Juno ds61 impossible to play some chords as top of keys are unpressable

[Dave Keen]

Hi
New Juno ds61 arrived - very disappointed to find that top of all notes are rigid and cannot be played. This makes any chord in right hand impossible to play if the thumb is on a black note as the remaining fingers can only fit in at the top of the keys - and I have small hands!

A keyboard that cannot play many chords & obviously runs/arpeggios having same problems is useless to a jazz pianist. I have a Tyros but it's too heavy for gigs - Juno would be perfect except for this problem. Try chord F# A C# E in right hand for example.

Is my juno faulty, has anyone got a Juno ds61 that has/does not have this problem - I need to know whether I need a replacement or my money back.

Thanks

 

[Biggles]

Dave

Cannot be specific about the Juno but recently I spent a lot of time playing on in store and did not find I had any problem.

I tested it back to back with the new Korg Kross 2 which I much preferred even though the manual is difficult to follow and required a few weeks of studying and playing to get to know my way around the system.

The Kross has another great advantage for me over the Juno in that it is 2/3rds the weight of the Juno so what I am saying is if the Juno is faulty then expand what you are considering.

Both the Juno and the Kross have had firmware upgrades within the last week or so so that may be another thing to consider with your Juno, is it a software bug you have and will the upgrade solve it.

 

[Dave Keen]

Dave

Cannot be specific about the Juno but recently I spent a lot of time playing on in store and did not find I had any problem.

I tested it back to back with the new Korg Kross 2 which I much preferred even though the manual is difficult to follow and required a few weeks of studying and playing to get to know my way around the system.

The Kross has another great advantage for me over the Juno in that it is 2/3rds the weight of the Juno so what I am saying is if the Juno is faulty then expand what you are considering.

Both the Juno and the Kross have had firmware upgrades within the last week or so so that may be another thing to consider with your Juno, is it a software bug you have and will the upgrade solve it.

Thanks again Biggles, a thorough and totally relevant response I noticed that the problem was with all of the keys but differed in the extent so I tried the approach of fast repeated use of one key and it seems to have improved quite a lot, same for several others - whether it will return after a few hours not being used I don't know, hoping it was a stiffness problem (don't mention viagra!!!). I will post again after spending a few hours trying this remedy.

My Tyros 3 is over 15Kg and has become far too heavy for gigs. It plays superbly, as it should for the price, but my back is more important. Most of my playing is with a jazz trio in pubs, wine bars etc. so sound doesn't have to be perfect, just pretty decent.

Good of a Lancashire lad to help a Yorkshire guys living on the Wirral

 

[Biggles]

Thanks again Biggles, a thorough and totally relevant response I noticed that the problem was with all of the keys but differed in the extent so I tried the approach of fast repeated use of one key and it seems to have improved quite a lot, same for several others - whether it will return after a few hours not being used I don't know, hoping it was a stiffness problem (don't mention viagra!!!). I will post again after spending a few hours trying this remedy.

My Tyros 3 is over 15Kg and has become far too heavy for gigs. It plays superbly, as it should for the price, but my back is more important. Most of my playing is with a jazz trio in pubs, wine bars etc. so sound doesn't have to be perfect, just pretty decent.

Good of a Lancashire lad to help a Yorkshire guys living on the Wirral

Not fully Lancastrian, actually I am an Anglo, Welsh, Canadian with 1 Grandparent from Yorkshire, 1 from Cheshire, 1 from Lancashire and 1 from Wales. So no wonder I am always confused.

Hope things work out for you with the Juno its a great keyboard.

 

[happyrat1]

Hi Dave,

I own a DS61 and I can categorically state that this problem does not exist on mine.

I can fully play a note from the top edge of the keyboard though I have to say that velocity suffers somewhat due to the decreased leverage of depressing the key so close to its fulcrum.

However I would suggest that your may be defective and you may want to swap it out for a working model.

Gary

 

[Dave Keen]

Not fully Lancastrian, actually I am an Anglo, Welsh, Canadian with 1 Grandparent from Yorkshire, 1 from Cheshire, 1 from Lancashire and 1 from Wales. So no wonder I am always confused.

