I am learning to play, and love gadgets. I started on a Casio WK-3000 given to me by my Dad when my Dad bought a Clavinova. I discovered Pianoteq and enjoyed monkeying with that (especially microphone placement) to make it play as if I was at the keyboard, but I got stymied by latency issues despite my new Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet - much better at polyphony than the old ASUS notebook it replaced, but horrible latency via the Surface and Windows10 that I have yet to learn how to fix.

...and then my real ship came in: I found an 1885 Steinway "F" upright, restored about 20 years ago, 'for a song'! Here are some pictures of the project, including new legs, pedal rebuild, etc.:

https://goo.gl/photos/iecWm69NqcNaCXNL7

And, because I enjoy software like Home Concert Xtreme in addition to Pianoteq, and I had learned about PNOscan II, I purchased the QRS PNOscan and stop-rail.

So, in front of me are open boxes for both the QRS Upright Stop Rail and PNOscan II, as well as the manuals, and my partially disassembled "F". I figure that I am on my way to having one of the world's oldest digital keyboards.

My questions:

1) Any advice on stop-rail installation, especially how close to get to the threshold of hammers against the strings?

2) Do I have to color the bottoms of my 130-year-old keys black? The sides?

3) Does PNOscan work better if a segment of the key-bottom is reflective?

4) On an upright, is it better to install the cable-switch for the stop-rail and the PNOscan control box inside the side of the top of the piano where it can be accessed when the lid is opened? That way it's also easier to run the USB cable to a tablet computer perched on the music shelf.

5) Do you (or anyone else) have any experience and/or advice on mounting speakers and/or transducers relatively non-destructively inside the case of an upright? That way I could produce the equivalent of a home-made antique Steinway 'Transacoustic', and even get Pianoteq to convert my 1885 "F" into a contemporary "D". (I really enjoyed testing a Yamaha Transacoustic Grand at Keyboard Connection in Jacksonville)

6) Do you have other constructive advice for things that I am not anticipating?

(please don't send comments like "Stop", "Give up", or "Why bother destroying a good piano?" - which is certainly not my intention)

Thanks,

- David