PianoDisc: A Self-Playing System for an Acoustic Piano
PianoDisc is a self-playing system installed inside an acoustic piano, a grand or an upright, and it plays on the piano itself: the keys and pedals move, and the sound comes from the strings and the body of the piano. You control it with the PianoDisc iQ Player app on iPhone or iPad, and you choose from a wide library of pieces. Here we will go together through how it works, how it differs from a digital piano and from a silent piano, and what is useful to know before you choose.
How the piano plays by itself
Inside the piano, under the keys and the pedals, PianoDisc electro-mechanical parts are installed, in a technology called SilentDrive. They move the keys and the pedals according to the recorded performance, including the speed and the length of each note, with more than one thousand and twenty-four levels of expression. After installation the parts stay inside the body of the piano, with no hardware visible from the outside. The piano itself remains a full acoustic piano, with strings and hammers, and you can also sit down and play it as you would any acoustic piano. The system needs a power connection. In the PianoDisc IQ Prodigy system, the iQ playback unit and the SilentDrive mechanism sit in the same box, with a Bluetooth connection, and also MIDI and audio connections.
The app and the music library
The straightforward way to run PianoDisc is with the iQ Player app, which is available on the Apple App Store. After you open it, a complimentary set of pieces downloads into the library: the manufacturer's start guide speaks of more than six hundred songs, and you can also download the rest of the complimentary bundles from the settings. The PianoDisc library has thousands of pieces, in classical music, jazz, pop and other styles, and you can also play ordinary MIDI files. Further pieces are bought from the music store on the PianoDisc website, and they sync into the app. During playback you set the volume from the app or from the buttons on the device, including the balance between the piano and accompaniment, when a piece has accompaniment that comes out of connected speakers.
How it differs from a digital piano and from silent
A digital piano produces sound from samples, through speakers or headphones. PianoDisc sits on an acoustic piano, and the sound in self-playing mode is the sound of the instrument itself. A silent piano is also an acoustic piano, but there the added system is meant for playing with headphones, when the hammers are stopped before the strings. PianoDisc also has a separate line called QuietTime, for playing with headphones, and that is not the same as the self-playing system we are talking about here. We wrote about silent pianos in the silent pianos guide.
PianoDisc at Zohar Pianos
At Zohar Pianos the system comes already installed in our pianos. At our store and gallery at 28 Ben Atar Street you can sit at a black Alexian GP-152 grand with PianoDisc IQ Prodigy, and hear the piano play by itself. You are welcome to come by at our store and gallery during opening hours. On the Alexian page, Pulse also appears with an option for a Piano Disc IQ system. PianoDisc also offers a Five Year Warranty; that is the manufacturer's warranty. The company has been operating since 1988, and the systems are made in the United States.
A piano with PianoDisc remains an acoustic piano, so it is tuned like any piano. Tuning is done at your home, throughout the country, and the visit itself lasts between two and three and a half hours, depending on the piano. When the piano arrives in a new home, we wait between one and two weeks until it settles in place, and only then we tune. Details are on the book a piano tuning page. If you would like to listen, to ask about the system or to choose a piano - we are here for you. Write on WhatsApp or by phone, or come to our store and gallery at 28 Ben Atar Street, Tel Aviv. On the contact page you can leave your details and we will get back to you.
Links: Silent pianos · Alexian · Book a piano tuning · How to choose a grand piano
FAQ
What is PianoDisc?
A self-playing system for an acoustic piano. It is installed inside the piano, it moves the keys and the pedals, and the sound comes from the piano itself.
Can I come and hear PianoDisc at the store?
Yes. At our store and gallery at 28 Ben Atar Street, during opening hours, you can sit at a black Alexian GP-152 grand with PianoDisc IQ Prodigy, and hear it play.
How do you start the playback?
With the PianoDisc iQ Player app on iPhone or iPad. A complimentary set of pieces comes with the app, and you can add pieces from the PianoDisc music store.
How is this different from a silent piano?
A silent piano is an acoustic piano with a mode for playing with headphones. PianoDisc in this guide is a system that makes the acoustic piano play by itself. These are two different paths.