Hope things work out for you with the Juno its a great keyboard.

Hi Dave,

I own a DS61 and I can categorically state that this problem does not exist on mine.

I can fully play a note from the top edge of the keyboard though I have to say that velocity suffers somewhat due to the decreased leverage of depressing the key so close to its fulcrum.

However I would suggest that your may be defective and you may want to swap it out for a working model.

Gary

Thanks Gary, problem eases slightly but comes back again - I have a gig tomorrow so this is going back for a swap and I'll have to get a friend to help me carry my Tyros 3 (15.3 kg is too much for my back!)

If I can't play a simple F#ACE chord without missing notes, same with run/fills etc. then the current one is useless for a jazz musician - life is full of large chords and mixed black & white keys.

Thanks again mate!

 

[Dave Keen]

Got a replacement, same problem even though they say they tested this one thoroughly! My only thought is that it is far different to play standing up ro sitiing down - the attack on the notes is much harder. So as someone who sits and plays and often play music that drop in volume this keyboard will always be unplayable I think. So, it is on its way back. Now, where is the store with the biggest selection of keyboards - I only need a good playable piano (+possibly jazz organ) with 61 keys (to fit in car) and weighing 5-6 kg so I can carry it!!!

Suggestion for store and keyboard greatfully received!!! (Liverpool, Manchester, Chester all convenient for me)

 

[Biggles]

Suggest you go off to the store and try a Korg Kross 2.

As I said before, I tested the Kross 2 and Juno DS side by side, not much difference in sounds, the Korg had the edge on everything except the menu system which takes some effort to learn.

If has more useful features for me and is considetably lighter than the Juno.

The Kross 2 is also a new design (Sept 2017) whereas the Juno is a few years old

 

[anotherscott]

Got a replacement, same problem
...
I only need a good playable piano (+possibly jazz organ) with 61 keys (to fit in car) and weighing 5-6 kg so I can carry it!!!

Suggest you go off to the store and try a Korg Kross 2.

As I said before, I tested the Kross 2 and Juno DS side by side, not much difference in sounds, the Korg had the edge on everything except the menu system

Juno DS61 and Kross 2 have the exact same problem of keys that require much more force at the back than they do at the front, making it very hard to play piano with good dynamics and expressivity, even compared to other non-hammer action boards. Best option here is probably the Yamaha MX49 or MX61. Fewer features than DS61 or Kross2, but possibly the best action and best sounds (depending on what you're looking for). Another option could be the Casio XW-P1, I've played a few of those, some had very nice actions, some weren't as good, I don't know why, but they were still more even front-to-back. Piano sound is probably weakest of the bunch, but jazz organ sound probably best (and you get full 9 drawbar organ control). It has good MIDI functionality, so if you want a better piano sound, you might be able to get it by integrating (for example) an iPhone/iPad. All of these boards can also run on batteries, except Yamaha.

As for Juno DS vs Kross 2, there are lots of differences, but I think the biggest advantages of Roland are patch remain (held/decaying sounds don't cut off when you switch to a new sound) and much better facilities for 2-way splits (you can easily change the selected sound on the fly for either side of a split, including its octave and level), while I think the biggest advantages of the Korg are the built in sequencer and the more extensive MIDI functionality for integrating external sounds.

 

[Biggles]

Dave is probably sorted by now but re reading one of his posts weight of the keyboard is a major concern so Kross 2 v DS61 should have resulted in him buying the Korg as it is substantially lighter of the two.

That was certainly the deciding factor for me as the overall dimensions of the Korg are also smaller than the Roland.

It would be interesting to know what he choose.

 

[Gwizz777]

No problem on my Juno DS 61

 

[anotherscott]

Dave was okay with 5-6 kg, so I was just thinking about the options in about that range. But sure, if two boards both meet your needs, lighter is nice! The DS61 is 5.3 kg which is within his range, but the Kross2 is 3.8 kg which is super light. The Yamaha MX49 is also just 3.8, but only 49 keys. The 61 key MX61 is 4.8, which is still pretty good. The Casio XW-P1 is 5.4 kg, and somewhat deep as well.