this is a duplicate post... I want to post it here because some technicians might be familiar with this system and this particular question:
Has anyone had any experience with the portable piano player system made by Playola? I spoke with a rep from a company in CA that sells them and I am still a bit uncertain about one thing. When the pianist plays, he/she uses the sustain pedal.... unlike other player systems, because this one is portable and sits on top of the piano keyboard, the sustain pedal is not controlled by the unit. The rep said that the dampers remain up to sustain whatever notes are meant to be sustained... but I find it hard to believe that can be attained. The only possibility is if somehow the recording unit translates the use of the pedal into individual dampers being held up and released.... certainly the recording artist can't keep his/her fingers on those keys if he/she needs to jump to other notes (and have those dampers remain up).
Has anyone here listened to a Playola portable system and does it really produce a sustain? My feeling is that it might produce a choppy and disconnected sound.
Please reply if you know anything about these systems. Thanks.
