"Click the video below to learn more about PNOmation II"
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Pianomation - What is it? "State-of-the-art technology makes your piano the heart of your home entertainment system, easily controlled by universal remote, smartphone or a tablet. Instead of streaming music from the internet or a computer, PNOmation II stores the entire library of music – everything from Frank Sinatra to Diana Krall to Billy Joel to Coldplay – right in its own virtual cloud. Instead of shuffling and ripping CD’s, you just sit back and enjoy the music! In addition to being the quietest and easiest player piano system to use, PNOmation includes its entire library – thousands of titles and artists spanning all genres – for free for the first ninety days. Then, we give you hundreds and hundreds of the most popular selections to start your collection. You can easily sample and add additional albums to your library at anytime. We can make any piano a Cloud Player Piano. Visit our gallery for a fun and free demonstration of Pianomation II. " A Brief History of Pianomation
The first player pianos were pneumatic systems that caused a note to play when a hole in a paper roll passed over a vacuum suction point allowing air to rush in and cause the hammer to strike the string. This was a technological wonder in the early part of this century, but the system had 2 major defects. First, it could only play at one volume level. LOUD. (later reproducing pianos introduced some dynamics, but never really caught on). Secondly, because the Pneumatic system was always sucking air into the works, a lot of maintenance was required and the systems didn't hold up over time. Also, there was a lot of operating noise.
These limitations aside, millions of happy consumers crowded around their player pianos and sang along as the words to the song rolled by on the paper rolls. The introduction of the radio, the great depression, and the fact that nearly every home had a piano caused the demise of this once great industry in the 1930's. After World War II new smaller players were introduced, but never really caught on.
In the mid 1970's, Marantz introduced a player that used a viable electromagnetic solenoid to move the keys. The system worked great and was reliable. It used cassette tapes to store the song data and a computer to control the signals going to the solenoids. Unfortunately, Marantz had other business problems and in the '80 sold their technology to Yamaha who incorporated it into their similar system called Disklavier. The Disklavier used a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk instead of a cassette, and had much more sophisticated computerized features.
The Disklavier was very successful. Its main drawback was its cost and that it required a control box the size of a small refrigerator to be placed next to a grand piano. Quickly a California based company introduced a competing system called PianoDisc that reduced the size of the control box to about the size of an oxford college dictionary. While less expensive, these systems were also less reliable.
By the mid 1980's QRS, the company that had produced thousands of paper player rolls over the last 8 decades, introduced the Pianomation Player System. Superior technology enabled the Pianomation system to operate without any 'black box' attached to the piano. And better solenoids enabled quieter, softer operation. It is operated remotely by any CD player, VCR, PC, or Floppy Drive. Removing the 'Black Box' saves thousands of dollars, and does not lock the piano into a specific data technology that is bound to become obsolete. Any piano with a 3 1/2" floppy drive black box attached to it is already obsolete as CD's and internet song files are now readily available.
Rob and Jenn enjoying the latest Pianomation upgrade. As they watch concert DVDs by famous artists, the piano "plays" along, LIVE! Now available at Steinway Piano Gallery. Call or visit for more information.
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