Yamaha YC61 keybed issues

[nadroj]

Can you “feel” the click? Ie. Can you feel something moving or clacking underneath your fingers? Or is it just audible? 
 

Obviously this is annoying and unacceptable, especially for home use; would it be noticeable during a loud gig? 

[Paul Woodward]

3 hours ago, nadroj said:

Can you “feel” the click? Ie. Can you feel something moving or clacking underneath your fingers? Or is it just audible? 
 

Obviously this is annoying and unacceptable, especially for home use; would it be noticeable during a loud gig? 

To be honest, I first played with earphones on and never noticed an issue. Might be the placebo effect making me think it's springer than it is when I hear the noise. It plays like an old board that has had years of playing rather than something 'broken'. 

Interestingly, I stood the board on its end today and tried the keys. They were not as noisy... As for gigging, I'm sure it would be fine. My issue is practising next room to where the bedroom is and wifey won't like this noise as she sleeps. 

Anyways, Yamaha told me to contact PMT and they won't transfer the warranty so it's down to 'HQ' now and if they would authorise the repair given the circumstances. 

[Paul Woodward]

One more thing of interest, I set up the YC with an ipad playing Korg Module. I was playing the CFX on the YC and the default piano on the ipad and thought both were the same sound. There was no noticeable difference in the middle ranges. Impressive for an app. 

[Paul Woodward]

Well, some positive news. Its £120 to fix this. They say it's mechanical rather than replacing the keybed so, with shipping there and back, hopefully under £200. 

However, Yamaha now say the standard 2 year warranty is transferable, just not the extended warranty, so with proof of purchase, it should be covered. Down to the seller now to see if he can help there... 

[Paul Woodward]

We have a result. Got the original receipt so Yamaha agreed to transfer the 2 year warranty, and keybed repair approved. Even better, I can drop it off on my way south to work and collect the next day on my return so no cost to me at all. Must be Christmas…

I was really enjoying playing this last night aside from those noisy keys so I will be well happy if it’s fixed. Have an audition on Wednesday too so I can still take the YC board 🙂

[cassdad]

On 11/23/2022 at 10:35 AM, Paul Woodward said:

We have a result. Got the original receipt so Yamaha agreed to transfer the 2 year warranty, and keybed repair approved. Even better, I can drop it off on my way south to work and collect the next day on my return so no cost to me at all. Must be Christmas…

I was really enjoying playing this last night aside from those noisy keys so I will be well happy if it’s fixed. Have an audition on Wednesday too so I can still take the YC board 🙂

A keybed repair or replacement in 1 day?  Wow, amazing if they can make that happen.  Mine literally took the authorized Yamaha shop weeks to get the parts and replace the keybed (and that was in Los Angeles, a few miles from the main Yamaha plant a few miles away).  But I certainly wish you luck, and hope it happens.

[Paul Woodward]

5 minutes ago, cassdad said:

A keybed repair or replacement in 1 day?  Wow, amazing if they can make that happen.  Mine literally took the authorized Yamaha shop weeks to get the parts and replace the keybed (and that was in Los Angeles, a few miles from the main Yamaha plant a few miles away).  But I certainly wish you luck, and hope it happens.

They say it is a mechanical fix, a common issue, but one easily remedied once they get it on the bench and without a keybed replacement. Two Yamaha approved service centres seemed confident of this so we shall see next Friday when I rock up to collect it 🙂

[konaboy]

i already told you, they'll just slap some grease on it.

[AUSSIEKEYS]

9 hours ago, konaboy said:

i already told you, they'll just slap some grease on it.

 

Yeah but

 

GREASE is the word

[Baldwin Funster]

8 minutes ago, AUSSIEKEYS said:

 

Yeah but

 

GREASE is the word

It's got groove it's got meaning.

[Paul Woodward]

10 hours ago, konaboy said:

i already told you, they'll just slap some grease on it.

Lets see. As long as it gets fixed I am good. You wouldn’t expect the grease to wear off in 9 months from new, especially when it spent 5 months in a case.

[cassdad]

19 hours ago, konaboy said:

i already told you, they'll just slap some grease on it.

