In short, you probably want to download my blank virtual disk file for the Nalbantov or other emulators. These work on your Disklavier—specifically the Marks I and II—and on your computer.
If you have an early Disklavier model like the DKC5R or DKC100R, you might have decided to install a Nalbantov floppy emulator in place of the original disk drive. This is a fantastic way to keep your instrument running smoothly. And it’s much easier to transfer music files to and from your computer with a USB stick.
However, there’s a common issue I’ve run into when folks try recording using the “blank” virtual disk (HFE) on Nalbantov’s USB stick.
Here’s the scenario:
You start your Disklavier and select one of the blank virtual disks.
The Disklavier displays a message indicating the disk needs to be formatted or converted.
After formatting, you plug the USB back into your computer… and the file won’t open in HxC Disk Browser. You can’t access your recorded files!
The Disklavier does not recognize the blank files on the Nalbantov USB. And after you format them with the Disklavier, the computer doesn’t recognize them!
This is not a concern on later Disklaviers starting with the Mark II XGs. They’ll readily recognize blank virtual disks. If you format the disk with the Disklavier as a MIDI disk, the computer it’ll be readable on the computer as well.
I’ve addressed the issue for older Disklaviers by creating special blank HFE files that the Disklavier will accept immediately—no formatting required. And they also remain readable in HxC Disk Browser. This means you can pop your USB into the Disklavier, record or store data, and then bring it back to your PC to manage or back up files without any hassle.
Add my blank HFE files onto your Nalbantov USB stick, and you’ll be all set! It’s a quick fix that saves you from reformatting loops and potential data loss.
If you have the Nalbantov eXtreme or a Gotek with an OLED and FlashFloppy, you can name this file whatever you’d like. If you’re using a Nalbantov Slim or other device with a numerical display, make sure to use the naming conventions on the disk. Use names such as DSKA0001.hfe, DSKA0010.hfe, or whatever number is appropriate in your case. If you’re doing a lot of recording, add a bunch of copies!
One of my favorite simple upgrades for early Disklaviers is connecting them to PianoStream! PianoStream is a piano radio app designed to work with nearly every player piano, including the Yamaha Disklavier.
The app offers its own version of piano radio, providing you with a very large repertoire of high-quality music. It also allows you to stream MIDI files from your phone to your Disklavier, altogether bypassing the floppy drive.
Many customers choose to upgrade their old floppy disk drives with a Nalbantov floppy disk emulator. These devices altogether replace the original floppy disk drives. You can then store your entire inventory of floppy disks on a single USB stick!
At this time, if you want to record with your Disklavier, the Nalbantov is a necessary upgrade. The PianoStream App does not currently support recording.
Replacement Power Supplies
Power supplies on this generation of Disklavier almost invariably fail. Fortunately, TAP Electronics rebuilds Disklavier power supplies. Simply ship them your power supply, and they’ll rebuild it and ship it back. They remain the only provider endorsed by Yamaha for this service. Last I checked, this was a flat rate of $750. The rebuilt power supplies do not have the defect the original did, and will last much longer.
The Yamaha DKC-850 can be installed as a “piggybacked” device on the earlier Disklaviers. This means that the DKC-850 is installed in addition to the original Disklavier, and connected through its MIDI jacks. This adds most features of modern Disklaviers, including Yamaha Piano Radio and conventional USB ports.
The most common question I get about Mark IV Disklaviers is how to connect them to the internet. Oftentimes, the owner is struggling to connect, even though they know their device is plugged directly in to a live internet connection. In that case, you need to update your Mark IV firmware. Out-of-date firmware will not talk properly to Yamaha servers! If you have any trouble updating on your own, you can order my firmware update kit.
DKC-900 Upgrade
The Mark IV can be upgraded with the Yamaha DKC-900. This enables you to use your phone or tablet to control the piano, and is aesthetically much subtler than the Mark IV.
Nalbantov Floppy Disk Emulator
Has your floppy disk drive stopped working? If you want to gain back that functionality, you can install a Nalbantov. On the Mark IV, this is much less useful than on previous Disklaviers, as most of your disks are already saved on the hard disk.
PianoStream
The PianoStream App does also work on the Mark IV. This is an alternative to Yamaha piano radio, and is less expensive. It also allows you to broadcast MIDI files to the piano from your phone or another device. Of course, with the Mark IV, you can already use USB sticks, so this isn’t as large an upgrade as it is on previous Disklaviers.
Solid State Hard Drives
Sometimes hard drives fail on the Mark IV. The Mark IV uses old spinning disk hard disks. If you notice them chattering or exceptionally slow performance, consider upgrading your Mark IV to use an SSD.
The Enspire and the DKC-900 represent major upgrades over previous generations of Disklavier; however, they are still surprisingly challenging to connect to the internet. See my article on a straightforward and effective way to connect your Disklavier to the internet.
I started using the Greaseweazle regularly to image hard-to-read disks last year, and I highly recommend it! I periodically encounter Disklavier floppy disks that will play acceptably in the piano, but which cannot be backed up on a computer. Player Piano Floppy Backup Utility (PPFBU) and other tools that are usually effective with Yamaha disks can’t see the files on the disk, and so my typical floppy disk backup routine doesn’t work.
