don’t age well, and are very susceptible to sunlight and magnetic fields. (This is one more reason to back them up!)
Disklavier floppy disks cannot be natively read by your computer without special software. They will appear as unformatted disks.
There are several tools that will allow you to read them: I use the Player Piano Floppy Backup Utility 1.4, created by Mark Fontana. It’s freeware, but he requests donations. You can download it from him, or you can download ppfbu_v1.4_setup.exe from me. It can read and save directly in ESEQ format, even if the disk it’s reading from is in MIDI. It appears to run acceptably on Mac / Linux using emulators, although this can add complications.
If you copied the files in ESEQ format, there’s an extra step before your Disklavier can read them. See below!
The Player Piano Floppy Backup Utility v1.4 running on my dedicated Windows XP “floppy copy” box.
Obtaining even More ESEQ Files from the Internet
In addition to the originals you might have, you can sometimes find these on eBay or at local music stores. Older disks on eBay are seldom tested, so there’s some risk of receiving junk disks.
There are several large online repositories in both ESEQ and MIDI formats. Some of these are of dubious legality. One legitimate resource was kuhmann.com, which had quite a large repository. I have a copy of their entire database. (I worry a lot about these older resources disappearing! They disappeared. Kuhmann’s inventory does appear to be available on the Wayback Machine, but his original website is now off the internet.)
You can also source files from Yamaha’s website, although this a more expensive option. Many of their MIDI files have multiple instruments (or even limited piano), and are more designed for their keyboards and other MIDI devices. However, they do have an entire category of Piano Solos, and these are what you’ll want to search for when selecting files. When you download these, you get their associated MIDI files, which are comfortably sized for floppy disk purposes.
Once you download DKVUTILS.ZIP from my site or theirs, you’ll need to extract it. The program that converts MIDI files to ESEQ files is MID2ESEQ.EXE. This program runs only on Windows, and does not seem to run with emulators. Reach out to me and I can assist with conversion.
Using MID2ESEQ, just drag and drop MIDI files into the window.
MIDI files that have only one track are called Type 0 files. MIDI files with multiple parts are Type 1. Occasionally, the piano will be spread between two tracks. In that case, you’ll find the piano is playing only half or so of the notes it should be. You can convert Type 1 to Type 0 files using the tool gn1to0.exe. This is a slightly cumbersome tool, but will either run on Windows or on Linux/Mac using Wine.
Using conversion software to merge all the MIDI tracks.
Please also note that the ESEQ filenames should be strictly eight characters long, have no spaces, and be entirely uppercase, including the FIL extension BEFORE creating the PIANODIR.FIL file. I’ve created a script to automate this proper naming process, discussed in my creating a PIANODIR.FIL index instructions.
Formatting 2DD Floppy Disks
Some people choose to use the original floppy disk drives in their 90s-vintage Disklaviers, rather than converting to a Nalbantov. First, it’s important to make certain you’re using the correct floppy disks. The more “modern” 2HD floppy disks require stronger magnetic fields to write, and may not always be compatible with older Disklaviers. The slightly older 2DD drives, however, will work. You can tell the difference readily: 2HD disks have openings at both corners of the Disk, while 2DD disks will have only one.
2HD disks have openings at both corners, but 2DD disks do not. You’ll usually find the write-protect slider in one corner, but other will be blank.
Some have reported covering the hole with electrical tape will trick the Disklavier into believing the disk is a 2DD disk. You may or may not be able to write to it using the Disklavier, but you should be able to read from it using this trick, provided your 2HD disk is formatted as a 2DD disk.
Formatting a 2DD 720KB floppy disk in Linux.
I formatted mine on my Pop!_OS Linux machine with the instruction sudo ufiformat -f 720 -v /dev/[yourdevice]. If you’re using a Windows machine, the instruction is format a: /t:80 /n:9. Pictured below, you can see what this command looks like on my Windows XP floppy transfer box. This command does work in Windows 10 and 11, but requires you to be using an external floppy disk drive that allows this format. Not all of them do.
Formatting a 720KB 2DD floppy disk in Windows XP.
At this point, you can transfer your .FIL files and PIANODIR.FIL file to your floppy disk. Put them in the root directory, and do not use any folders.
If you’re using an actual floppy disk, it must be a 2DD disk formatted to 720 KB. See the above section on identifying the disk and formatting it correctly.
Earlier Disklaviers can be finicky about their ESEQ files. Sometimes, they’ll work without any trouble, even without a PIANODIR.FIL file. However, particularly in earlier Disklaviers (such as the DK5R), you’ll need to be more careful with the naming conventions, and you’ll definitely need that PIANODIR.FIL described above.
I’m very grateful for the research of Mike Isreal (in the comments below), who did experimentation with his own Disklavier. Beforecreating a PIANODIR.FIL for your disk, make certain that all filenames are precisely eight characters long, and that both the filename and extension are in all-caps. The filename must contain no spaces.
Some have commented that it appears you can also omit the .FIL extension (at least in some cases). According to Nalbantov, there might be cases where a fully lower-case filename and extension are called for, although I have not run into that particular case yet.
In 2022, I had a customer ask me how to change the voltage on his Nord Electro 3 from North American to European. I made this brief write-up to help him.
This also includes how to replace the Electro 3’s fuse. If you’re a world traveler, this might be worth printing out and keeping in your bag—perhaps along with an extra fuse!
This is a (nearly) comprehensive list of local piano teachers here in Southern Maine.
This list includes both teachers who work with you in-person, and also
those who use remote teaching tools.
