I Hate My Gear!

[Doug Robinson]

My Hammond SK1 needs a new CPU, apparently--$380 in freight from here to Chicago and back, $560 for a new CPU and $65 for labor. At least a month out of service.

 

So I switch to my other gigging rig, a Casio PX5s. Yesterday, an hour before I played at a festival for hundreds of people, the bank select button simply stopped working--I was stuck on an atmospheric sounds bank till I initialized 3 times, and then it at least got stuck on Concert Grand.

 

Not to mention that the A above middle C is 5 times louder than all other keys and it turns out I used that key a lot when I play.

 

Not to mention that the sustain pedal stopped working 50% of the time. It was an interesting piano trio gig.

 

Who knows how much it will cost me to have the Casio repaired. I told the Casio tech guy that I had bought it less than year ago and his response was literally this: "We haven't made it for at least 10 years, so it obviously wasn't a new machine." Not super helpful, in other words.

 

I have a gig in Vallarta next wed...I'm bringing my 25 year old Yamaha S80 which so far still functions.

[cphollis]

You're not going to like my response.

 

I play Nords. They have never, ever let me down. Hundreds of gigs, no problem. Ever. They've been rained on more than once. Dust storms from playing beach gigs. Flaky power on a regular basis. Beer spills. Dropped regularly, mostly when they're in their cases.

 

Zero problems.

 

OK, minor brain damage once at a rehearsal, not fatal, easily recovered by re-initalizing. Nothing as bad as you're talking about.

 

Same deal with my amplification. Spend the money on the better gear, and avoid the trauma.

[Doerfler]

Doug, I wish you the best. Things will get better.

[ClavAnother]

You're not going to like my response.

 

I play Nords. They have never, ever let me down. Hundreds of gigs, no problem. Ever.

 

Spend the money on the better gear, and avoid the trauma.

 

 

+1 Sorry.

 

But regarding the Hammond, isn't there anyone local that can replace the board? Or can't you send in the board for replacement? Shouldn't cost much that way.

[aronnelson]

> We haven't made it for at least 10 years, so it obviously wasn't a new machine

 

What is that guy talking about. The PX-5S is still being sold.

You want rock solid - Yamaha. I've used them for years.

[Doug Robinson]

Thanks, guys. I just can't warm up to Nords. And until this past couple of weeks, I could have said the same thing--my boards never gave me a problem. Obviously, time to rethink. I need super lightweight gear, so that's always the challenge.

 

Hammond said to send the whole instrument so I did--then they told me it was the CPU.

[Doug Robinson]

Oh, and I live in central Mexico--I don't know of anyone who can repair a Hammond. There is Casio in Mexico City, so hopefully they can help me for a lot less $.

[mate stubb]

There's not much wrong with the Casio - 1 dirty key contact that needs cleaning, one dirty switch that needs cleaning, and a bad sustain pedal.

[burningbusch]

Hate to be obvious but you did check the SK-1 with a KNOWN GOOD POWER SUPPLY, yes?

 

Busch.

[Dave Keys]

Sorry to hear of your woes Jazzoo.

 

Is it worth getting them repaired, or might it be time to cut your losses and invest the money in a new board or two?

 

I'd definitely recommend Nord if you want lightweight boards. I've recently bought a Nord Electro5HP73, and although not cheap, it's a hammer action weighted board that weighs just 25lbs - and that's with the power supply built in - no 'wall warts'.

 

 

 

[Josh Paxton]

You're not going to like my response.

 

I play Nords. They have never, ever let me down.

 

At the risk of going off-topic, that hasn't been my experience with Nords. I've owned the Electros 1-3, a Stage 2, and an Electro 5. With the exception of the 5 (which I only had for a couple months) all of them gave me problems at some point, ranging from individual loud or soft keys to an entire octave going out in mid-gig. That isn't to say that they're bad; I think they're among the better-made boards out there. But they're certainly not immune to the kinds of problems the OP mentions.

[DanL]

You're not going to like my response.

 

I play Nords. They have never, ever let me down.

 

At the risk of going off-topic, that hasn't been my experience with Nords. I've owned the Electros 1-3, a Stage 2, and an Electro 5. With the exception of the 5 (which I only had for a couple months) all of them gave me problems at some point, ranging from individual loud or soft keys to an entire octave going out in mid-gig. That isn't to say that they're bad; I think they're among the better-made boards out there. But they're certainly not immune to the kinds of problems the OP mentions.

 

Interesting. Knock on wood, I've never had a problem. Electro 2, Stage compact Classic, Nord lead 2, Nord lead a1, Electro 5, all heavily gigged.

[TommyS]

Never had a problem with my Nord Stage EX.

[Outkaster]

I don't like my gear because as far as I can tell the gigging keyboard player is something manufactures are forgetting about or don't cater to. I need something along the lines of the S series that Yamaha was making. They were really popular.

[lightbg]

You're not going to like my response.

 

I play Nords. They have never, ever let me down.

