Do not put tape on the tracker bar for any length of time. This to all a warning. GOO! Especially cheap electrical tape. That stuff is just trouble afterwards. Clean with naphtha on a rag. The electromagnet attracting up a ball bearing is OK but requires more current than if the flux has a more complete path like the letter "C" rather than the letter "I". This is why your current is so high. I have both organ and player new and old experience. I rebuild the classics and install QRS.
Amazing build! I have an old player that I want to retro fit in a similar manner. My hope is is actually to 3d print something to clip on tracker bar and have the entire piece easy to add and remove.
Have you thought about using your Arduino to receive MIDI directly rather than using a custom python script on a computer? Then you could feed your piano from an electric keyboard or a computer or any other MIDI sequencer!
Nice!, try to find a way to generate vacuum more quietly, And make a fake roll that is spinning in a closed loop while playing midi- just for the effect... also you can connect a Bluetooth module to the Arduino to make it wireless-midi and connect to any computer/phone over the air...
This is awesome, I just got the same piano and I am in the process to make the player work, what vacuum pump would you recommend? have you replaced the original tubes from the back of the player to the keys? how have you connected the solenids to the existing tubing.
Well on my piano, the tubes in the back run from the tracker bar to a bank of pilot valves that are behind my solenoids, and then those pilot valves act on channels that run through a wooden piece toward the front of the piano, and then down toward the keys. No tubes actually run to the keys. The solenoids I have are connected to the passageways int he wooden adapter piece, and so the solenoids are positioned after the pilot valves. I did not install the blower to create the suction, a previous owner did that, so I'm not certain what he used. It certainly sounds like a typical universal motor blower you'd find in a common shopvac.
Hello! I have a player piano too, mine has no vacuum pump and only the pedals with 2 big bellows. But i'm pretty sure there are pumps made for player pianos actually! Greetings from Sweden
Could you describe the valve fabrication? Is the seat for the ball just the beveled face of the tap drill, or did you have to do something more involved?
It's been a while, but I believe at first I had tiny O-rings that I could drop in, and then the ball bearing would sit on top of the O-ring, and the seal would be between the ball and the O-ring, and between the O-ring and the tap drill bottom. If I'm remembering correctly, that didn't work all that reliably, so I got rid of the O-ring and then the bearing just sat on the the conical face from the tap drill, and that was the seal. I went through them ones and hit the top of the ball bearing with a punch and hammer to peen the sealing face a tiny bit, to flatten out and irregularities in it's shape. I since made a second version of this project, using the same solenoids, trying to improve reliability. It didn't work all that well, unfortunately, so now I'm just starting work on V3. The solenoids were just very borderline on their strength, so this time I'll wind new ones.
Have you ever considered trying your system with any of the popular songs converted to a midi? Like the ones where it sounds semi nightmarish as it mashed a song into a midi and you can kind of hear the lyrics.
I've played some popular songs as reasonable MIDIs, and it works ok once I carefully clean up the file. Those insane nightmarish ones often do not work, but not because of my system, it's actually the original piano that can't handle that so much. If way too many keys are pressed at the same time, the vacuum can't keep up and the system doesn't work correctly.
I have 9 of the V1 boards still laying around. They have only a two darlington arrays for the outputs, rather than four, so they can only handle half the current. So it's two 8-bit shift registers, controlling two 7-channel darlington ICs, for 14 total outputs, and of course they can be chained together for more outputs. The boards have spots for resistors or fuses for each output, as well as spot for a of fuse for each darlington IC as a whole. I don't have enough parts to populate all the boards, but I could probably do one or two. Or if you just want the bare PCBs, I can do that too. Email me, panzinodominic@gmail.com
You've accomplished one of my life goals. Nice work!
The more I learn about MIDI the more I am amazed at the seemingly infinite applications.
Only saw the title and was wondering who I'm subscribed to would do something like this... Absolutely not what I expected
Do not put tape on the tracker bar for any length of time. This to all a warning. GOO! Especially cheap electrical tape. That stuff is just trouble afterwards. Clean with naphtha on a rag.
