Virtual Roll System Basic Information
VirtualRoll Midi Player System
If you have a mechanical player piano, then this is the upgrade for you. The Virtual Roll enables your roll operated mechanical piano and musical instruments to be played via digital MIDI(Virtual Roll) files as well as paper rolls. This system is amazing and supports the full expression capabilities of your player piano system.
Most of the music source files used with the Virtual Roll system come from digital conversions of the original fragile paper rolls that have been optically scanned into a computer and then converted to MIDI files thoroughly replicating the original roll. All roll data including expression is conveyed to the e-valve system via MIDI where it controls the instrument’s pneumatics & valves exactly and precisely as the original roll would have. This means you can queue up music from your laptop, iPod or even your iPhone and send music to your piano. This system is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of having to acquire the thousands of pieces of music available. Our installation process is top notch and requires little to no modification of your piano or the existing player system. The Virtual Roll simply works with what’s there .
As the late Bob Hunt said “this is the best thing for player pianos since sliced bread”
Below is a video of a VirtualRoll e-Valve system in action in our shop. It was installed into a Marshall Wendell Ampico Model A player piano.
Contact us for more information.
How Does The VirtualRoll Work
The VirtualRoll is an interface device consisting of a processor board and up to 8 stackable valve board each containing 16 small valves.
Virtual Roll Valve Block System
The processor board receives the MIDI signal from the MIDI file player and converts it from a serial format to a partially decoded serial/ parallel format. There are two decoder processors on the processor board, each providing partially decoded data lines for 64 outputs.
The valve boards are connected to the processor board by two 24 conductor ribbon cables. Each cable contains 8 serial data lines, 4 decoder logic lines, plus 19 volts, 5 volts, and power supply common lines. Each of the eight serial data lines contains data that will become eight parallel outputs after final decoding on the valve board. Jumpers on the valve board select which 2 of the 8 data lines are decoded to provide 16 discrete parallel outputs for the 16 valves on each board.
Entire Virtual Roll System
The note mapping of each decoder chip on the processor board allows any valve to be programmed to respond to any MIDI note/ channel instruction. In an E-Roll, all the tracker bar signal information is stored as MIDI note on-off data including the expression data. The musical notes and expression “notes” are in the same order in MIDI as they are on the tracker bar. The actual valve that responds to each “note” is programmable by following the note mapping procedure and is preset for the particular installation when the VirtualRoll is prepared initially.
Why a VirtualRoll?
Aside from the preservation aspect of the scanning and conversion to MIDI e-roll format, the resulting digital files provide an economical media for building a new library of roll data (rolls). This means that a new owner of a pneumatic instrument can acquire a “roll” collection for his instrument at a fraction of the cost and storage space of actual rolls.
More than a few well restored instruments remain unused because their owners never acquired a significant and varied roll collection. The few rolls they own became boring, and the instrument is ignored as a result.
This fortunate coming together of technologies is the best thing to happen to the preservation and enjoyment of mechanical musical instruments since their invention.
What Music is Available for the VirtualRoll?
The VirtualRoll was conceived, engineered and developed over a 10 year period by an industrial machine designer and restorer of player and reproducing pianos, resulting in a system that provides the ultimate in performance, reliability, ease of installation, and reasonable cost.
Please click the link below for a full listing of Duo-Art, Welte, or Ampico roll titles that are included in the purchase of the system.
-Duo-Art Titles: Click here for PDF Listing of All Duo-Art Titles Available
-Ampico Titles: Click here for PDF Listing of All Ampico Titles Available
-Welte Titles: Click here for PDF Listing of All Welte Titles Available