AUSSIEKEYS

Holy crap that would have traumatised me for years. Is there an interesting story to that?

Well i was turned off them the first time i tried out the first Stage model in a shop when i was searching to buy a portable band board. What turned me off...well the keybed felt like playing on squishy slugs (over here thats a snail without a shell not a fake coin). So i was actually shopping for a board but It totally destroyed any inkling of gigging with a Stage plus at 18kg it was not light enough to put up with a bad keybed. I bought a Casio Privia instead because it felt good and was light weight. Had I waited longer the PX5s came out which would have given me the stuff from the stage i missed out on on the Privia. But i decided to stick with the Privia as i didnt want to keep spending and swapping. But to me feel of keybed and lugging weight beat out against the stage and other contenders. First thing i check now is actual weight if its over 12kg then im out. If its weighted its got to feel like a piano not a field of slugs chomping on lettuce. Im guessing the later Stages improved the keybed feel although still at a heavy 18kg id guess. But they lost me because of the keybed feel. Oh yes in the days before Nord I always wanted red keyboards because i had a Vox Jaguar. I thought to paint the casio but then Nords became common so i didnt want to be another red keyboard warrior.

Im in . I want to pull out my old VS2480 soon.

Sounds like an inherent problem perhaps. Sounds like you're fed up on it if selling is on your mind. But keep us posted if you decide to open it up or you hear of anyone else thats opened theirs up.

There are nuances in a good acoustic that just dont translate to digital. But every acoustic is different and may demonstrate different nuances or none of worth. I agree with teacher but... Having said that i just let my beloved Yamaha G1 baby grand go thats been in family since the 70s because i had to "save the ranch" and not wanting to move a grand piano or have to buy a downsized house that could fit a grand piano. So 3 years ago i bought an older Kawai MP9500 wooden key digital as a portable replacement in anticipation of downsizing. It took me 3 years to come to grips with letting the yammy go. When i first tried the MP9500 i thought yeah its good but i cant replace the yammy with it so didnt play it for those 3 years as the yammy was still there The yammy "left the building" recently so i did start playing the MP9500 due to an upcoming gig on my yammy at the new owners place. Did i transition quickly to the MP9500 now the yammy was gone..yes the MP9500 feels very similar to a grand piano to play with only one real transition i had to make that was everytime i played a 2 note bass octave the lower note in particular clang loudly like the Hunchback hitting those damn bells. I also found that same problem after practising band songs on the yammy grand piano then going to play my casio Privia in the band. Id blame the Casio being over sensitive. Well it wasnt. Just graded differently to my yammy acoustic. It was the charactaristic of my yammy grand piano where the yammy grand didnt clang out loudly when i played it. I believe comes down to the difference in simply the digitals graded action in comparison to my actual grand. You see i now believe all acoustic actions will be different in the heaviness of the bass strings compared to other acoustics not just to digitals lightly graded actions.. What im trying to illustrate is every acoustic you play is going to be different thus you play on your own acoustic at home then when you play your teachers acoustic itll be different again. I dont remember what digital you own but Is the cost and hassle of getting a cheap acoustic gonna be worth the risk it still may not get you closer to your teachers goal. Here's an interesting fact. I like my Kawai wooden key digitals action but I remember playing a friends (brand new Kawai grand piano (a school music teacher who gigged constantly) and absolutley hated the action for a few songs i played. In fact it scared me off Kawai. I was just so used to my yammy. Your Teacher is correct but if your funds and space dictate differently dont just buy willy nilly to fulfill that quest. Chances are you may not be happy. Mind you there are lots of free pianos out there if you know what you are looking for. Sorry i talk too much

Yes Dave. We want to know more. Looks great but did it meet your expectations. Did you get any feedback from crowd. Did you get any scratches on the finish. Etc.

Good point. What if it was dropped on those upper keys or something loaded frontways onto the keys and those rear screw holes split or broke and the rear holding section is loosened on the screws thus giving some sideways movement or pivoting The live hinge may not be broken just the screw hole area Are you game to pull it apart if yamaha doesnt help you The only thing is as you mentioned its a known reaccuring problem so could it simply be that yamahas own screw system wasnt up to the job. Perhaps simply loosening on their own

Thanks bjosko that was enjoyable and gave me a big smile. I really got a KICK out of that. No one put a FOOT out of place Everyone was TOEING the line But i missed the SUSTAIN pedal.

