Does the last RH3 key sit about 1/8" lower than the res

[orpheus2006]

RH3 is designed in italy by fatar

I don't think so. RH3 is Korg's own key action.

[Dave Ferris]

RH3 is designed in italy by fatar

I don't think so. RH3 is Korg's own key action.

The way it was explained to me by someone who has been in the Acoustic piano biz for along time, but also has been selling Digital pianos since the early '90s, is ---The RH3 keybed action was originally designed and used by Technics in their DPs.
Technics went out of business a few years ago, Korg bought the rights and has been using these keybeds pretty much *as they were*. Now according to some threads here, it appears there have been some minor tweaks on the Kronos RH3; to what extent I have no idea.

I also have no idea where the RH3s are manufactured. Again, not to belabor the point, but if Korg would simply come up to the level of a $900 Yamaha P155---I don't think that's asking too much.

[jorgemncardoso]

Yep it's really a step up for korg, going from keybeds manufactured by yamaha, a piano manufacturer, to keybeds made by Technics... really......

I'm not even going to get into the weighted actions here, just trying the new semi-weighted keys on the M3 (same as in Kronos 61) says it all, looking at the pictures of the kronos 61 keybed assembly says even more.

I've gained some experience on servicing yamaha's FS action keybeds on my korg's and for me not only the action is by far better but also the whole mechanical system of the keys and key contacts, the sturdiness of the whole frame, etc...

That keybed is indestructible, yes it's not perfect, keys can get sticky, and other stuff, but it's still the best ever made to me. Even yamaha's new FSX action is better to me than the new korg's.

Why korg did not continue to buy keybed's from yamaha after the new FSX came out is beyond me...

[madbeatzyo111]

It is a shame that some of the best piano and EP sounds available are mated to one of the less impressive actions out there.

It's two completely different things to ctiticize a malfunctioning key (and even more justified, if such "hanging" keys occur on several 88 keyboards), or to slander the RH3 key action in general due to nothing but personal preferences.

I think Bruce tried to put it as kindly as possible. RH3 is not among the best hammer actions available, but it's definitely playable. When I was shopping for my M3 I went to GC to try out the 88 and found the inconsistent key spacing and height a bit off-putting. Maybe it was because it was a demo unit, but I'd never seen this before on a Roland or Yamaha. It's the reason I went with the M3M ultimately.

To put things in perspective though, I have played acoustic spinets, consoles and uprights with much much worse action

[rrricky rrrecordo]

A little story FWIW: I've owned a Yamaha P-200 stage piano (released in 1998) for over ten years. Years ago, I'd heard of people having issues with keys leaning over and sticking on their P-200s. Yamaha replaced - and continued to replace - these faulty keybeds at no cost, even years after people's warranties had expired.

In the last year or so, I've noticed that some keys are beginning to stick in the top two octaves on my P-200. After reading this thread, I thought I'd give Yamaha Canada a call, and ask if they were still replacing keyboards on P-200s. The receptionist connected me with service, and I asked the nice woman who took my call the question. Guess what... they still are. The new keybed itself will be provided at no charge, and I have to pay the labour charges. She went farther, asking me where I lived so she could have the keybed shipped to the closest authorized Yamaha repair center.

Yamaha is willing to acknowledge and address a known issue with a keybed 13 years after the product was first introduced. That's commitment to customer satisfaction.

I hope that Korg steps up to the plate and addresses your RH3 keyboard issues for you guys.

[Dave Ferris]

I bought the Yamaha P120 when it first came out around 2001. Used it on hundreds of gigs in almost 9 years. Worked like a champ. I too started getting sticking keys around the end of 2009. Contacted Yamaha, gave them my serial # and yes I was eligible for a brand new keybed.
It cost me $75 for the tech to install it.

The only issue in almost 10 years of use. $75 on a $1000 DP, that I probably made close to 150K with over that time. Last year I sold it to a Trumpet player friend to compose on for $500....I think I got my moneys' worth.

