Dear Fellow Netizens,¶
April 17, 1995

     First off, I think we need a shorthand way to refer to ourselves:
I suggest MIDIOTS.  It's probably not original, but it's topically
descriptive!  I'm quessing MIDI is a subject we are all probably involved
in, one way or the other inconnection with our interest in automatic
musical instruments.  Many thanks to Terry Smythe who has been maintaining
an Interner phone book of us for some time now, and to Jody Kravitz for
setting up the list server.  I'm sure we will all benefit from the exchange
of ideas and information that will follow.¶

I'm John Grant, an AMICA and MBS member since 1970.  I originally
restored reed organs and moved on to player pianos when I found out
nobody will pay what it costs to restore reed organs.  I am now almost
exclusively into reproducing pianos as the profit margin is somewhat
better than pumper players.  Still, this is not my primary source of
income, only a very serious hobby/self-employment.  I became PC literate
about six years ago, and MIDI literate about three years ago.  I have no
(musical) keyboard performance talent, so must enter music into the
computer step-wise or by importing files.  I am currently using a clone
486-50 with a Roland LAPC-1 sound card.  I also have their newer card
(SCC-1) which has sampled sounds but haven't switched over yet.  This
week I will be receiving a multi-media notebook computer (486DX-2/50 MHz,
8 MB RAM, 540 MB HD, swappable 2x CD-ROM/3.5" FD, 16 bit sound card, 28.8
KB PCMCIA modem, built'in speakers (small)).  Oops, sorry about the drooling!
I have a very limited Yamaha MIDI keyboard (PSS-480), but since it has
miniature keys (and I can't play 'em anyhow) I don't use it much.
Primarily I enter music into the Music Printer Plus program because it is
intuitive and has a nice print capability.  For some applications I use
Cakewalk Pro for fine-grained editing.  I also have a Yamaha MDF-2, MIDI
Data Filer.  This reads/writes MIDI data from/to 3 1/2" floppys, a less
capable (and less expensive) version of the Roland Sound Brush.  I own
about (it's so hard to keep track) 6 reproducers, 3 pumpers, 5 vorsetzers,
an AEolian Hammond, Estey 2 Manual/Pedal reed organ (non-player), a 1945
Moller 2/3 portable pipe organ (195 pipes), not yet functional (and it WILL
be MIDIed!) and over 3500 music rolls.  I am a consultant to the Inter-
national Piano Archives at the University of Maryland at College Park and
maintain the pneumatic mechanisms of their 4 reproducing pianos.  I am
currently proposing a means to accomplish their desire to transcribe their
8000+ music rolls (mostly reproducing) into a computer format, probably
MIDI, to allow research on the rolls without further deterioration of the
paper.  Thus far I have a pneumatic based reader, built up from a
derelict upright top stack and a bank of pressure operated switches
bought on the surplus market, coupled to circuit boards manufactured by
Devtronix in Sacramento.  These circuits take simple switch closures
and output a MIDI data stream which can be recorded and manipulated by
any MIDI compatible hardware/software.  This reader is operational and
was demonstrated at the MBS convention in Tysons Corner Virginia in
1992.  For the IPA, I am building a somewhat more sophisticated version
using an AMPICO B drawer as a starting point.  The electric roll drive
motor will provide a more stable tempo, however, the position of holes
with respect to the length of the paper will also be digitized so that an
accurate image of the roll can, if necessary, be reconstructed
independent of the recording tempo.  It will also have interchangeable
tracker bars (and take-up spool diameters!) for the specific format being
read.  I have all the necessary parts (but have not yet constructed) the
"output" portion of this system: more circuit boards from Devtronix accept
a MIDI data stream and drive solenoid operated valves of my own design
which are tee'd into the tracker bar tubes of the pneumatic instrument(s).
With this scheme I don't worry (yet!) about converting reproducing
intensity holes into MIDI velocity data, I simply record those holes as
if they were more notes and order the data so that they perform their
appropriate functions by means of the solenoid valves tee'd into the
intensity/control mechanisms.  At some point in time it will be nice to
be able to analyze the intensity codes and write the proper MIDI velocity
so that playback on synthesizers includes intensity data.  This is not
something IPA presently wants to do.  Richard Brandle in Texas
(RBRANDL@DALVMIC1.VNET.IBM.COM)already has a leg up on this conversion,
however, and I'm sure will have much to contribute to this group.
Another source for "board level" MIDI circuitry of which I have become
aware is SC Engineering operated by Jim Clay (jc@lightside.com)  Jim's
boards are very high quality and are somewhat more flexible than those
from Devtronix.  I will be using Jim's boards in my second-generation
reader/playback system for the IPA.

Help, how do you cure diarrhea of the keyboard?!

 -John Grant