OASYS 88 - Keys sound as if they are breaking after 2 months

[lcmorley]

Does anybody else have issues where keys sound as if there are springs twanging when being played?

It started with one key, but now it appears to be happening to more and more keys. Not sure this should be happening on a £5000+ keyboard.

My O has been sitting in the same place for 2 months. No movement or gigging at all.

Anyone from Korg able to shed any light?

[Kevin Nolan]

This has happened to many (if not all) O88's. It's an annoyance, but that's it. It oes not get worse and does not affect the action, as far as I know (or can tell from my O88). There have been several posts over the years about it where like you new users hear the springs after a while, but so far nobody has come back to say that it's worse or affects their playing.

Normally, something like this drives me nuts - but I have totally learnt to accept it and now don’t even notice it. If you think of the mechanical noise of a piano, clarinet or oboe for example, players of those instruments just accept it and get on with it. So I think you're going to have to just do the same - but at least you can be confident that, three years down the line for my OASYS for example - its action feels as fresh as the day I bought it. Think of it as a ‘feature’!

Kevin.

[danatkorg]

Does anybody else have issues where keys sound as if there are springs twanging when being played?

It started with one key, but now it appears to be happening to more and more keys. Not sure this should be happening on a £5000+ keyboard.

My O has been sitting in the same place for 2 months. No movement or gigging at all.

Anyone from Korg able to shed any light?

Contrary to the previous post, I don't necessarily think that this is normal. Have you talked to Korg UK's technical support? (See my signature for contact information.)

- Dan

[Kevin Nolan]

Does anybody else have issues where keys sound as if there are springs twanging when being played?

It started with one key, but now it appears to be happening to more and more keys. Not sure this should be happening on a £5000+ keyboard.

My O has been sitting in the same place for 2 months. No movement or gigging at all.

Anyone from Korg able to shed any light?

Contrary to the previous post, I don't necessarily think that this is normal. Have you talked to Korg UK's technical support? (See my signature for contact information.)

- Dan

Well - the following threads discussed the subject before; suggestingt that the problem is not uncommon.

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... ht=springs

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... gs&start=0

But I have to say Dan - since no comment was forthcoming on those from Korg and now you are saying the problem is not the norm; then you have me very worried.


What are you saying here? Are you saying there is an actually acute problem with O88 keyboard action in particular scenarios (not the fault of the user but intrinsic to the O88 under certain (but not all) conditions, for example?) And why would Korg UK in particular know the solution - can you or Korg R&D not shed some light on it?

As you can see from the threads pointed to, its the same problem encountered by all concerned. And - it occurs well within a year of purchase - hence if an actual _problem_ per say, needs a fix, surely covered by warranty? I think, given your last post, that you need to say somthing more concrete. You have certainly suddenly given me _great_ cause for concern - if this is not natural wear and tear as I suggested, then it has to be a real problem and therefore a flaw with the O88 keybed. At least, should O88 users now be concerned for the long term?

Kevin.

[danatkorg]

Please remain calm.

What I am saying is that I would not expect the behavior described to be normal, and that, as always, the first first recourse should be to contact the product support department of your Korg distributor. I suggested Korg UK since the poster noted a price in pounds sterling, which strongly implies that they are in the UK.

Best regards,

Dan

[markuk]

Korg repaired mine about 4 weeks ago, under warranty. I had this problem from day one. Thank you Korg.
They greased all the keys and now its perfect. no spring noises. I really dont know how anyone could pay over £5000 for a keyboard and not be bothered about the noise of springs in the keys. Its very distracting.
Why would you bother buying any of the karo grand pianos if your satisfied with a keybed that has noisy springs.
I wouldnt say this is just a feature because its not all of the keys, Its only a few. If it was a feature then every key would make this sound.
If you can hear the springs in some of the keys its a fault not a feature.

[lcmorley]

Does anybody else have issues where keys sound as if there are springs twanging when being played?

It started with one key, but now it appears to be happening to more and more keys. Not sure this should be happening on a £5000+ keyboard.

My O has been sitting in the same place for 2 months. No movement or gigging at all.

Anyone from Korg able to shed any light?

Contrary to the previous post, I don't necessarily think that this is normal. Have you talked to Korg UK's technical support? (See my signature for contact information.)

- Dan

Thanks Dan for your quick response.

I will contact Korg today. That said however, I am not too sure I can be without my O for an extended period of time.

I have seen posts about this issue before, but could not find them within the forum for some reason. Just wanted to see if there was a response from Korg support about it.

markuk, how long did it take to get yours repaired?

[sirCombatWombat]

I for one do not have this problem.

I remember one thread suggesting that the surface your OASYS resides on could have an effect. Pleas try to locate your OASYS on a sturdy even surface and see if it helps.

