A Cure for too slippery of Keys, Please.....

[Lance Kennedy]

My Roland Fantom G8 Workstation's Keys, are way too slippery. I've tried Hair Spray, Windex, A Soapy Washcloth, Assorted Sugar+Mixtures, Sprayed on Kaboom Oxy-clean, Magic Power Glass Cleaner, Rubbing Alcohol, and even Honey (Filtered and Unfiltered)--Not necessarily in that Order, and not to exclude Several Assorted Combinations, that an adventurous Mind tried thinking up,,,,~ I probably left something or another out, and despite all My efforts, the only thing I found success at was disappointment------, -(' Won't You Please Help this wore out Old Keyman out'? Thank You for Your Patronage'~

 

[happyrat1]

First of all, I'm not at all sure what "too slippery" means. To me lack of friction is a good thing.

Anyway you've probably already voided your warranty.

A drastic and permanent solution MIGHT be to disassemble and sand the keys lightly with a #300 grit sandpaper. Just a few rubs per key.

No guarantees though and it would definitely void the warranty.

Gary

 

[Lance Kennedy]

First of all, I'm not at all sure what "too slippery" means. To me lack of friction is a good thing.

Anyway you've probably already voided your warranty.

A drastic and permanent solution MIGHT be to disassemble and sand the keys lightly with a #300 grit sandpaper. Just a few rubs per key.

No guarantees though and it would definitely void the warranty.

Gary

Thank You Gary, I didn't realize, what should be a seemingly simple cure, would press my cause like it has'? Please apprise me of any and all ideas here'? Contacting Roland Corp US for Solutions, is a Chore without results... They're in need of a Major Communications revamping`~

 

[happyrat1]

The real problem here is that any sort of "sticky" treatment you do on the key surface will turn it into a dirt magnet. Your keys will become filthy and trap dirt much more easily with normal use.

Even roughening the surface with sandpaper or a fine rasp would have the same result.

I definitely do NOT advise any chemical sort of approach. The stuff would wear off and work its way into the key contacts below the keys and turn your beloved Roland into a brick.

Roughening the keys with sandpaper or a rasp would be a clean and permanent solution, however, it will definitely destroy your warranty and the resale value of your keyboard. Nobody's going to pay top dollar for a used synth with a funked up keyboard.

Could you possibly go into more detail about what exactly you mean by "the keys are too slippery?" What kind of playing style do you have that your fingertips are skidding off of the keyboard?

Gary

 

[Lance Kennedy]

The real problem here is that any sort of "sticky" treatment you do on the key surface will turn it into a dirt magnet. Your keys will become filthy and trap dirt much more easily with normal use.

Even roughening the surface with sandpaper or a fine rasp would have the same result.

I definitely do NOT advise any chemical sort of approach. The stuff would wear off and work its way into the key contacts below the keys and turn your beloved Roland into a brick.

Roughening the keys with sandpaper or a rasp would be a clean and permanent solution, however, it will definitely destroy your warranty and the resale value of your keyboard. Nobody's going to pay top dollar for a used synth with a funked up keyboard.

Could you possibly go into more detail about what exactly you mean by "the keys are too slippery?" What kind of playing style do you have that your fingertips are skidding off of the keyboard?

Gary

 

[Lance Kennedy]

Thank You for Your thoughtfulness Gary,

I'm a 53 Year Old Keyboard Player. My Unique Style is a combination of Jazz, Blues and Rock n Roll`! My Nuance` of Rich Sound, takes All Eager Listeners, on an exciting and invigorating Journey of Emotional Incites`! I Mix Combinations of Speed, along with Signature Transitions to Blues. I'm not certain if My Body's Age is a Factor? Maybe my Fingers are Drier`? I know that My G8 has Roland's "Ivory Feel" Keys. They claim to draw out Moisture`? I've made Several attempts to Contact them, and have yet to receive any answers, regarding My dilemma,,, The Roland Workstation's are the only Synthesizers that have held up to My aggressive style'~ At least, I'm not replacing Keys with them, every Week....

 

[happyrat1]

Well if you're making a living beating your keyboards to death, then the sandpaper mod may be the only thing that works for you.