The electromagnet attracting up a ball bearing is OK but requires more current than if the flux has a more complete path like the letter "C" rather than the letter "I". This is why your current is so high. I have both organ and player new and old experience. I rebuild the classics and install QRS.
Amazing build! I have an old player that I want to retro fit in a similar manner. My hope is is actually to 3d print something to clip on tracker bar and have the entire piece easy to add and remove.
Tune the piano haha! But wow, that is amazing!
That ole sukka down there by that ole thang.
Have you thought about using your Arduino to receive MIDI directly rather than using a custom python script on a computer? Then you could feed your piano from an electric keyboard or a computer or any other MIDI sequencer!
Nice!, try to find a way to generate vacuum more quietly, And make a fake roll that is spinning in a closed loop while playing midi- just for the effect... also you can connect a Bluetooth module to the Arduino to make it wireless-midi and connect to any computer/phone over the air...
This is awesome, I just got the same piano and I am in the process to make the player work, what vacuum pump would you recommend? have you replaced the original tubes from the back of the player to the keys? how have you connected the solenids to the existing tubing.
Well on my piano, the tubes in the back run from the tracker bar to a bank of pilot valves that are behind my solenoids, and then those pilot valves act on channels that run through a wooden piece toward the front of the piano, and then down toward the keys. No tubes actually run to the keys. The solenoids I have are connected to the passageways int he wooden adapter piece, and so the solenoids are positioned after the pilot valves.
I did not install the blower to create the suction, a previous owner did that, so I'm not certain what he used. It certainly sounds like a typical universal motor blower you'd find in a common shopvac.
Hello! I have a player piano too, mine has no vacuum pump and only the pedals with 2 big bellows. But i'm pretty sure there are pumps made for player pianos actually!
Greetings from Sweden
Could you describe the valve fabrication? Is the seat for the ball just the beveled face of the tap drill, or did you have to do something more involved?
It's been a while, but I believe at first I had tiny O-rings that I could drop in, and then the ball bearing would sit on top of the O-ring, and the seal would be between the ball and the O-ring, and between the O-ring and the tap drill bottom.
If I'm remembering correctly, that didn't work all that reliably, so I got rid of the O-ring and then the bearing just sat on the the conical face from the tap drill, and that was the seal. I went through them ones and hit the top of the ball bearing with a punch and hammer to peen the sealing face a tiny bit, to flatten out and irregularities in it's shape.
I since made a second version of this project, using the same solenoids, trying to improve reliability. It didn't work all that well, unfortunately, so now I'm just starting work on V3. The solenoids were just very borderline on their strength, so this time I'll wind new ones.
you made a 2-in-1 roll and MIDI player piano.
Please. I need to hear it play " Impossible Piano Song - Death Waltz (U.N. Owen Was Her?) "
DAYAMN!
Have you ever considered trying your system with any of the popular songs converted to a midi? Like the ones where it sounds semi nightmarish as it mashed a song into a midi and you can kind of hear the lyrics.
I've played some popular songs as reasonable MIDIs, and it works ok once I carefully clean up the file. Those insane nightmarish ones often do not work, but not because of my system, it's actually the original piano that can't handle that so much. If way too many keys are pressed at the same time, the vacuum can't keep up and the system doesn't work correctly.
@@domsworkshop1325 Maybe you need an accumulator
Rush-E
Cantikkkk
I'm wondering if I could get some of these boards somehow?
I have 9 of the V1 boards still laying around. They have only a two darlington arrays for the outputs, rather than four, so they can only handle half the current. So it's two 8-bit shift registers, controlling two 7-channel darlington ICs, for 14 total outputs, and of course they can be chained together for more outputs. The boards have spots for resistors or fuses for each output, as well as spot for a of fuse for each darlington IC as a whole. I don't have enough parts to populate all the boards, but I could probably do one or two. Or if you just want the bare PCBs, I can do that too. Email me, panzinodominic@gmail.com
Load Metallica's Of Wolf and Man on there.
now try black midi >:)
You are full-blown nerd. wear the title proudly?