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What is the most popular MIDI strip to install on a grand piano ?

QRS PNOScan made by MIDI9 is the only retrofit specifically designed that is passive (optical sensors) I'm aware of. Takes about an hour and half to install if your experienced, somewhat depending on the type of piano its going on. Some pianos may require additional custom brackets for the pedal sensors from what I've seen.

http://www.midi9.com/products.htm

For techs, heres and installation guide:

http://www.qrsmusic.com/downloads/pdf/PNOscan%20II%20Installation%20Manual%20IM79217.pdf

sorry..double post

Hey Emmery, that is pretty cool. I might look into one for my home piano for recording. I do a lot of MIDI work using USB keyboards, etc., but much prefer feel of the acoustic.

Thanks Emmery!

If you get one of these, it is imperative to clean all the dust and dirt off the entire action and the piano before installing...they are flat faced optical sensors and they face upwards under the keys. A brush and pressurized air does the trick. As an added precaution, a cheap antistatic wrist strap would be a good idea to wear while handling the strip since some semiconductor devices are sensitive to it.

A nice demo of its capabilities used with a Macbook...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsaWYqXYLLE&feature=related

Wow, that's pretty impressive.
I didn't know that they had one of these aftermarket MIDI adapters available.
(Oh dear, another toy to lust after).

How much are they. And where can I get one.

There are some other units out there that are similar in function but work in slightly different ways, with less-permanent installations and cost less; Moogs Piano Bar comes to mind, somewhere in the $1200-$1400 range if I'm not mistaken. It sits at the back of the keys and can travel with you to different venues.

Description:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar05/articles/moogpianobar.htm

Demonstration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb7KNkeR920

Not every non piano tech would be comfortable removing a grand's action, stack and keys for the PNOScans installation, in fact as a tech, I wouldn't advise it. The final positioning, set up, and calibration can also be a daunting task since among other things, each note is calibrated for linear, or even exponential velocity parameters among other things like even aftertouch. With professional installations I'd estimate total costs including installation in the 2-2.5K range.

The do not make the Moog piano bar any more. It was not successful.

That demo of playing something and get a perfect score is unbelievable. At best he practiced weeks to play so even that it actually worked for this infomertial. Become a composer without learning notes! Sure.

Nevertheless a very nice device otherwise. It's really fantastic to be able to capture the play of a pianist.

Kees

I would have to agree with you on this. The main issue I've had with midi supplied notation software is similar to the difficulties that voice recognition programs have, capturing exactly what you intend it too. For me, the time value assigned to notes and rests always ended up very cluttered and difficult to interpret afterwards without extensive editing.

Our ears are quite liberal in regards to what sounds good as far as tempo goes, the machine however, will capture an extremely small "tic" subdivision of a note.

Another difficulty encountered when generating midi sounds from a library while playing is how to effectively mute the pianos sounds so they don't overlay (even while wearing headphones).

Use a click track and quantize after, and it comes out pretty close. Yes, corrections are almost always necessary.

For writing out parts for people, transposing, etc, it's pretty cool.