What causes this?

[MathOfInsects]

I agree that fingernails are the most obvious culprit, and 100% the pictures from the second board are just overuse plus natural oils degrading the plastic. 
 

But those first pictures look like something very specific had to happen to leave those gouges.

 

Though if Mythbusters did an episode on this and ended up coming to the same conclusion you did, @Reezekeys, I would not be shocked.

[Reezekeys]

  

1 hour ago, MathOfInsects said:

But those first pictures look like something very specific had to happen to leave those gouges.

 

 

Yes, nails - although those gouges look different from my scatterings. I attribute that to Synthaholic having better technique than me!

 

 

[My Keys And Me Are Vintage]

I have never seen such key damage but ReezeKeys' explanation has convinced me of it being nails. I am also now ashamed that I have not played hard or long enough to cause similar pits on any of my old keyboards! 

[Reezekeys]

Maybe you trim your nails more often than I do? 🙂 

[Polychrest]

I was going to suggest maybe brilliant base stealer Ronald Acuna or his Braves equipment manager had been testing a new pair of spikes on the OP’s board while he was out of the room to see how they’d perform on smooth plastic, but that would just be silly and a waste of the OP’s time and patience.

[elif]

On 3/27/2024 at 11:15 PM, Synthaholic said:

 This keyboard spent it's life in a wooden road case with eggshell foam.

Does the eggshell foam touch the keys when closed up?

[MathOfInsects]

2 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

  

 

Yes, nails - although those gouges look different from my scatterings. I attribute that to Synthaholic having better technique than me!

 

 

Maybe...but then why are the pictures of his other board just like yours? If it's because his technique is different from yours, it should be different for all his boards, no?

[ElmerJFudd]

 

we now return to our regularly scheduled programming.  

[PianoMan51]

“the balls of your fingertips”…

You have them there?

[jazzpiano88]

As the only non-adult chiming in here, I’ll recap:

 

- foam

- baseball spikes

- Dogs

- cats

- nails

- creams

- acid excretion 

- Horta (not to be confused with acid excretion from the fingers)

- rings

- soldering iron

- effects boxes 

- rodents 

- sour notes

This could go down as The Great 2024 KC Unsolved Mystery.   

 

[Old No7]

Having just returned from an  island vacation where the sand fleas made a feast of me.... (and ignored others in the group)

 

-->  Did you ever perform an outdoor gig and had applied Bug Spray or Lotion that had DEET in it???

 

-->  Or could another band mate had put some on and your keys got all the over-spray?

 

Deet will EAT plastic!

 

On the island they recommended using "Picaridian" for bugs, as it is "Non-harmful to plastics or fishing line".

 

That's my guess...  Deet.

 

Old No7

[AUSSIEKEYS]

On 3/29/2024 at 1:28 PM, jazzpiano88 said:

 

I wasn't trying to be childish.   From experience I know that Rodents find their way into impossibly small openings.  A tiny gap in zipper is nothing to a determined critter in an outside environment.  

 

I thought jazzpano88 was giving a reasonable alternative scenario considering he wouldnt know how well zipped the roadbag was.

 

My first thought was same. Possibly caused by a hint of food particles/juices on the keys the rat gnored on. Not saying this happened but its a possibility.

 

Reason i thought the same was that i stored my modernish sportscar in a garage with classic Cars and parts. Always kept this car closed and it was air tight in the passenger area  but there was a period when the battery died that i left the electric window open and roof down to be able to open the car mechanically as it had a retractable solid roof 

 

in that short period I found the knob on the wiper stalk had been gnored in a very similar manner. The rest of the car untouched.

 

I figured the rat 🐀 had smelt the remnants/particles of a kebab i had devoured previously on the knob on the wiper stalk. Perhaps kebab juices were left behind in my car after a kebab shop extravaganza.

 

Lesson: Beware leaving out your knob on a stalk overnight

 

But the only reason i knew there was a rat in that garage as I never saw any was the rat left behind teeth marks similar to what we see here. It only took one night to happen. But being Aussie maybe it was a Bilby not a rat

 

This probably didnt happen as i think you mentioned you always wipe the keys down and its happened on a few of your boards but i have seen gnore marks similar to those marks and I think it was a fair call for someone to make.

 

I've been so curious what you figure out as it is a strange one. Hope you figure it out for your future keyboards

[TommyRude]

[TommyRude]

[jazzpiano88]

30 minutes ago, TommyRude said:

 

Good point. Cats do love to walk around on keyboards and pianos.   And when they jump, they anchor their hind end and use back claws for traction. 

[Synthaholic]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:59 AM, Reezekeys said:

You guys are overthinking this. It's nails, pure & simple. Check out my older A800 -

 

 

 

 

I thought the same thing. Then I played my typical voicing for a Db9 chord:

 

 

Notice in your pics how the black keys don't exhibit these same marks? Neither do mine. That's because their height causes the point of contact to be more on the balls of your fingertips - farther from the nail. I don't think we're entirely cognizant of how hard we're hitting these plastic keys during a typical gig or playing session.

 

 

I think this is it, @Reezekeys. And I retract what I said about not ever playing that B up so high. I do it when playing an E chord with my thumb on the G#, and when I do it's the tip of my index finger, with the edge of my nail. So I probably do it other times, too.

 

When I started contemplating this I was thinking that maybe it's just the quality of the PC4-7 Medeli keys and whoever made the Alesis keys, since I didn't think the other keyboards I played for a long time had these marks, but I just unzipped my old JX-8P and it has a few blemishes, too, and your A800 is also Roland. I actually feel much better that someone else has this going on. Thanks! 

 

So I guess the mystery is solved. I appreciate all the responses.

[Synthaholic]

On 3/29/2024 at 1:01 PM, My Keys And Me Are Vintage said:

I have never seen such key damage but ReezeKeys' explanation has convinced me of it being nails. I am also now ashamed that I have not played hard or long enough to cause similar pits on any of my old keyboards! 

I've been playing a long time, and I play a lot. Either 2 or 3 hours per weekday, depending on the day, and then whatever weekend gigs I play.

[Synthaholic]

On 3/28/2024 at 10:28 PM, jazzpiano88 said:

 

I wasn't trying to be childish.   From experience I know that Rodents find their way into impossibly small openings.  A tiny gap in zipper is nothing to a determined critter in an outside environment.   

 

I wouldn't suspect acid coming out of your fingers only because it would cause more widespread damage than the gouges your photos show.

 

Yeah, sorry, dude. I was a bit insulted that:

 

1. the idea that I would have rodents in my vehicle.

2. I wouldn't notice that I had rodents in my vehicle if I did. They always poop and piss and leave a smell, and with that white micro fleece case interior it would be impossible to miss.