Teachers who can travel to your home are marked with a black star (★), and teachers who can work with you remotely are marked with a white star (☆).
If you have any submissions or updates, please contact [email protected].
I am honored to be able to offer what I believe to be the most comprehensive list of piano teachers in the state, and will respond quickly to any updates you have for me. Some of these piano teachers are difficult to find elsewhere, and all are excellent.
I’ve had the honor of tuning Seymour Bernstein’s piano for several years. He shared with me this video, and I’d love to share it with my customers and the world from my platform here.
These recommendations are based on the excited reviews my customers give me. This list is under continuous construction, and please reach out to me if you would like to add your favorite resource! See my contact page.
Piano teachers
If you’re looking for a piano teacher, check out my Piano Lessons page for a list of teachers in Maine. I do my very best to maintain a comprehensive list!
Customers regularly ask me for local piano teachers. If you are a local piano teacher, please reach out to me and I’ll be happy to talk to you. If you have an excellent piano teacher that isn’t on my list, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
There are two well-established piano moving companies here in Southern Maine: The Piano Movers of Maine (207-939-3018) and Starbird Piano (207-775-2733), both of which are based in Portland. Both, in my experience, are willing to travel pretty far.
Pricing for piano moving is quite variable, and you should have the following information ready: The location the piano is moving from and to; The number of steps at both locations; The size of the piano (length for a grand or height for an upright).
If you need an especially long-distance move between states, reach out to Piano Movers Inc. They service all of New England, and come highly recommended as they’re the movers used by Londonderry Piano in New Hampshire.
The first place I recommend is The Bluebook of Pianos Piano Age directory. It’s free, and they have the most common makes (like Baldwin, Wurlitzer, Yamaha, and Steinway); however, many of the smaller manufacturers are missing.
I can look up the piano age in the Pierce Piano Atlas if I have the serial number and make. For that, you can contact me directly. Email me at [email protected] or use the contact page. I’m always happy to provide this service.
Piano accessories
Dampp-Chaser Pads and Treatment can be purchased on Amazon (pads and treatment), they can be purchased at Starbird Piano in Portland, or you can ask me to bring them to your next tuning! Pads are free for regular customers, and my treatment prices are lower than Amazon’s.
Looking for a piano light? There are quite a few on the market, but I have had customers repeatedly recommend the Lumiens Music Stand Light. The light clips on top of your music rack whether on a grand piano or an upright, but it’s also capable of standing upright on its own if you don’t have a suitable place to clip it.
If you are looking for resources for cleaning your piano, see my Cleaning FAQs.
Piano sales
Starbird Piano in Portland is a Yamaha dealership, and is the only piano store in Southern Maine. They sell pianos on consignment. They use their own, in-house movers
M Steinert & Sons in Boston is our nearest Steinway and Boston dealership. They also use Piano Mover’s Inc, and ship to Maine regularly. They have an outstanding reputation throughout the country.
Cunningham Piano is located in Philadelphia, but it’s home to some of the best piano rebuilders in the country, and a number of my customers have pianos purchased or rebuilt by them. They orchestrate shipping to and from Maine through a variety of movers.
Homeschooling Groups
I’ve worked with a number of members of Homeschoolers of Maine, who can help with events, group classes, curriculum, and the technical/legal aspects of homeschooling your kids.
During the winter months, many clients leave the state of Maine. Their piano is left in Maine, which means there’s nobody to fill the Dampp-Chaser! This is a solution.
My best estimate is that this system can supply a Dampp-Chaser with sufficient water for three months during the winter, or perhaps longer. Normally, they have to be filled once a week!
There is no pump or water pressure: The two containers are self-leveling using nothing but physics. This means that, in effect, the interior tank has nearly the entire capacity of the external tank. The lack of electronic components remediates risk of severe failures. The external tank I use is the Barker 10-gallon tote.
Although not necessary for operation, an Arduino micro-controller is installed to monitor the water level and send updates using cellular data. This gives us confidence everything is working as it should, even during long absences. This is in development, although the source code I’m currently using is below. At present, I’m using the Botletics SIM7000 shield and an Arduino Uno Rev3. I connect using Telnyx.
The setup outside of a piano, with the Barker tote and the Dampp-Chaser universal tank connected by a hose. The universal tank will sit inside the piano, and the Barker tote will be outside.This is the monitoring website for the above unit.
I want to get my piano tuned, but is it worth tuning?
If you want to schedule a time for me to come evaluate a piano, I’ll apply the cost of that evaluation towards the tuning if you decide to get it tuned at a later date.
It’s free on Craigslist! Do I need to get it evaluated?
Yes! Pianos are incredibly hard to move, and when considering cost, potential for personal or property damage, and the subsequent disappointment of discovering you now need to move it the dump, the cost of an evaluation could represent saving hours of your time and hundreds of dollars.
My piano has a crack! Is it serious?
Soundboards are constructed out of solid spruce, and generally crack along their laminates over the course of decades. These cracks are usually not a big deal. Soundboard cracks become a big deal when they allow the soundboard to significantly change shape—to lose its crown—or if they form in such a way as to rattle or cause the ribs to separate. If you notice that one side of the crack is higher than the other, or that the crack is large enough to allow daylight through, you might have a serious crack. The worst cracks are often tangent to the bridges. If the piano sounds okay, it’s sometimes possible to continue tuning the piano with even a rather serious crack if you don’t have any other option, or if the piano is an heirloom with sentimental value, and you work to keep the humidity stable. Otherwise, it’s time to contact a rebuilder.
