Kronos LS keyboard problem - sinking keys - design problem?

kronoskarma · Post by **kronoskarma** » Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:27 pm

Has this happened on newer Kronos keyboards? Mine is the 61 key titanium edition.

Both my M3 exp and Karma keyboards have had no keyed issues and I’ve had them for years and years.

Should I be concerned?

Mike

jg:: · Post by **jg::** » Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:07 am

This issue (and this thread) is only about the LS model, and only a small number of people seem to be affected. I also own a 61, and it's a different action, no problems there. I don't think you need to be concerned.

GrandMasterKorg · Post by **GrandMasterKorg** » Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:01 pm

I would recommend to buy a Korg Kronos 88 with RH3 action. This is the best and sturdy keybed you can get!

I have a Korg Kronos X 88 from the year 2015 and never had any problem with the keybed.

It's huge and it's sturdy!!

Docflick · Post by **Docflick** » Wed Mar 17, 2021 3:36 pm

GrandMasterKorg wrote:I would recommend to buy a Korg Kronos 88 with RH3 action. This is the best and sturdy keybed you can get!

I have a Korg Kronos X 88 from the year 2015 and never had any problem with the keybed.

It's huge and it's sturdy!!

Indeed! I owned a 2 88 for three years with no issues – either with the RH3 action, which is extremely high quality, or with crashing / boot up / etc. I now own a Titanium 61, which also has a great semi-weighted keybed – very playable, even for piano.

Some have reported issues with the LS and "sinking keys." Having played it in a local music store, I found it to be lacking in resistance and spring back. I would not buy an LS for that reason; plus no AT. YMMV

DCMUSIC3 · Post by **DCMUSIC3** » Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:50 pm

I have contacted John McCubbery, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing at KORG and brought the problem to his attention.

Hopefully we will get some answers soon.

rmdrent · Post by **rmdrent** » Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:08 pm

DCMUSIC3 wrote:I have contacted John McCubbery, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing at KORG and brought the problem to his attention.

Hopefully we will get some answers soon.

Email address for this guy please.
I will follow up as well.

mcgoo · Post by **mcgoo** » Fri May 07, 2021 8:09 pm

Late to the party here... I started Googling when my 3 yr old LS started developing the same problem & lo & behold I found this thread. I'm not handy enough to fix it on my own. I'm hoping to wait until there's a hole in my schedule before taking it in for repair since my repair shop is a few hours away & I know they'll need to keep it a while. My question is, for anyone who has had the sinking keys problem, are these keys on the verge of breaking? My LS is a single keyboard live rig, so I'm worried it may be a ticking time bomb if I keep gigging with it as is. Thoughts?

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sat May 08, 2021 5:39 pm

mcgoo wrote: My question is, for anyone who has had the sinking keys problem, are these keys on the verge of breaking? My LS is a single keyboard live rig, so I'm worried it may be a ticking time bomb if I keep gigging with it as is. Thoughts?

its a $3000 keyboard , not a cheapie.

And the problem 'won't go away ' no matter what others post.

take it in for service. Repair should be free IMO

DCMUSIC3 · Post by **DCMUSIC3** » Wed May 12, 2021 10:56 pm

rmdrent wrote:
DCMUSIC3 wrote:I have contacted John McCubbery, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing at KORG and brought the problem to his attention.

Hopefully we will get some answers soon.
Email address for this guy please.
I will follow up as well.

Hi rmdrent.
Unfortunately I don't have his email address.

The Australian distributors are getting me a NEW KEYBED.

My advice would be to contact your local retailer who should then contact the local distributor.

Apparently Korg are aware of the problem.

Good luck, mate.

cheers,
DC.

DCMUSIC3 · Post by **DCMUSIC3** » Thu Jun 03, 2021 11:26 pm

Here's a video of my repair of a faulty key.

https://youtu.be/gX4EyCk3ZVc

A few weeks after making this video I received a new keybed.

More details to come.

mcgoo · Post by **mcgoo** » Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:21 am

DCMUSIC3 wrote: A few weeks after making this video I received a new keybed.

More details to come.

If Korg is covering that, I'd sure to know before I plop down $200 for the 4 keys on my LS that need to be replaced.

DCMUSIC3 · Post by **DCMUSIC3** » Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:38 am

mcgoo wrote:
DCMUSIC3 wrote: A few weeks after making this video I received a new keybed.

More details to come.
If Korg is covering that, I'd sure to know before I plop down $200 for the 4 keys on my LS that need to be replaced.

My advice would be to contact the dealer that sold you the unit. They should notify the local distributor to organise a new keybed for you.

The design of the key springs has been modified.

Good luck, mate.

mcgoo · Post by **mcgoo** » Fri Jun 04, 2021 12:10 pm

DCMUSIC3 wrote:
My advice would be to contact the dealer that sold you the unit. They should notify the local distributor to organise a new keybed for you.

The design of the key springs has been modified.

Good luck, mate.

PM sent.

DCMUSIC3 · Post by **DCMUSIC3** » Fri Jun 04, 2021 11:20 pm

The new keybed.

<a href="https://www.imagevenue.com/ME13GF2M" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn-thumbs.imagevenue.com/15/57 ... GF2M_t.jpg" alt="new Kronos keybed EDIT 2.jpg"></a>

The old key spring.

<a href="https://www.imagevenue.com/ME13GF2O" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn-thumbs.imagevenue.com/f5/79 ... GF2O_t.jpg" alt="Spring original text.jpg"></a>

The redesigned spring.

<a href="https://www.imagevenue.com/ME13GF2P" target="_blank"><img src="https://cdn-thumbs.imagevenue.com/0b/5a ... GF2P_t.jpg" alt="Spring new design text.jpg"></a>

The sharp edge of the spring has been smoothed out.

Let's hope this new design fixes the issue.

geoelectro · Post by **geoelectro** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 1:12 pm

This is a similar spring used in the older "Hammer Action" by Yamaha prior to 1998. One end of the spring pushes against the key frame while the other end pushes against the key. The motion of the key causes friction where the spring meets the key and begins to wear the plastic of the key. As it wears, the total gap the spring sits in expands causing the spring to lose tension. In this case, it took years for this wear to become evident.

Repairs required replacing the key (which are no longer available)

The replacement keybed called the Graded Hammer Effect has been a great replacement with a much better feel and no key/spring wear.

A good action design would depend more on gravity than springs. The key weights are usually down. Pressing the key raises the weight and gravity pulls it back down. A spring can be used to make this action a little more snappy but without the high tensions that cause wear.

Geo