[rrricky rrrecordo]

Ya, I figure labour should come in under 100 bucks. Well worth it to keep the ol' workhorse out in the field... She's still my best girl when I need to rip up a fistful of keys with the rockabilly types

[McHale]

I haven't called KorgUSA yet. I plan on it before doing anything since I also need to get on the list for the new jog dial (which has popped out several times on it's own already). I have an authorized Korg Service center fairly close to where I work and they'd probably let me hang out while they repair it, but I'm hoping to get through to a tech and have him explain what it COULD be. I'm certain that there's NOTHING that needs to be replaced in the keybed, I'm sure of that. It's going to be some adjustment or rearranging of some sort.

[jimknopf]

Jog dial and fan are the two Kronos hardware quality weak spots from my view.

But as I said, I have no issues with the keybed at all, and the keyboard action comes quite close to what I like.
The Kronos concept as a whole is simply the by far(!) best synth/workstation concept I have ever used or know of.

[Hal2001]

That last key is not acceptable and IMO needs to be fixed. One thing I noticed on my keybed is that the spaces between the keys is not even. Particularly: on my 88, all the BC and DE spaces are larger and all the CD and EF spaces are smaller. I would, of course, prefer a perfectly spaced keybed because it would suggest more quality IMO. Compared with my previous Fantom X8 keybed, the Fantom had perfectly spaced keys and, importantly, had a solid structural block to the left of the lowest key and to the right of the highest key, at the same exact height as the keys that protected those keys from damage on the side. The other day, my shirt got caught on the K high C key and could have ripped it off if I had exerted more pressure on it. Luckily I felt the tug immediately and stopped in my tracks. I mention this to caution all of you to be careful with the two end keys because they are exposed on the side with no protection and could be knocked off if you're not careful in transport, or if someone brushes by and catches on the key. Bottom line, I love my Kronos so much I'm willing to ignore the cosmetic key spacing issue because the instrument is so outstanding in performance and plays beautifully. However, if the "RH3" last key looked like the McHale photo, I would get it fixed and I wouldn't tinker with it myself for fear of voiding the warranty.

[Mystic38]

I am sure your view would be completely different if you had a keybed that looked like that of McHale..

And, while the RH3 play/feel may be adequate for general use, or in fact a good compromise for synth/organ/piano in playability.. it (the RH3 action) is leagues away from the RD and CP series in terms of feel and expressiveness for a weighted "piano style" keybed.. I walked away from the SV1 entirely due to the action.

Jog dial and fan are the two Kronos hardware quality weak spots from my view.

But as I said, I have no issues with the keybed at all, and the keyboard action comes quite close to what I like.
The Kronos concept as a whole is simply the by far(!) best synth/workstation concept I have ever used or know of.

[jimknopf]

And I am sure, that I already stated above that issues have to be adressed - and that counts for any keyboard, wherever they occur, no matter who built them. Of course McHales keybed has to be replaced or fixed (if that is possible), and it is definitely annyoing to run into such a problem.

Concerning the overall use, I prefer going on speaking for myself and repeating, that my Kronos 73 action is quite exactly what I want for the workstation purpose, and that I would prefer the mentioned stagepiano keybeds rather for stagepianos, not for workstations and not for my Kronos.

I tested them all before buying the Kronos, and the only other keybed I liked for overall sound use was that of the Nord Stage 2, NOT the Yamahas and Rolands mentioned.

You can have your own preferences, but that won't change mine.
And (apart from repair issues which should be avoided as much as possible by any company's quality management from our common view) I will oppose generalising views, stating that the RH3 keybed action was inferior for it's proper purpose in a weighted Kronos - simply because I can not confirm that view from my experience.

[SamplleS]

I don't know why I never noticed it before, but I noticed yesterday that the last key on my K88 sits about 1/8" lower than the rest. I've looked at other pics and think I've seen it elsewhere. Anyone else with this issue? It's driving me nuts!

I have exactly the same problem.