Although mine is a Yammy MOXF8, from the above pics, I can tell you that the plastic key sets look identical to his YC.  I have tried greasing them, underside, every available place one can put grease, and it did not stop the clicking.  Furthermore, just getting to the point where one can remove the plastic key set(s) in order to grease under the key, takes quite some time, as in my case, and I expect also his YC, many dozens of screws have to be removed, and then one or more ribbon connectors have to be carefully removed in order to flip the case open, and only then can one actually unscrew the plastic key set(s) in order to grease them.  Then reverse the process to close up and test.   I’m not saying it cannot be done in one day, just that it does take several dedicated hours of labor, which could be done in a day if the repair shop has nothing else to work on….

 

P.S.  Paul Woodward:  If they do indeed just “grease” it, if possible, can you please ask them specifically at what point they greased and let me know?

[Paul Woodward]

15 hours ago, cassdad said:

Although mine is a Yammy MOXF8, from the above pics, I can tell you that the plastic key sets look identical to his YC.  I have tried greasing them, underside, every available place one can put grease, and it did not stop the clicking.  Furthermore, just getting to the point where one can remove the plastic key set(s) in order to grease under the key, takes quite some time, as in my case, and I expect also his YC, many dozens of screws have to be removed, and then one or more ribbon connectors have to be carefully removed in order to flip the case open, and only then can one actually unscrew the plastic key set(s) in order to grease them.  Then reverse the process to close up and test.   I’m not saying it cannot be done in one day, just that it does take several dedicated hours of labor, which could be done in a day if the repair shop has nothing else to work on….

 

P.S.  Paul Woodward:  If they do indeed just “grease” it, if possible, can you please ask them specifically at what point they greased and let me know?

Will do, I expect he is quiet this time of year. He actually offered to repair while i waited if I could kill a few hours, so perhaps its simpler on the YC than the MOX? If its not ready next day I am passing anyway, so not too much of an inconvenience. Also, he will ring to save me diverting if its not ready. 

[Paul Woodward]

Well Woody, you were right but what a difference it made, it plays like a new keyboard. Less than 24 hours from dropping off to collection, dismantled, degreased and regreased. Can’t fault the guy who did it. Me happy.

[konaboy]

thanks for the update, glad it's fixed.  hope it lasts.

[Paul Woodward]

8 minutes ago, konaboy said:

thanks for the update, glad it's fixed.  hope it lasts.

Yeah, me too. I am very impressed by the difference this has made. For anyone else with this issue, I would recommend getting it looked at.

[cassdad]

3 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Yeah, me too. I am very impressed by the difference this has made. For anyone else with this issue, I would recommend getting it looked at.

Were you able to ask them specifically where in the action they greased?

[Paul Woodward]

13 minutes ago, cassdad said:

Were you able to ask them specifically where in the action they greased?

Afraid not, it was just a quick collect and he said the grease becomes displaced over time, so stripped down, degreased, fresh grease applied and rebuilt, tested and Ok (all that written on the job document). Quick play and all keys now feel the same, and feel great.

[rogs]

22 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Well Woody, you were right but what a difference it made, it plays like a new keyboard. Less than 24 hours from dropping off to collection, dismantled, degreased and regreased. Can’t fault the guy who did it. Me happy.

Who did you take it to? -- As I mentioned earlier, I know who is involved with Yamaha servicing on my area, so I would need to go elsewhere.

Sounds like this guy is OK....

[Paul Woodward]

On 12/3/2022 at 3:57 PM, Roger Shore said:

Who did you take it to? -- As I mentioned earlier, I know who is involved with Yamaha servicing on my area, so I would need to go elsewhere.

Sounds like this guy is OK....

Richard Madin at Nottingham, just a few miles off J25 of the M1 and he may be able to do this while you wait too. 

[rogs]

3 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Richard Madin at Nottingham, just a few miles off J25 of the M1 and he may be able to do this while you wait too. 

Many thanks for that information....

[davephoto]

On 11/20/2022 at 10:09 AM, Roger Shore said:

I'm having trouble convincing myself that the YC61 keys are hinged to a common plastic former?---

I've made a very short video clip:  https://tinyurl.com/YC61-key-noise    where I am deliberately moving a couple of the black keys laterally  - and trying to move them 'off centre' vertically.

 

They all seem quite independent, and make 'metallic'  noises as you hit the side stops.  Not such movement (or sound) is possible with my MOX keys...

 

 

Did you ever get your YC61 keys looked after?

