In response to the technician seeking a retrofittable mute system: How accomplished is the player? What are they looking to do with the MIDI possibilities? Is the piano a vertical or a grand? These are all very important questions to which you should have the answers before making any recommendations -- for everyone involved's sake. While I typically respond personally to inquiries where I believe I can help, this is one that may be of interest to technicians everywhere who may have customers inquiring about such products. With the kids these days growing up in this Microsoft world, believe me -- as I am in retail as well, these products are growing rapidly in popularity. Armed with a laptop or nearby desktop computer, their capabilities allow kids (and grown-ups) to send e-mails of their performances, download and playback MIDI files on the Internet, arrange and print musical notation... all beside the obvious feature of being able to play with headphones. Technicians who enjoy being on the cutting edge of technology, if for no other reason than to stay current and informed, may wish to read on. I'll simply address why my above questions to the customer are of paramount importance before recommending any such retrofittable devices for a customer's piano. For those who wish to learn more, set up camp at the PTG Convention's booths whose vendors produce such products, or research which local dealer -- if any exist -- thoroughly understands AND installs these products. Last resort -- reply to me, I'll try to help. How accomplished is the player? The retrofittable versions of these mute systems (at least here in the U.S) are really only best suited at this point, for recreational use -- i.e. letting the child wrestle with Hanon through head- phones, record Ode to Joy and e-mail it to Aunt Sally. A fine player would detect the couple of grams of newfound weight the system mischievously added to the action. They also would detect any dynamic discrepancies from note to note, which might exist due to regulation of the piano or the regulation of the little fingers that send note data to the system's CPU/ sound module. If it's a fine player that is very concerned about authentic reproduction, best bet would be to trade up to a factory-installed system, and you can enjoy tuning a nice new piano, while having given them an iron-clad recommendation. What are they looking to do with the MIDI possibilities? They will invaribly need some guidance as to what type of sound module, if any, to add to the mute system, in order for sounds to emerge through the headphones. Disk drive or no disk drive, General MIDI sound engine or no General MIDI sound engine... Again, do some homework here if you're not up to speed on this stuff as you'll want to be knowledgeable in this area for your customers. Many options are available. Is the piano a vertical or a grand? If grand, be sure the system you recommend (if one exists in your country) allows for the jack to fully escape. Since action geometry and design varies from piano to piano (and even size to size, within a single brand), the performance of a universal, retrofittable kit is bound to have concessions, including the above woe. If the hammer has to be prevented from hitting strings, imagine what havoc that might reap on the dip. Now explain to your customer, that their pricey, hip new upgrade (when the feature is engaged) has all but butchered the performance of the action they once knew. Vertical retrofit installations tend to only introduce the added weight issue -- not the added escapement problem. These products are still evolving, and hopefully with time, they will be suitable for all levels of players, suiting all purposes. At this time, however, I just thought you all may be interested to know of the possible limitations in some situations. Hope this helps. John Cordogan Cordogan's Pianoland and Cordogan's Piano Gallery "More pianos than you can shake a leveling stick at" Chicagoland's Kawai, Sauter, Estonia and Kemble dealer
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