I’m in the process of transferring files in a Yamaha CLP-156, a Clavinova from 1994, which uses an early version of ESEQ. I’ve been trying to figure out how to read these disks, and in my journeys, I encountered this Yamaha service note from 2004. They refer to a product called Giebler’s Yamaha DOM package, which is used for copying Clavinova and Disklavier files. I was curious to see if this different at all from the more modern tools I have available, and if it might have an edge reading older disks.
You can view the Yamaha DOM Package from Gary Giebler on the Giebler website. It’s a bit pricey — $54.95 at the time of this writing. But it’s a specialized tool, to say the least!
However, it requires an MS-DOS based version of Windows. I couldn’t get it to run in FreeDOS, as it required a Windows environment for the installation. I was able to get it running on Windows ME, running on physical hardware with an internal floppy disk drive. This is a very high bar to clear for installation — Windows ME and Windows 98SE are hard to install on modern hardware, to say the least, and Windows ME barely ran on the 2008 era computer I used for this process.
Finally, I got everything installed, and I got to the first screen. This software has the following options, and none are particularly helpful for our purposes:
The Yamaha Disk Manager control screen. (Serial number and name are scrubbed from the status bar.)
I tried a handful of disks with it. I found its performance at reading disks somewhat limited compared to modern tools like Mark Fontana’s Player Piano Floppy Backup Utility (PPFBU). But it was able to look at disks and list their contents, and it had a pleasant old-timey feel. See, for instance, a directory listing:
The directory listing for a Christmas album I used as a sample.
I attempted to make a copy of the disk, and was met with this error:
Uh-oh. It won’t copy the disk.
It’s easy enough to understand why this is, and certainly why this was over twenty years ago. But this means this software will almost never be the appropriate solution for backing up your floppy disks or moving them to modern hardware. It’s an interesting historical tool, and might be of assistance in some edge cases, but in general we have better tools today.
Yamaha’s earlier floppy disks use the propriety ESEQ format. They also use a primitive form of copy protection, where the first sectors of the disks are missing. This means computers identify the disks as corrupt, requiring you to use specialized software to back up your Disklavier disks. In place of these sectors, Yamaha uses the PIANODIR.FIL file, which serves both as a file table and a song index.
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.
If you have a Yamaha that’s capable of playing ESEQ only, you might also need to create a PIANODIR.FIL index. Continue scrolling down for instructions!
Creating a PIANODIR.FIL using ESEQ Explorer
If you are creating a floppy disk for use with an earlier ESEQ only Disklavier, or if you’re preparing ESEQ files for transfer to a Nalbantov USB stick, you might have to create your own PIANODIR.FIL.
Note: Please note that the filenames should be strictly eight characters long, have no spaces, and be entirely uppercase, including the FIL extension BEFORE following the process below. If you don’t do this, some pianos will be unable to read the files. I’ve created a program to conveniently rename all your .fil files at once, which is especially helpful if you have numerous albums.
First, put all the ESEQ files you’ve created in a folder together. The DKVUTILS suite includes a program called ESEQ Explorer. Once you open the program, select the directory you’ve stored your ESEQ files in (make sure they’re properly renamed according to the above instructions, or use my program to rename them for you). You’ll see a screen like the one below:
Note that, if you don’t currently have a PIANODIR.FIL, there will be a red X in front of it. That means it’s not present. Right-click on it and select Create Index. The contents of that folder are now ready to be added to a disk using the Nalbantov tools. If your file names are too long, you’ll see them renamed with ~ symbols. In my experience, this is a program, and indicates they likely won’t read in the piano. Make sure to rename them appropriately first.
I’ve also quoted the text file from the DKVUTILS.ZIP tool below, since they’re informative:
Yamaha Disklavier discs are always on Double Density (2DD) media, High Density (HD)discs, which are more common nowadays, will not work. Furthermore, they are formatted to 720 Kbytes not the default of 1.2 Mbytes. The original discs are copy protected. This has been achieved by placing invalid data on the first sector. As DOS and Windows always refer to this sector to check out a floppy, they will report that the discs are bad. The Yamaha machinery ignores the first sector, so it reads them normally.
The music files on a Disklavier disc have the extension .FIL. They are frequently identified with titles like PIANO001.FIL, but sometimes they have names similar to DOS like MUSIC1.FIL. In addition to the music files, there is an index file on the disc. This contains a list of the active music files on the disc, their titles, and pointers to their position on the disc. The index file is always called PIANODIR.FIL and always has a size of 6 Kbytes. In order to set up a Disklavier disc to function on a Disklavier, you must first copy the music files onto it in Disklavier format (ESEQ) and then run the ESEQ EXPLORER program to build the index file.
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 my MEGA drive. 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 on my MEGA drive. (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 that’s also stored on my MEGA drive. 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.
