Smart disk Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees 503740

[Alan Dorschug]

I am looking for the Smart disk for Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees 503740.

[Aaron Zornes]

 Example: Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

• Was listed in some dealer catalogs (especially around 2004–2006) as a Smart PianoSoft-compatible title.
• May have been in development but  Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees  never made it to mass production or distribution, possibly due to label complications (Sony) or low anticipated demand

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Yamaha’s Smart PianoSoft series for Disklavier was quietly discontinued in the late 2000s–early 2010s. While they advertised thousands of compatible album titles, only a small fraction (≈2,000) were ever actively produced, marketed, or sold. Here's why Yamaha pulled back:

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🧾 Example: Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

• Was listed in some dealer catalogs (especially around 2004–2006) as a Smart PianoSoft-compatible title.
• May have been in development but never made it to mass production or distribution, possibly due to label complications (Sony) or low anticipated demand.

🎹 Why Yamaha Discontinued Smart PianoSoft

1. High Licensing Costs & Complexity

• Each Smart PianoSoft title had to be licensed twice:
  • The mechanical rights to create a performance/MIDI version of the music.
  • Synchronization rights to link the performance to a specific commercial CD.
• With thousands of albums listed as potential titles, Yamaha often hit roadblocks negotiating with record labels, especially for artists under Sony, Universal, or Warner.

2. Changing Consumer Technology

• By the late 2000s, floppy disks (the format Smart PianoSoft used) were obsolete.
• Disklavier models began shifting to USB, Wi-Fi, streaming, and audio sync (e.g., Disklavier ENSPIRE).
• CD ownership also declined, making the CD-synced concept less appealing.

3. Labor-Intensive Production

• Smart PianoSoft performances were often hand-edited MIDI transcriptions by real pianists, not just algorithmic MIDI files.
• This made production slow, expensive, and hard to scale, even though thousands of albums were "announced" or listed in catalogs.

4. Low Consumer Adoption of the Format

• Disklavier pianos were (and still are) premium, niche instruments. Only a small fraction of owners bought many titles.
• The idea of buying a floppy disk + CD combo for each album didn’t scale well in the age of digital media.

5. Shift to Newer Formats

• Yamaha shifted focus to:
  • PianoSoft Audio (which embeds audio + performance)
  • Streaming services for Disklavier (like Disklavier Radio via the ENSPIRE)
  • Custom song recording/playback for teaching and entertainment
• These formats are easier to license and work better with modern digital expectations.

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📚 The Catalog Discrepancy: Why So Many Were “Listed” but Never Released

• Yamaha’s original Smart PianoSoft catalogs—especially between 2003 and 2007—included over 4,000 titles as “available or forthcoming,” many of them simply announced in bulk.
• However, only ~2,000 of those were ever programmed and released.
• This caused confusion for customers and dealers, many of whom tried to order titles that never existed or were quietly shelved.

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🧾 Example: Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

• Was listed in some dealer catalogs (especially around 2004–2006) as a Smart PianoSoft-compatible title.
• May have been in development but never made it to mass production or distribution, possibly due to label complications (Sony) or low anticipated demand.

 

[Alan Dorschug]

I only know of about 570 Smart disks that were ever released. There were another 400 or so that were in the 2007 catalog that were scheduled to be released in the future that never were released. I have never seen a list anywhere near 2000.

[Aaron Zornes]

On Sun, Aug 3, 2025 at 7:02 PM Alan Dorschug <iski...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am looking for the Smart disk for Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees 503740.

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[Gilles Delahaie]

Hello Aaron, I send you my best wishes for the start of 2026. May it bring you joy, health, and love... and also great music!

I'm writing to share a solution I found for resolving the unwanted notes that "colonize" the MIDI files you record from PianoStream.

I recently watched and listened to Frank Sinatra's "My Way" (from a PianoStream recording) and noticed the presence of continuous unwanted notes, from measure 53 to the end of the music. Then I listened to the same file, uncleaned, played on my PianoCorder: On the PianoCorder, these unwanted notes were curiously absent, not only when listening, but also visually in the PianoRoll window of the "WinAmp 3D" playback software (designed by Mark Fontana for playing MIDI files on PianoCorders). 

I deduced that the unwanted notes weren't being recognized by WinAmp 3D and that they must be located in a range outside the PianoCorder's range. 

I tried to solve this mystery using another MIDI file editing program, namely Audacity (which is free). I found that the unwanted notes had disappeared but were replaced by a single, very low unwanted note, C-2. So I exported and saved this MIDI file from Audacity, then opened it in my usual MIDI editing software: Cubase 5. The unwanted notes had indeed disappeared, and all I had to do was delete this very low note, C-2, from measure 53 to the end of the music (actually, there were two overlapping C-2 notes that needed to be deleted). I made the final save, and the result is perfect ! 

In conclusion, I think That, during your recording, there were artifacts that generated a low frequency which must be transformed into harmonic notes when the MIDI file is loaded into Cubase 5... As for Audacity, it doesn't see these harmonic notes, but it does see this infamous low-frequency spurious note... 

If you have any comments on my assumptions and conclusions, I would be happy to hear them.