Thanks Dave good stuff ill enjoy this new section just to have more stuff to read when ive read our normal threads. I even found an item on there already i hadnt heard about so i look forward to more manufacturers big and small coming on board. Thanks for your hard work. I know there would have been a lot of your time involved.

And you still have room for the candelabra

That is a brilliant idea. You just saved so much headache.

OMG keyboards using what is called a 'live hinge'. Am i correct here. First time ive seen a photo of the keys. I figure the hinge is actually that tounge connected to the screw on rear. A live hinge is generally the plastic itself of the item bending on itself thus creating a hinge. In this case its probably flexing up and down thosands of times without bending. Usually a live hinge will have a bend point and simply relies on thr plastic flexing thousands of times before it snaps A live hinge is a hinge that can have longevity in a normal situation and is commonly used on many low cost things but on this beautiful keyboard i find it hard to believe its use. It would seem to me that it could give an uneven feel ? Of coarse a live hinge by its nature will eventually 'work harden' and break. But generally live hinges have a long lifespan calculated to the expected lifespan of an item (whats yamahas expected lifespan here) but what happns if the keyboard is left often in extremes of cold and heat when embrittlement affects the live hinge and its lifespan come to an end quicker than expected. I am not anti live hinges but actually the opposite respecting in their many uses but on an expensive keyboard i find it at the least it is "odd" and at the worst its turned me off these live hinge keyboards in years to come unless it was picked up cheap to "take your chances" No doubt Yamaha calculated a long life for the hinge so it remains to be seen its longevity I feel your problem may stem from the live hinge flexing irregularly sideways. Something that is probably not fixable hence my guess is they have a newly designed live hinged keysetup to replace anyone who complains. But then again i could be wrong as im only going by the photo that looks to me like a live hinge arrangement. Like to know more as this keyboard has shifted one peg down on my admiration chart.

Hee hee who started out playing at Catholic girl school dances. My former duo patner said she saw them at her catholic school. Little boys at girl schools now old boys of rock. Makes me laugh.

Very interesting fact never thought of that. thanks Kuru

Band...? I thought it was a whole village. Never seen a more packed stage hee hee.

Great to see Thanks for the headsup

I want food! 🌭

With FREE keyboards for ALL

If it helps I have one of these holding up my heavy Kawai Mp9500 (32 kg) piano. Rock solid table never once felt flimsy. The shape of my piano dictates that the end legs should be slayed out left and right of your current position to stay inside the foot print of the piano. A wider keyboard may sit as you have it. I dont gig with it but when folded i found it best to carry behind the front car seat against the seats back when i was testing if i might use it for gigging. I dont have the upper tiers

As a heads up in the day i used to use an A30 (or the next model basically the same) It was bullet proof back then and felt good to play for a semi weighted. They say similar keybed to a modern Numa Cocal 2x Possible keeper if you dont want to spend money Only thing i dont like is the bender controls to left making longer than necessary but i think it was not as bad as other extended left hand sides panels I have a QSR but generally use a Qs6.1 on top if needed as i can access the patches instantly to change multis. Alas the QSR doesnt have easy patch selection but your A30 addresses that altough not bank selection if i remember rightly

Bloody good idea. If there "aint" no real photo it doesn't exist hee hee

Did a google search. Nope but followed the Princes south and it may have been the North Wollongong Hotel. Similar look that i remember but the frontage looks far closer to the road now and the side entrance seems to be built out a lot. Never the less. The Gong had a Lot of 2nd hand pawn shops with music gear back then (but generally guitar stuff) and a good music shop in town too that did cater for keyboardists. Memories are mere cobwebs now

No hurry just doing a read of the other forums presently. Thought id look for it after mentioning a member here might like to relate it to a manufacturer they know.

How is this going Dave? Or have i missed it when trying to find it?

Hey doc. Why dont you ask them to showcase it in the new manufacturers section coming soon. Im excited to see local guys doing exciting things. I checked them out and saw the map of the Gong. I gotta say since moving to Mornington Peninsula I miss the Gong. That and the Central Coast my 2 favourite destinations to drive my Morris Minors to get out of Sydney. Trying to think of where my last Gong gig was. I can remember the front of the pub but i cant locate it on google maps it was so long ago so i bet its been changed a lot. ( on the main coast road with a large entrance on left and the long pub going deep into block on the right). Nevertheless our agent didnt have many Gong venues basically Sydney, the mountains and Central Coast gigs. Overseas people if visiting Sydney check out the Gong. Great coast drive from Stanwell Tops down south coast.