[Kevin Nolan]

Dan -

I think the point that needs to be clarified is - it this a flawed keybed? I had recommended to several people over the years to live with it because there seemed to be no choice on the matter. But you yourself have refuted this; and have indicated here that it's _perhaps_ not normal. Korg have, despite fixing one person's keyboard, remained silent on the issue. Software bugs have been identified, acknowledged and repaired; the question begs - is this a known problem with the keyboard to Korg?

If flawed, it surely needs to be characterised fully by Korg and a recall strategy put in place. Hence its not a user by user resolution needed with national korg distributers, but an issue pertaining to Korg worldside, surely? As in - its potentially an OASYS issues, not a user issue on individual units.

OASYS has become an important tool to many of us, and we respectfully need to know that its most basic component will (or will not) last in the long run.

I for one can live with the noise - its just not that dominating on mine. However - the real question is we talking about an issue that, if not treated, will lead to keyboard action failure more rapidly that would otherwise be expected? I suggest that addressing the issue and offering a general solution to all O88 users, is now a major priority by Korg.

If they can offer assurance that the keyboard will not fail, that may at least ease concerns. But I think it’s reasonable to suggest that this now needs to be addressed by Korg, given indicatations here that it’s not normal.


Kevin.

[lcmorley]

I for one do not have this problem.

I remember one thread suggesting that the surface your OASYS resides on could have an effect. Pleas try to locate your OASYS on a sturdy even surface and see if it helps.

My O just sits on a standard double braced X stand. So that should be ok I would have thought.

[kenackr]

IC,

If you play in a seated position, the "X" braces may be too far apart for the best support. Even if you put a wooden board on top of the braces the board may also sag.

This has been posted about before.

I use a "Z" stand that can be expanded or contracted width wise so that equal portions have equal support and no sag. I can't honestly tell you if that's the answer to the problem, but I've had no probelms with my O.

Ken

[Zzzins]

I too have a Z stand and have three or four squeaky keys. I tried seating it totally flat on a table for a week and it made no difference.

If it is possible to remove this key noise with a service (or as a previous poster mentioned a "greasing" of the springs) is it not possible for Korg to offer advice on how to carry out a basic service on this "fault" for those of us who either can't be without their O88 for an extended period or who's unit is out of warranty. This is surely prefferable to a recall (which will never happen) or unhappy customers.

I too assumed this was just a "bug" on an otherwise wonderful instrument and have learned to live with the squeak - but if it IS fixable I'd be the first in line.

[Daz]

I for one do not have this problem.

I remember one thread suggesting that the surface your OASYS resides on could have an effect. Pleas try to locate your OASYS on a sturdy even surface and see if it helps.

I have an Oasys 76 sat on a QuickLok WS-550, and occasionally when playing the keyboard I will hear what sounds like spring noises but actually just seems to be the case of the instrument vibrating. If I shift the Oasys back to the optimal place on the stand the noise goes.

Daz.

[Kevin Nolan]

I for one do not have this problem.

I remember one thread suggesting that the surface your OASYS resides on could have an effect. Pleas try to locate your OASYS on a sturdy even surface and see if it helps.

I have an Oasys 76 sat on a QuickLok WS-550, and occasionally when playing the keyboard I will hear what sounds like spring noises but actually just seems to be the case of the instrument vibrating. If I shift the Oasys back to the optimal place on the stand the noise goes.

Daz.

This has nothing to do with the currently addressed issue. We're talking about individual spring sounds form individual keys. I'd be reasonably confident is has nothing to do with the stand. My O88 rests on a stand with support form left to right and front to back. Indeed, on the Prophet T8, it cannot reside on an X frame without other support as the frame of the synth warps in the middle and causes keyboard action problems.

But this is not the case here. On my OASYS, numerous keys make the springy sound, but they are not all located at the centre of the keyboard, as would be expected if using an X-Frame stand.

Instead, this is clearly a design issue within the keyboard action. It has also clearly been raised on this forum when ALL O88s were within their warranty. Hence I can see no other conclusion than for Korg to robustly address the issue - whether that means clarifying that it is not actually a problem and does not affect the actual action or aging of the instrument; or whether it's a design flaw requiring resolution, whether by recall, or for example an offer to provide new keybeds to existing O88 users.

I for one am very forgiving on software shortcomings / upgrades etc. etc; but make no bones about it - I spent the hard earned money specifically on an O88 for its keyboard. I see that as basic and fundamental - and IF there an identified problem it needs addressing from source.

Kevin.

[danatkorg]

Kevin,

The posts to this thread imply that this is not the expected behavior for the keyboard action, and as markuk notes, apparently can be easily addressed if it occurs. As always, if you have concerns or questions about Korg gear, especially related to service, you should contact the support department of your national Korg distributor (see the contact info in my signature). While various Korg employees participate in this forum from time to time, as their schedules permit, it is not an official path for product support.

- Dan