 

At the risk of going off-topic, that hasn't been my experience with Nords. I've owned the Electros 1-3, a Stage 2, and an Electro 5. With the exception of the 5 (which I only had for a couple months) all of them gave me problems at some point, ranging from individual loud or soft keys to an entire octave going out in mid-gig. That isn't to say that they're bad; I think they're among the better-made boards out there. But they're certainly not immune to the kinds of problems the OP mentions.

 

Interesting. Knock on wood, I've never had a problem. Electro 2, Stage compact Classic, Nord lead 2, Nord lead a1, Electro 5, all heavily gigged.

 

An NE2-61, C1, and and a 4D61 - all flawless.....so far....

 

Jake

[CEB]

...

 

I told the Casio tech guy that I had bought it less than year ago and his response was literally this: "We haven't made it for at least 10 years, so it obviously wasn't a new machine." Not super helpful, in other words.

 

...

 

Hi Doug,

 

Not sure if Mike's region is just the USA or if he has North America. I would send him a PM if a Casio service center doesn't not want to fix this. It may be a matter of just getting in touch with the right guy. If this isn't Mike's turf he should know whose turf it is. Not sure if you talked to an Authorized rep or bench tech.

[Barryjam]

I lost a motherboard $600 on an Electro 2 that was babied. I always repair boards, even if it is to sell them.

 

Maybe gigging musicians (as a group) don't have the disposable income to drive manufacturers? In an era of Youtube demos, even seeing a keyboard on stage or regular TV might not be as important for sales as it once was?

 

That is rough to have problems with both boards at the same time!

[Threadslayer]

Hi Doug,

 

Not sure if Mike's region is just the USA or if he has North America. I would send him a PM if a Casio service center doesn't not want to fix this. I may be a matter of just getting in touch with the right guy. If this isn't Mike's turf he should know whose turf it is. Not sure if you talked to an Authorized rep or bench tech.

I'll second this. Mike convinced me to persevere after the Casio service center told me repeatedly that my PX-350 (similar vintage to the PX5s) was no longer under warranty. They were wrong, he was right.

[Bobadohshe]

I have had to have my Yamaha CP4s repaired at least 3 times. (yes I have 2 of them now). I gig the hell out of them. I bring it up here because here too is a case of boards not immune to wear and tear - even the 'solid as a rock' Yamahas.

 

I think this is something you'll just have to accept as part of life -- when we use keyboards a ton things get worn out and go on the fritz.

 

For the OP unfortunately it was the perfect storm. But Mate was right - the PX5 isn't necessarily in terrible shape and is worth a look.

[aronnelson]

>I told the Casio tech guy that I had bought it less than year ago

 

PX-5S? It should be under warranty.

[MathOfInsects]

Sorry, Doug. What a drag.

 

I think most of us confuse the fact that most electronics work as they're supposed to, most of the time, with some feature of our particular electronics. Same with when they fail. I think the only lesson is to hope for the best but expect the worst (i.e., always have a back-up ready to deploy).

 

Good luck with all of it.

[SkiGuy777]

I can see why the OP would be frustrated. For the cost of fixing the SK1, he could almost buy a Hammond XK-1C (organ sounds only) for $1,400. I think the OP wants to stick with Hammond, I'm the same way. The Nords sound great, but a Hammond guy will stay that way. It's too bad Hammond isn't updating the SK1/SK2 line up. They just came out with the XK-5C which I get to play at rehearsal.

 

Me, I feel very lucky, I've been gigging with the same vintage gear for years. Korg 01W-FD and a Hammond XK-2. The Korg developed sticky keys, I fixed that and even made a web page about how to fix them without disassembling the entire keyboard (use a needle with 3 in 1 oil). The Hammond XK-2 is still good.

 

On my current gigs I do bring a Korg PS60 as a back up. This keyboard was given to me when a previous band leader passed away. Very light, fits in a cloth gig bag.

If my Korg dies I'll probably get a 61 key Kronos. I get to play the 88 key version at rehearsal. And if my XK-2 goes, I'd consider the XK-5C even if it's 3k in price.

[Jazz+]

I love my gear

 

 

 

 

[DJ RAZZ]

When did the SK-1 become bad or cheap gear?

[Heartbeat]

+1 for Nord. And before that I was all Roland. No probs.

[DanL]

When did the SK-1 become bad or cheap gear?

 

It's not bad or cheap. I think my SK1 has a nice build quality. The only issue it has is sometimes the display will show a bunch of funky characters. If I press write and cancel it goes back to normal. Other than that it has been rock steady since I got it, just like my Nords have been.

[Mike Martin]

Jazzooo,

I'll sent you a PM and reach out to our team in Mexico.

[agitato]

Has anyone had any issues (such as the op describes) with the roland vr-09?

[aronnelson]

I get so many compliments on the sound of the PX-5S. Of course I have tweaked the programs, but I have gotten a lot of feedback from this keyboard. It seems that a lot of people like the piano sound in the audience.

[CEB]

I hate cars.