Grand Felt Issues (not the program, the felt!)

[jimmyjam]

Hi all - I can't seem to find anyone online anywhere who has had a problem with the felt in the Grand keybed - hard to imagine I'm the only one! But I've had a couple keys sticking, and it turns out they were actually embedding in the felt that the hammer strikes! I fixed the first one (middle C) by snipping a bit off the end and gluing it in the gap. But now that it's more than a couple, I ordered a replacement felt from synth-parts, which just arrived. But before tackling it, I wanted to see if anyone has had this issue and/or done something about it so I can avoid messing things up.

I also had to replace the contact board due to electronic issues - the strike velocity, I think it's called. So I'm feeling like I must have gotten a red lemon. When everything's working, I still love it.

Grateful for any response - James

[Beemer2]

Are you referring to the long strips above and below the edge of the keys?

[jimmyjam]

Yes! Here's a picture - it's kind of hard to tell, but the hammer is actually embedded in the felt, which translates to a stuck key. As I said, now it's happening to others, so I thought I'd replace the whole strip - though I guess that's no guarantee it won't happen again. I don't think I have an inordinately powerful playing style, but even so, this seems odd. Any thoughts?

[pterm]

Do the sticking hammers contain any burrs or roughness that makes them more likely to snag the felt material and not return properly? If yes, some filing or sanding might improve the behaviour.

[jimmyjam]

Thank you for the suggestion - I'll be cracking it open soon and I'll check that first thing.

[jimmyjam]

So I finally had a chance to get at it; I don't see any difference among any of the hammers in terms of roughness or sharper edges. It can't be a coincidence that it's happened on keys that get played a lot - middle C, the F and A above it, and C6; but that still doesn't explain why other keys that are played just as often aren't affected.

I'm going to replace the whole felt strip with the new one I ordered for now and see what happens. It's pretty much identical - same width/depth, but only two layers of felt rather than the three in the original. I'll report on whether that makes a difference.

The only other thing I can think of to try is swapping some hammers - it looks like all the white-key hammers are the same (they all have W3 on the side), but I haven't looked into taking the action apart, and am not keen to!

In the meantime, I'd welcome and be grateful for any thoughts - including just whether you've ever seen or heard of this before. Many thanks.

[vojtech-h]

I wonder if the movement of the hammers somewhere in the lever mechanism or on the pin is dampened by e.g. viscous grease and whether the problem keys are missing damping.

Would it be possible for you to compare the dynamics of the movement of the hammers (flawless and problem ones), e.g. when they return to their starting position by gravity (perhaps by slowing down the appropriate tilting of the whole keyboard)?

Vojtech

[jimmyjam]

Thank you, Vojtech - you mean that perhaps they're striking the felt with more force because somewhere in the mechanism they're not getting dampened as much as the other keys? I did check for evenness in the sound and feel, and I can't tell a difference until they get stuck in the felt. I don't know if that eliminates the cause you suggest from consideration...maybe it just needs a general servicing/cleaning like a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer eventually did. But that's tough when it's your only keyboard and you're gigging!

I'll give an update after I replace the felt, but of course any other suggestions are welcome! JJ

[jimmyjam]

I replaced the felt - it's one of the simpler operations (after dealing with the dozens of screws just to get into the keyboard...), and it seems to be the exact same amount of dampening as the other - I can't tell a difference in feel (which is good). I've had a rehearsal and a gig with it, and no problems yet - but if they're going to show up it won't be for a bit. Hoping for the best, and grateful for the suggestions.

[alancgraceav]

Hi there, we are having this same issue. Do you have a link of the replacement felt you purchased?