I need to replace a broken key, is it difficult?

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:31 pm

Hello,
I love my Kronos 88. I broke the key C below middle C Saturday night while setting up for a gig. Is it replaceable and what's my best means of getting this done? Anybody? Thanks for the help...

Aziz1008 · Post by **Aziz1008** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:10 pm

Send us a foto, may be it is repairable. Lately, I've fixed my Roland GW-7 LCD grafite cable, by warming it with hot soldering iron through a paper scotch. Otherwise most segments didn't show up. Thanks Kronos does not have such a cheap LCD.)

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:11 pm

Aziz1008 wrote:Send us a foto, may be it is repairable. Lately, I've fixed my Roland GW-7 LCD grafite cable, by warming it with hot soldering iron through a paper scotch. Otherwise most segments didn't show up. Thanks Kronos does not have such a cheap LCD.)

I'm not sure how to post a pic to this forum...I could put tape over it but would rather just replace the key entirely. I think it's probably going to be a job for a Korg Technician by the looks of things and I've found one.

voip · Post by **voip** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 6:59 pm

There are a lot of screws to take out to remove the base followed by removing several boards to get at the keybed. If you do decided to have a go, protect the vector and main joysticks from damage.

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:12 pm

voip wrote:There are a lot of screws to take out to remove the base followed by removing several boards to get at the keybed. If you do decided to have a go, protect the vector and main joysticks from damage.

Thank you. I've been inside it before having to clean up a red wine spill from some drunk chic at a gig and got that all cleaned up. It seems I've got to pull out the key bed entirely to get to that broken key? I'm intimidated some by those silvery grounding straps or whatever they are attached to the chassis by some adhesive. Knowing me I'll screw that up and it's probably important. I vacuumed out the inside which is good to do periodically anyways. I looked for the broken chunk of white key plastic but can't find it. I'll need to get that out of there too where ever it is. My guess is it's in that action somewhere.

I ordered a replacement key today from Parts Is Parts. I'll talk to a local Korg tech tomorrow and see what he thinks.

Falcon2e · Post by **Falcon2e** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:53 pm

Use caution with the VAC, it could produce a static charge to the unit.

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:58 pm

Falcon2e wrote:Use caution with the VAC, it could produce a static charge to the unit.

You raise a good point and duly noted. Thank you!

ErnstDabest · Post by **ErnstDabest** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:27 pm

Make your own scale, dunno if Kronos has this feature or not ??
You could make your own scale by transposing an unused key's tuning to match the pitch of the broken key.
This is a temporary workaround until you get the problem fixed.

lonelagranger · Post by **lonelagranger** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:29 pm

Replacing a key is not all that complex. The pros: It's a mechanical fix, like changing a tire. Cons: When making the repair don't break anything else. Take pictures. Proceed slowly and methodically. You should be fine. I replaced keys in Rolands, Yamahas and Korgs. No big deal. I always look for youtube videos. They can help a lot if available.

Bottom line: If it really freaks you out, don't do it. However, if you have an average mechanical ability then I would give it a try. You can usually tell once you start if you are in over your head.

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:55 pm

lonelagranger wrote:Replacing a key is not all that complex. The pros: It's a mechanical fix, like changing a tire. Cons: When making the repair don't break anything else. Take pictures. Proceed slowly and methodically. You should be fine. I replaced keys in Rolands, Yamahas and Korgs. No big deal. I always look for youtube videos. They can help a lot if available.

Bottom line: If it really freaks you out, don't do it. However, if you have an average mechanical ability then I would give it a try. You can usually tell once you start if you are in over your head.

This was helpful, and I'll check to see if there are any youtube videos that would talk me through it. It can't be that tough and I'd really like to know how to do it. Thank you...

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 7:19 pm

I can't speak for the Kronos, yet, but have replaced keys several times on Yamaha series synths.

Replacing the key is usually the easy bit. The hardest part is usually the disassembly to get to the keybed.

In general, if you can take things apart and get them back together without having too many bits or screws left over

then you can replace a key on a keyboard.

My guide for the key repair on the mighty SY99 is given below to give you a general idea of what might be involved (with the disclaimer that the Kronos could be completely different!

).

http://www.xfactory-librarians.co.uk/Do ... cedure.pdf

SeedyLee · Post by **SeedyLee** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 2:57 am

Pro-tip: At least on the Kronos 61, you don't need to take anything apart to replace a key. Just press down (reasonably hard) at the end of the key closest to the pivot point to push the spring down and slide it forward and out. Installation the new key is just the reverse. If it's a black key, you need to remove the two surrounding white keys first.

I'm certain that this will not be applicable to the Kronos 73 or 88, but I've replaced numerous scratched keys on my Kronos 61 using this method.

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 4:28 pm

SeedyLee wrote:Pro-tip: At least on the Kronos 61, you don't need to take anything apart to replace a key. Just press down (reasonably hard) at the end of the key closest to the pivot point to push the spring down and slide it forward and out. Installation the new key is just the reverse. If it's a black key, you need to remove the two surrounding white keys first.

I'm certain that this will not be applicable to the Kronos 73 or 88, but I've replaced numerous scratched keys on my Kronos 61 using this method.

That's worth knowing, thanks!

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:08 pm

ErnstDabest wrote:Make your own scale, dunno if Kronos has this feature or not ??
You could make your own scale by transposing an unused key's tuning to match the pitch of the broken key.
This is a temporary workaround until you get the problem fixed.

Interesting idea. So like I could tune they B key to C pitch, then tune the Bb key to play the B pitch, then the A key to play Bb...then take it the whole way down the keybed? Cool idea! I'll call it jazz! LOL

Gaston · Post by **Gaston** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:10 pm

lonelagranger wrote:Replacing a key is not all that complex. The pros: It's a mechanical fix, like changing a tire. Cons: When making the repair don't break anything else. Take pictures. Proceed slowly and methodically. You should be fine. I replaced keys in Rolands, Yamahas and Korgs. No big deal. I always look for youtube videos. They can help a lot if available.

Bottom line: If it really freaks you out, don't do it. However, if you have an average mechanical ability then I would give it a try. You can usually tell once you start if you are in over your head.

I had no luck finding any youtubes for this, but I got a great tech here who's going to do this next week. I'm hopeful he'll let me sit in, watch and learn. I'll report back how this goes and thanks for the suggestions.