 

I just picked up a YC61 with a 07-2020 manufacture date. Love the sounds, but the amount of lateral play on the black keys leaves much to be desired. It's quite similar to what you've posted in your video. I don't think it will matter on a gig, but it's certainly annoying for home practice. Here's a video of mine:

 

 

Is this just considered normal for keyboards these days? My only other board is an 18-year old Motif ES.

[rogs]

No, I haven't taken it any further so far.

My keys are very similar to your video -- the black keys have lateral movement, and are much noisier than the white ones (except for one black key, which is quieter??) but they haven't got any worse since I bought my YC61 two and a half years ago.

I don't trust the local repair guy, so it would mean a 300 mile round trip to get it looked at, so I can live with it as it is for the present!

I used to be a keyboard tech back in the day, so I may take a look myself one day.... It does look as if there are lots of screws to undo to get inside though...

 

[dougie6000]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:47 AM, Paul Woodward said:

Yeah, me too. I am very impressed by the difference this has made. For anyone else with this issue, I would recommend getting it looked at.

How is the grease fix holding up?  I've been plagued by the clacky key bed on two of these.  The same story - more keys get clacky over time.  

[Paul Woodward]

It still plays like new, but it hasn’t been gigged hard yet.

[davephoto]

Just an update on my clacky YC61:

 

My YC61 was sent back to Yamaha Canada under warranty. The service report indicated the keybed was re-greased. Keys were quiet and smooth for the first 20 hours or so. The situation is now devolving quite quickly and I feel in another couple months, we'll be right back where we started. (Except, frustratingly, I now have a few section on/off toggle switches that are super loose. Given how they protrude, I don't think my board was shipped well.)

 

While my board was in for service, I was given a loaner YC61, new from box. I think I put at least 20 hours on that board, and the keybed was still tight and quiet when I returned it to the shop. 

 

Disappointing, for sure, because I love everything else about the YC. Can't hear it on a gig, so I'll just live with its quirks.

[JohnH]

On 11/21/2022 at 4:27 AM, Paul Woodward said:

Yamaha online have suggested I pass this on to PMT where it was first bought. They say they can arrange warranty if its within its 2 year warranty but didnt address me being the second owner. The service centre have sent their request direct to Yamaha so we will see what PMT and Yamaha decide between them. The original owner is happy to help, it just seems ridiculous sending it back to him for Yamaha to collect, return, ship back to me etc. for the same outcome and I am conscious that he doesn't need all this hassle. At the end of the day, it they acknowledge its a defect, like most manufacturers they should recall it and repair.

 

Found these. So no it won't be covered unless you send it to the original owner. Once it's sold as used it is not under warranty.

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/support/warranty/index.html

 

"Yamaha products purchased from retailers other than Yamaha Authorized Dealers (whether via the Internet, or otherwise) will NOT be covered by Yamaha’s warranties, and U.S. service centers will not repair such products under warranty. "

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/files/WARRANTY-Synthesizer-Stage-Keyboard-Stage-Piano-Products-2023_d902efa0429c7968ecb19909e23b37a8.pdf

 

"This warranty covers only the Original Owner and is not transferable."

[Paul Woodward]

2 hours ago, JohnH said:

 

Found these. So no it won't be covered unless you send it to the original owner. Once it's sold as used it is not under warranty.

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/support/warranty/index.html

 

"Yamaha products purchased from retailers other than Yamaha Authorized Dealers (whether via the Internet, or otherwise) will NOT be covered by Yamaha’s warranties, and U.S. service centers will not repair such products under warranty. "

 

https://usa.yamaha.com/files/WARRANTY-Synthesizer-Stage-Keyboard-Stage-Piano-Products-2023_d902efa0429c7968ecb19909e23b37a8.pdf

 

"This warranty covers only the Original Owner and is not transferable."

Presume you didn’t read further down where Yamaha agreed to transfer the warranty as the seller shared proof of purchase. I had the repair done free under warranty and it’s still covered until 2024…

[davephoto]

I was just watching a Yamaha live stream demoing the wonderful new sounds of the 1.3 update. I had a good laugh at 17:25 when I heard one of the presenters' boards rattling and clacking away quite loudly. Makes me feel a little better about mine. lol

 

[Docbop]

3 hours ago, davephoto said:

I was just watching a Yamaha live stream demoing the wonderful new sounds of the 1.3 update. I had a good laugh at 17:25 when I heard one of the presenters' boards rattling and clacking away quite loudly. Makes me feel a little better about mine. lol

 

 

Yes, I laughed too they made it too much like a Nord!