You'll basically have to disassemble each key and rough sand it with some 200 to 300 grit sandpaper to get the desired texture.

They'll probably look like hell but it's the only safe way to add friction to the surface.

Chemicals make too much mess and gum up the keyswitches.

Gary

 

[delaware dave]

Apply one-sided felt tape to the keys.

 

[happyrat1]

Tape would start to peel off at the worst possible moment under heavy use.

 

[jmemcse]

Clean your fingers with rubbing alcohol before you play. I used to have to do that when I was younger, but it was due to being under banks of those old par cans. I tried bowlers rosin once, lol. But ya, rubbing alcohol preps your fingers back up for playing, well, that's what would work for me on occasion anyway.

 

[happyrat1]

That sounds like a much saner solution than permanently modifying the keyboard.

I've gotta ask though, are greasy fingers really all that common a problem among keyboard players?

Myself I'll never touch my keys unless my hands are spotless.

Gary

 

[jmemcse]

"Myself I'll never touch my keys unless my hands are spotless.
Gary"
I couldn't agree more.

 

[Rodders]

Hi Lance,
not sure if my reply will be of any help, but if my keys are actually dirty, then a very well rung out sponge of warm soapy water will get any dirt off. I then have always used a little silicone polish such as Mr Sheen, sprayed onto a duster which gives a nice feel to the keys and a slight shine. Maybe the opposite to what you want, but I would not describe this as slippery. Never had any problems apart from my bum notes! LOL!

Cheers, Rodders

 

[katefields]

I actually have had this problem (and I beat my keyboard to death, too, lol.) I think there can be only one of two reasons for the keys feeling slippery:

1. If your fingertips are so smooth and dry that they don't have any grip, then put on a little hand lotion that is not oil-based. (No cocoa butter or mineral oil--they are too greasy). It should have water as the first ingredient. If you have trouble turning pages of a book and have to lick your fingers to get the page to turn, then this is what you need.

2. If the slipperiness is because your hands are too oily or sweaty, then wash them with a big squirt of soap and lots of warm water. Wash them for about a whole minute. Get lots of bubbles, then rise all that soap completely off. Dry them with paper towels (or a towel that doesn't have any fabric softener on it.)

Hope that helps!

 

[happyhacker]

Have you investigated thin latex gloves? My fingers tend to slip of my Yamaha black keys but then I'm a beginner!

 

[Lenster]

I would guess that maybe using a skin moisturizer could reduce the slippery problem. Something like "Working Hands" cream. Or if you want to avoid chemical preparations, organic coconut oil works great.

I cannot say this from experience, as I have had the opposite problem. When playing in a warm humid environment, my fingers feel like suction cups on the keys, and talcum powder fixes that.

 

[Nancy B.]

Hi there,
I’m having the same problem on my Yamaha EZ-220 keyboard. I also have a Roland HP-126 digital piano and my fingers don’t slip on those keys, so between a piano and a keyboard, they’ve changed the surface of the keys.
My fingers are extremely dry - sometimes my mobile devices don’t detect my touch because they are so dry.
What I have taken to using is the "Sort-kwik" stuff. It comes in a small, round container and it’s usually used in an office setting where people are touching a lot of paper every day. Otherwise, I’m licking my fingers. 2 problems with that:
1) it’s unsanitary &
2) being unsanitary, it greatly increases the possibility of getting viruses or the flu!

I had thought about very lightly sanding my keys with some 400 grit sandpaper, but don’t want to take my keyboard apart! Pain the derrière...

Any suggestions?

 

[happyrat1]

There's plenty of good suggestions already in this thread.

1) Clean your fingers with rubbing alcohol...

2) Wear surgical latex gloves.

Those two strike me as the easiest and most effective.

Gary

 

[Nancy B.]

Gary,
As to suggestion:
1) My hands are already clean and rubbing alcohol seriously dries your skin out. My fingers are already over-dry.

2) I’m extremely allergic to latex and I’m thinking even non-latex gloves would be weird - in more ways than one. However, I will give that a try...

Thanks for your input. :^)

 

[happyrat1]

I'm sure neoprene will work just as well.

Gary