An extensive review of the Universal Midi Controller was published in the July / August (2019) bulletin. If you are a member of AMICA you can view the entire review on their website in the members only area. If you are not a member of AMICA but enjoy mechanical music you should really consider joining.
Below is how the review ended.
For now, I can recommend the system as a replacement for the proprietary / encrypted native Mills Violano installed system. I can also recommend the system for any other single MIDI equipped installation.
The company is very responsive and continues to make upgrades and changes as feedback develops and they identify improvements.
This is a very good addition to the list of MIDI controller systems available, and an almost mandatory upgrade to anyone with a Violano MIDI system using the older Mills MIDI system.
I have owned several Mills Violanos over the last 15 years and I have equipped almost all of them with a midi system.
I was one of the first people to get this new system and without a doubt it is superior to anything else on the market.
The number one feature that I have always wanted and this system provides is the ability to just walk up to the Violano, deposit a nickel and the machine plays a song from a play-list that I created. Deposit multiple coins at once and multiple songs are played. The machine works exactly as it did 100+ years ago.
All my other solutions required me to use a laptop which really takes away from the user experience.
I have since sold the Violano but purchased a rare home model. Before deciding on this purchase I confirmed that I would be able to install the Universal Midi Controller on this system. Once that was confirmed I purchased the home model and installed the UMC on it and it is working great. The home model does not have a coin acceptor but rather a lever that is swung to start it. The UMC system works perfectly with it.
I will never purchase another Violano without the UMC installed on it.
If you have Midi on your Violano this system is a must have. The UMC system on my previous Violano gave my system a huge edge over all the other systems that were on the market at the time and is one reason why I was able to sell it so easily.
Below is a photo of my current machine.
My system (Mills Double Violano) has the Coin Play feature which allows the machine to be played with a nickel and no external computer is required.
I have had it for over a year and not had a single glitch.
Being able to control the system via my iPhone is also extremely convenient.