The phrase “restomod” is a bit nebulous, but it surely’s usually used within the automotive world to explain taking an previous automotive and making it better-than-new with all of the technological enhancements the unique builders would have used, had they been obtainable. We expect the phrase applies to [Alnwlsn]’s MIDI-actuated participant piano, as a result of what are these punched rolls of paper, however the MIDI of the nineteenth century?
Not like a variety of automotive restomods although, this one is generally reversible. He did drill few holes and slots within the unique wooden, however nowhere that it could alter the integrity or unique operation of the participant piano mechanism. The MIDI-controlled solenoids simply poke the identical key paddles from under that the pneumatic mechanism used. From the listener or operator’s perspective, except the doorways that reveal the music scroll or lack thereof are open, the piano behaves precisely the identical. Besides now it has entry to the entire big selection of tracks that exist in MIDI kind, fairly than a paltry number of hard-to-find piano rolls.
Every of the relays is pushed by a MOSFET through shift registers to get 88 outputs out of the only Pi Pico in cost, with a stage shifter concerned to get the RP2040 talking 5 V logic. Should you’re questioning how that will get quantity management, no, the piano isn’t smacking keys at full quantity on a regular basis. He’s utilizing the RP2040’s highly effective PIO to create a kind of PWM sign to melt the solenoid blows when wanted. To save lots of his energy provide, he’s additionally obtained it set as much as stagger the pulses, so a number of relays aren’t pulsed on the identical time when the MIDI file requires chords.
There was truly extra overlap between participant pianos and MIDI than you would possibly assume, given this presentation of an Apple ][ being used to create the piano rolls.