I am continuing my investigation with all the files you so kindly sent me, and I am so happy to discover them by chance while browsing through the folders I am trying to archive properly... I bought a Yamaha DCD1 player which finally allows me to explore the Soft DisKlavier files containing encrypted audio+MIDI. It's fascinating, but it remains a tedious task to convert these files into a format playable by my old MIDI-enabled Pianola and my PianoCorder, since the conversion is done in real time, and I have to Then, apply a time offset between the MIDI and Audio (44 ms) to obtain a superb result. 

If you have any new MIDI files, please feel free to send them to me... I am still looking for MIDI files by Oscar Peterson and MIDI files played in the style of Chico Marx (of the Marx Brothers), who interpreted very well-known songs with extraordinary and also very funny fingering... 

I am attaching the three "My Way" MIDI files, numbered according to their correction progression, as well as three screenshots showing the file images in "Cubase 5" and in "Audacity," a MIDI file by Chico Marx, and a link showing my Pianola playing Audio+MIDI:  Call it stormy monday (SRV & Albert King) (Aud+Mid) :  https://youtu.be/djyA63Q0MOU

Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Best regards, Gilles.

Bonjour Aaron, je vous adresse mes meilleurs voeux pour cette année 2026 qui commence. Que celle-ci vous apporte joie, santé et amour... Et aussi de la bonne musique !

Je vous adresse ce mail pour vous faire part d'une solution que j'ai trouvée pour résoudre les notes-parasites qui viennent "coloniser" les fichiers Midi que vous enregistrez à partir de PianoStream. 

En effet, j'ai regardé et écouté dernièrement le fichier "My way" de Frank Sinatra (issu d'un enregistrement de PianoStream) et j'ai pu constaté la présence de notes-parasites continues, allant de la mesure 53 jusquà la fin de la musique. Puis j'ai écouté ce même fichier, non nettoyé, joué par mon PianoCorder: Sur le PianoCorder, ces notes-parasites étaient curieusement absentes, non seulement à l'écoute, mais aussi en visuel sur la fenêtre de PianoRoll du logiciel de lecture "WinAmp 3D" (conçu par M. Mark Fontana pour la lecture de fichiers Midi sur les PianoCorder). 

J'en ai déduit que les notes-parasites n'étaient pas reconnues par "WinAmp 3D", et qu'elles devaient se trouver dans une plage de tessiture hors de la tessiture du PianoCorder... 

J'ai cherché à comprendre ce mystère en utilisant un autre logiciel d'édition de fichiers Midi, en l'occurence "Audacity (qui est gratuit)... Et j'ai constaté que les notes-parasites avaient disparu, mais étaient remplacées par une seule note parasite très grave, C-2... J'ai donc exporté et sauvegardé ce fichier Midi d'Audacity, puis je l'ai ouvert dans mon logiciel d'édition Midi habituel : "Cubase 5"... Les notes-parasites avaient effectivement disparu et il ne me restait plus qu'à effacer cette note très grave en hauteur = C-2, allant de la mesure 53 jusqu'à la fin de la musique (en fait, il y avait 2 notes C-2 superposées, à effacer...). J'ai fait la sauvegarde finale et le résultat est impeccable ! 

En conclusion, je pense que, lors de votre enregistrement, il y a eu des artéfacts qui ont généré une fréquence basse qui doit se transformer en notes harmoniques lors du chargement du fichier Midi dans "Cubase 5"... Quant à "Audacity", lui, il ne voit pas ces notes harmoniques, mais il voit cette fameuse note-parasite de basse fréquence... 

Si vous avez des remarques à apporter à mes suppositions et conclusions, je serais heureux de vous lire.

Je continue mes travaux d'investigation avec tous les fichiers que vous m'avez si gentiment adressés et je suis tellement heureux d'en découvrir au hasard de mes ballades dans les dossiers que j'essaie d'archiver correctement... Je me suis acheté un lecteur "Yamaha DCD1" qui me permet enfin d'explorer les Soft DisKlavier contenant de l'audio+Midi crypté. C'est passionnant, mais cela reste un travail fastidieux pour convertir ces fichiers dans un format jouable par mon vieux Pianola midifié et par mon PianoCorder, puisque la conversion se fait en temps réel, et que je dois ensuite opérer un décalage temporel entre le Midi et l'Audio (44 ms) pour obtenir un superbe résultat. 

Si vous avez de nouveaux fichiers Midi, n'hésitez pas à m'en adresser... Je suis encore et toujours à la recherche de fichiers Midi d'Oscar Peterson et de fichiers Midi joués dans l'esprit de Chico Marx (des Marx Brothers) qui interprétait des musiques très connues avec un doigté extraordinaire et aussi très drôle... 

Je vous adresse en pièce jointe les 3 fichiers Midi "My way" numérotés dans leur progression de correction, ainsi que les 3 photos d'écran montrant les images du fichier dans "Cubase 5" et dans "Audacity", un fichier Midi de Chico Marx et un lien montrant mon Pianola jouant Audio+Midi :  Call it stormy monday (SRV & Albert King) (Aud+Mid) :  https://youtu.be/djyA63Q0MOU

A vous relire bientôt. Bien à vous. Gilles.

Sans virus.www.avast.com

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