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Issues with Balanced Hammer Action keybed on Montage 8

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 Alan
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New Member
Topic starter
 

I searched the forum and didn't see anyone else reporting this issue. I have a Montage 8 that was manufactured in September 2016. I bought it new, and it has played great up until recently. I have had issues with some of the keys sticking. If you apply any slight amount of lateral force to the left while pressing down on the key it does not go down smoothly. It's met with significant resistance which obviously affects my playing. This also means that slides from high notes to low notes will get hung up on these keys.

Now, I know it's normal that with a lot of use, all keyboards will need some service eventually, but I wanted some additional input from the community to see if maybe I'm just an outlier. For reference, I play the Montage almost daily, and at least for an hour at minimum.

As an interesting side note, I also noticed something else that is more an issue of Psychoacoustics. I was under the impression that from time to time, I could sense that the keys near the middle register were no longer as light and easy to play as the less frequently used highest register keys. They felt muddy by comparison. Then, a thought occurred to me. I turned the volume all the way to zero and performed the same experiment. I found that with no sound, all of the keys felt equally balanced (with exception to the stiff keys I mentioned earlier). So, it seems like I've been conditioned from playing piano on other instruments that the keys on the high end are supposed to feel lighter, so when I physically see myself play those keys and hear the associated higher pitch notes; the keys "feel" lighter even though they are balanced with the same weight as the middle keys. So, evidently the sound of the sample and response to your playing will affect how you physically perceive the feel of the keybed. That should be obvious given the velocity curve settings and whatnot, but it still came as a bit of a surprise.

 
Posted : 01/02/2019 6:50 pm
Bad Mister
Posts: 0
 

A sticking key is likely a broken key, and should be serviced by an authorized Service Center. You should be able to find one through your regional Yamaha.com website.

 
Posted : 02/02/2019 12:31 am
 Alan
Posts: 0
New Member
Topic starter
 

Well, that could be a problem. There were two listed. One was listed as a drafting/graphic arts company and had its business license go inactive and out of business in 2016. The other is operating out of a house in a shady part of town, has a website that looks like it was designed in 1997, and some very alarming customer reviews.

 
Posted : 02/02/2019 4:53 pm
Bad Mister
Posts: 0
 

Well, definitely aim higher than that!

Pick up the telephone, call your regional Yamaha Office and ask to speak with someone who can assist you with your best options for your location. Phone number is listed in the back of your Owner’s Manual.

Let us know.

 
Posted : 02/02/2019 5:42 pm
Posts: 0
New Member
 

My relatively new Montage 8 has also developed an E1 sticking key. It intermittently does not return to the up position. Can work perfect for a period of time and then suddenly the touch sensitivity changes and the return mechanism fails. Frustrating to say the least. Thought maybe there was some cat hair or debris causing this so carefully vacuumed the key bed and used electronic duster (compressed air) to lightly remove dust from the controllers and pads. No luck. Will likely have to send this to a repair facility which means either shipping or a 3 hour drive.

 
Posted : 22/12/2019 3:22 pm
Bad Mister
Posts: 0
 

A sticking key is likely a broken key, and should be serviced by an authorized Service Center.

 
Posted : 26/12/2019 4:23 pm
 Jan
Posts: 0
Eminent Member
 

I had the same problem a while ago: it was a broken key.
Perfectly replaced by Yamaha Germany under warranty..

 
Posted : 29/12/2019 2:22 pm
Posts: 0
New Member
 

A sticking key is likely a broken key, and should be serviced by an authorized Service Center.

Unsuccessful at acquiring a part number for the E key that is sticking. Used Yamaha24x7.com. No listing for the part. Called Yamaha and they want me to ship the keyboard to them for repair (from ND to CA). Not an option and my closest authorized repair facility is a days drive from my local. I understand that I will void the warranty but I will be replacing the key myself. Are these the same keys used on the Motif XF series?

 
Posted : 23/01/2020 10:04 pm
Posts: 0
New Member
 

Leyendo veo que no soy el único con estos problemas, soy usuario de Yamaja S90XS, y es claro que todos los teclados de este tipo Balanced Hammer Effect Keyboard, tienen este defecto...he tocado 3 motif aparte de mi s90xs y todos se les pegan las teclas, ojalá hagan algún tipo de recoil o campaña para corregir esto en los teclados de los usuarios a nivel mundial

 
Posted : 23/08/2020 5:50 am
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