I was bad today... :)

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:49 am

Curious how difficult it is too fix a broken key? Simple. 5 screws hold the entire keybed in place (2 on each side and 1 in the middle). 3 screws on top of each octave. Better get used to this pic. If you gliss AT ALL, you'll be snapping them like toothpicks when they start to age.

All the rest of the pics are for one purpose. Enjoy:

more coming soon. Need a couple things to finish.

-Mc

kikedeolivos · Post by **kikedeolivos** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:03 pm

Hi,

Quick question since you opened up the M50: are there springs for the keys action or just plastic contacts like those on the X50?

Thank you.

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:15 pm

the M50 has ZERO springs in it. It's all plastic. That's why I took the picture of the side profile of the keybed so people can see how tough it will be to replace a key, how the action works, how it's connected, etc.

Those keys are fairly flexible now. Once they harden, I'm afraid that they will snap if you are a hard player. China isn't known for long lasting stuff.

-Mc

kikedeolivos · Post by **kikedeolivos** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:29 am

Funny thing people were ditching the X50 because of the lack of springs under the keys...

dfahrner · Post by **dfahrner** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:19 pm

No springs - that seems to be a trend in low-end keyboards these days...I really like the keybed on the Yamaha NP-30 Portable Grand, unweighted but very playable in piano style, but was surprised to see no springs when I opened it up...I was thinking about installing the NP-30 keybed in another instrument (for the feel and for the much lighter weight) but decided against it because I wasn't sure how long the flexible plastic keys would last (and since the NP-30 is a "home" keyboard, this clearly wasn't a design criteria)...it sounds like people had the same concerns with the X50, or did they actually have problems with it?

It seems like it would be possible to produce a reliable, lightweight keybed with a piano-type feel, using some other technology to provide key resistance...there would be a market among us older pro and semi-pro musicians for a lighter, higher-end 76-key instrument that had such a keybed...

df

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:33 pm

The keybed seems to be the only weakness I have with the M50. But I like playing it to be honest. And if I was certain the keys wouldn't break on me, I'd have NO problem with it. I just hate thinking how all that's standing between me and broken keys is about 1/16" of plastic. I'm way too hard on 'em for those to last long. My Triton keybed has held up over 10 years but that wasn't a "cheap" keybed.

Only time will tell... So far so good though.

-Mc

boogieman · Post by **boogieman** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 2:14 am

Did you place the power adapter inside the keyboard? If so, did you have to drill a hole for the power cord to come out? Needless to say, I'd have to think twice about this, as I'm sure it voids the warranty. But the little round socket for the power plug is SOOO flimsy...

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 3:44 am

Actually, I'm cutting out a LARGE hole to mount an IEC socket to the outside of the case so I can just plug a standard cable to the back. Funny thing is, it's EXACTLY how Korg did it on the M3. Since the back of the case is metal, I'm trying to decide the cleanest way to do that.

When this is done, there'll be enough pictures to see exactly how everything was done. I have everything figured out except how to cut that IEC socket hole and how to securely mount the power supply without drilling holes through the top of the case.

I'm POSITIVE this voids the warranty. If you don't gig much, I wouldn't worry about it. But the thought of leaving the power supply at home on accident scares me.

-Mc

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 5:02 am

I wonder if the keybed is so easy to remove and reinstall, a manufacturer might offer a springed or maybe even a full weighted hammer action upgrade to 61s and 73s.

Do anyone knows if the keybed on the 88 is the same design. I mean, no springs and just plastic hinges?

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:07 am

the M50-88 is a whole different animal. It uses the M3 keybed which ISN'T cheap in any way and it's manufactured in Japan where the 61 and 73 are made in China. I also don't see the keybed alone being profitable and it would cost the consumer QUITE a bit of money if such an upgrade even existed.

The M50 synth action keys aren't bad to play, I just don't know if they can last very long. That's my only concern. Sure, they're not spring action (which makes the top of the keys immovable), but they aren't that bad and certainly better than many other synths that cost more.

Now if Korg sold replacement keys on the cheap, I'm good all the way around. They are certainly easy enough to replace...

-Mc

Critica1 · Post by **Critica1** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 8:35 am

i find that playing my M50 is more enjoyable than whining about it's "defects"...how strange

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:32 am

Critica1 wrote:i find that playing my M50 is more enjoyable than whining about it's "defects"...how strange

ahhhhh newbies. Almost begging to get flamed. Welcome to the internet Critica1. You should have mom or dad sit with you for a while.

Until then, please be quiet. Grown ups are talking...

-Mc

p.s The term for what you just did is called "trolling." It's also not considered humorous or welcome.

klarnet basowy · Post by **klarnet basowy** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:13 am

Do you think it is possible to change the keybed to a new one, for example, the Fatar TP/8s?

Andrew

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:12 pm

Nope. There'd be so much retrofitting to the M50 it would make more sense to pull all the guts out of the M50 and make it a module so you could use any keybed you wanted - and that'd be insane. Might as well buy the M3-M at that point.

-Mc

klarnet basowy · Post by **klarnet basowy** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:35 pm

Yes, it was only a "fantasy". But, really, the keybed is the only true wrong thing in this keyboard. I can't "feel" the machine under my fingers, compared to my previous N5ex and TR61 (not to mention the M3 keybed I also had, of course, which is on another planet).