New technology has enabled the traditional Player Piano to come into the 90's with style. 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.

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