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!
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.
You don’t happen to have the files that are needed on the USB stick (the floppy disk emulator) for the Nalbantov USB Drive N-Drive 100 – FE5? The USB drive they sent me is defective and they do not provide a download link to get the files to create a new one. I work in IT and have dozens on thumb drives lying around.
Of course, it would be ludicrous to order a $25 replacement USB from them. Thanks in advance for any help you might provide?
Hello Matt,
I’ve replied by email. Although it appears they based their software on the open-source HxC Floppy Drive Emulator, I couldn’t find any licensing information about it, and so didn’t want to post a public link.
Thank you!
Can I use this to replace the floppy on an Allen C6 organ?
It’s very likely that you can use a floppy disk emulator in an Allen C6. However, I would first check with your nearest Allen organ technician. Allen has truly exceptional repair support, and supply parts for their organs almost in perpetuity, so it’s worth checking to see what their recommendations are.
Otherwise, Nalbantov advertises that they can custom match a floppy disk emulator. They’ll need pictures of the old floppy disk drive, including of the cable connector and of any jumpers on the drive. They have a form on their website to check for compatibility.
Hi, my Yamaha piano is an upright MX100II (48″) with a floppy disk player system. I wonder if I could upgrade the system by replacing the floppy drive part only, and where do I find the part.
Thank you for your advice.
PS: Please email w topic “PIANO, Disklavier”
The USB floppy disk such as the Nalbantov is an upgrade, but with the MX100II, it’ll require some physical modification to fit the drive in. I have a 3D-printed insert that I use to fit the Nalbantov into such instruments. This will allow you to have “virtual” floppy disks, so it won’t get you new content on its own, but will make it easier to copy content to and from the piano.
IF you want to add new content altogether, it’s worth considering something like the Yamaha BT-01 that will let you control the piano over Bluetooth. See PianoStream for more information on that.