Roland A-88mk2 - clunky black keys?

[Carl Peterson]

Hi,

I just got a Roland A-88mk2 midi keyboard, which has a piano action (PHA-4 standard keyboard).

I've noticed that the black keys (some more than others) often create loud clunky noises when released, especially when repeating notes, eg. trills. It's almost like the chassis is too small, and the hammer mechanism is hitting the casing or something.

Are there other A-88mk2 owners here? It would be great if you can confirm if this is a "feature" of this particular keyboard (or keyboard action), or if I received a defective unit.

Thanks!

 

[happyrat1]

Piano Action is a hammer action keyswitch. In order to emulate the feel of an acoustic piano there is a cam mechanism under each key which can generate a bit of a thumping noise.

How much is normal varies from keyboard to keyboard and manufacturer to manufacturer and how noticeable it can be depends on a lot of factors.

Firstly it is much more noticeable when playing thru headphones or at low volumes on monitors.

Secondly it can depend on the internal quality of the felt damping strips under the keys and/or the amount of lubrication on the key mechanisms themselves. These usually can and will get noisier with time and continual use.

In a live performance situation it almost never is a problem since stage amps easily overpower the noise.

Your options here are to visit a few music stores and listen to similar actions and decide for yourself if it is bearable or not.

If this is a new board you just bought and you find it unacceptable then by all means return it under warranty and exchange it for something else.

If it is an older board then sometimes if you're brave enough you can apply more of the special plastic grease to the mechanism and/or install a fresh felt strip under the keybed, but be careful not to go too thick else you will affect the key travel when playing.

These are your options.

If you'd like, you could make a recording of the noise and post it here so others can judge for themselves the degree of the problem. Pretty hard to judge from a typical cellphone video though.

Gary

 

[delaware dave]

The TP20 Fatar action on my Equinox 88 does this as well. It is also 20 years.

Link

 

[Carl Peterson]

Thanks for the replies. I would like to upload a video of the issue, but it seems I can't attach video files here. Anyways, I'll look into it further.

 

[happyrat1]

You have to post the video on Youtube and link to it here.

The sysadmins here can't afford the bandwidth for huge attachments.

Gary

 

[Carl Peterson]

Good idea. Here is a video clip. Certain black keys have this issue, some don't. I use the keyboard in my apartment for work with Logic Pro X, and therefore it's easier to notice the noisy keys.

 

[happyrat1]

They sound pretty normal to me. Do you find them too noisy when you are actually playing or do you play at volumes loud enough to drown them out?

Gary

 

[Carl Peterson]

Here is another video of the issue:

 

[happyrat1]

The problem is I don't know what levels your phone is recording them at.

Too subjective for me to give you a straight answer.

Gary

 

[Carl Peterson]

You can listen to the white keys for comparison, but thanks for the input. Probably easier to compare for those that have a similar model (or the same keyboard action).

 

[Biggles]

For comparison, this is the action on my Yamaha P121

 

[delaware dave]

My TP20 action is twice as loud as that so I'd say that yours is normal.

 

[Carl Peterson]

Thanks for all the comments. I received a new A-88mk2, and its keys don't have this issue. So my first one was a defect unit. Good to know.

 

[Tmoe]

For comparison, this is the action on my Yamaha P121

I get the same sound on my gen pro stage piano, except mine is thumps louder. Going to try and sell it and invest in a kawai(wooden grand sound)