Enter the Greaseweazle (see the Greaseweazle GitHub page). This is an inexpensive device that serves as a sort of translator between a conventional floppy disk drive, and your computer. It allows you to, essentially, “scan” the disk, bypassing whatever obstacles are causing your disk to be unreadable. You’re making a copy of the disk based on magnetic flux, rather than attempting to actually read it. With this copy, called an image, you can produce other copies of the disk in the future. Or you can drop the image right onto your Nalbantov!
There are many ways to do this, but using the Greaseweazle tools on GitHub, you can produce HFE image files, which are relatively small bit-level scans. These are the same files used on the Nalbantov and FlashFloppy.
Note: I needed to add the ––drive=1 switch, as I was using a straight floppy disk cable without a twist. If you’re using a twisted floppy disk cable, you might need a different switch. See the Greaseweazle documentation for details.
Note also: Nearly all early Disklavier floppy disks are 720 KB 2DD disks. You can determine which you have by checking to see whether there are two holes. 2DD disks have just one. See below. If you have a 2DD disk, adding the ––format=ibm.720 switch is appropriate. If, on the other hand, you have a newer 2HD disk (typically used in the Mark III or later), you’ll need to use ––format=ibm.1440 instead.
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.
Executing the command gw read ––drive=1 ––format=ibm.720 OAC-1062-Chick_Corea_Classics.hfe on my computer.
Drop the HFE file on your Nalbantov or FlashFloppy
Yes! You can simply drop the HFE image file on your Nalbantov USB stick! Disk Browser and other HxC tools probably won’t be able to open the HFE file like they can other disks, as Yamaha’s copy protection will still be fully in-tact.
If you’re using the Nalbantov slim or a Gotek with FlashFloppy and a numerical display, be sure to name to file using the naming convention already present on the disk. For instance, if you want your newly scanned disk to be disk 003, name the file DSKA0003.HFE before copying it onto your Nalbantov. (Adjust this guidance as appropriate.)
However, your Yamaha Disklavier will be able to read it. And this technique works very well even with disks that have enough corruption that PPFBU can’t read them. This is my go-to strategy for hard-to-read disks.
Using the Greaseweazle to Write the New Disk
Write the disk image with the following instruction:
Executing the command gw write ––drive=1 ––format=ibm.720 OAC-1062-Chick_Corea_Classics.hfe on my computer.
Always test your duplicates! Even if you’re just storing your disks so that you have a collection of images for the future, write the image to a disk temporarily and check it by playing it in your piano.
In the case of the example above, the computer was, in fact, able to read the original disk, and so I verified it could read the new one with PPFBU:
Checking the disk!
Considering a KryoFlux®?
If you’re considering a KryoFlux® for reading your old floppy disks, please consider the Greaseweazle! The Greaseweazle is open-source, dramatically cheaper, and well-documented. It also doesn’t have any usage restrictions.
I attempted to order a KryoFlux® initially, and ended up enduring a probing background check from the managing director, who evidently has nothing better to do with his time than conduct investigations on potential clients. After a few emails, I eventually gave up and told him I was just going to order a Greaseweazle, and to cancel the order. He then responded and criticized the Greaseweazle. Although he didn’t hold back on his feelings, he did conserve his capital letters and his grammar.
The product offers no advantages at all for our purpose, and despite their deep savings on customer service, it’s dramatically more expensive. This turned out to have been a blessing, as after practicing with it for a year, I would have had to upgrade to an even more expensive professional model.
My current recommendation is the Kingston 64GB DataTraveler. These are all-metal USB sticks that dissipate heat very nicely, and are durable in the event of an impact. I’ve found them to be both durable and reliable. The 64 GB size is recommended by Nalbantov, as speed with USB sticks correlates with their size, and smaller disks are more likely to cause hiccups with slower speeds.
My previous recommendation: Previously, I recommended the SanDisk Ultra Fit 64 GB. As a smaller USB stick, it was less likely that people would bump into it. I would tie on some Atwood Micro Cord, and tie off the end in a Lanyard (Diamond) Knot. However, I’ve had multiple instances of these drives suddenly corrupting. I’m not sure why this is, but have now moved on from using them. I have many customers who still use them and like them, but can no longer recommend them.
Below, you can see a USB stick the was struck laterally by a pianist. The solder joint snapped right off! That is an in convenience easily avoided by a good quality, low profile USB stick.
Formatting your USB Sticks
When you’re attempting to format 64 GB USB sticks for Nalbantovs, you might run into some trouble on modern versions of Windows. These USB sticks must be formatted FAT32 (not exFAT or NTFS), or else the Nalbantov won’t recognize them. Although these USB sticks come formatted FAT32, you might need to format it if you run into any trouble in the future. In that case, I use the tool fat32format to format these sticks, which is a freeware application. If you’re on Mac or Linux, you should not need any additional software to format them.
A snapped solder joint on an inexpensive USB stick.
