ADDING A PLAYER SYSTEM TO YOUR PIANO

Do you love live music?

Having a player piano allows you to have live piano music without the need for a live piano player. The ambience of an acoustic instrument in your home, lobby, care facility, or common space is soothing to the soul in a way that a stereo system simply cannot approximate. Whether you like to sit back and listen to Gershwin playing YOUR piano, or you want to add atmosphere to your next gathering, owning a player piano will bring you joy and enrich your life.

i'M ready - what's next?

Deciding which brand to choose

Yamaha Disklavier and Steinway Spirio ($22,000 add-on to a new piano) are only available pre-installed at the factory, which leaves you with the choice between QRS PNOmation or Pianodisc Prodigy systems. Both make excellent products, cost about the same ($8500 base, including installation), and have similar features such as wireless control. You can even ask Alexa/Google/Siri to play a certain song for you! If you aren't sure which way to go, we will help you with the decision.

Deciding on options

Both QRS and Pianodisc offer a basic playback-only system, as well as amazing upgrades that can turn your piano into a fully capable midi keyboard. Adding a mute rail which stops the hammers just shy of striking the strings, in combination with a recording strip (hidden below the keys), allows you to record your own music for later playback on the piano, or you can have the data sent directly to your DAW for remixing. The cost for this add-on is $3500. The possibilities are endless with a midi piano - you can put on a pair of headphones, play your piano, but hear what you are playing come through as a pipe organ, or harpsichord, or anything else you can dream up.

More options!

Would you like to tie your piano into your whole-house audio system? What about linking to your television and watching a performance of Elton John, except instead of listening on your speakers, he is playing your piano! In the not far-off future, there will be much more of this sort of thing, including integration with video calls - imagine taking piano lessons remotely, and when you play your piano, your teacher will hear you playing theirs.

Scheduling the move

We only install systems in our shop, never in a home. We cut into the piano which can get messy and loud, and we use various power tools to fabricate parts special for your piano. Every piano is different, and every installation requires some unique modifications. St Louis Pianoworks does not move pianos, we leave that to the specialists.

The installation

We pride ourselves in being absolutely meticulous with our work. Depending on options chosen, an install takes between 3 days to a week. You are welcome to visit your piano during the process, but beware - hotrodding a piano is not for the weak of heart!

The return of the piano

After a thorough burn-in session and post-installation testing, the piano comes back to you. If you are within a 90 minute drive, a member of our team will walk you through setting up apps and basic instructions in your home. If the piano is farther from us here in St Louis, we will be available to you via telephone as you familiarize yourself with your new system.