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Lowering MODX6 keybed

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Hello. I am planing to lower modx6 keybed a little. I done that several times on korg keyboard's but newer on yamaha. I newer open yamaha keyboard before so I do not know what's the difference in keybed concept regarding to korg keyboards. Any suggestion or advice if anyone done same thing before on modx or some other yamaha keyboard?

 
Posted : 05/06/2020 6:58 am
Bad Mister
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Any suggestion or advice if anyone done same thing before on modx or some other yamaha keyboard?

The best, and only, advice we can give is: Don’t do it!

 
Posted : 05/06/2020 1:51 pm
Jason
Posts: 7897
Illustrious Member
 

I would tend to agree with the suggestion to keep your MODX stock. Nonetheless, I am intrigued since I've heard of lowering cars - but not keybeds. Can you run through what is to be achieved by lowering keybeds? What benefit does this realize? I guess using some Korg you've done this on as a way to explain what the issue was with the keybed to begin with and how - doing whatever you did (and explaining that somewhat) - helped to alleviate the problem or improve performance.

Just trying to get at what this is about. I tried searching for something related but couldn't find anything.

 
Posted : 05/06/2020 9:30 pm
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Most Korg keybeds (at least on high-end Korgs like the Kronos) can be removed as a unit, the metal structure or frame that supports the keys is what attaches to the synth body or chassis...usually on lower-cost instruments (like the MODX6), the key support structure is molded into the lower half of the body / chassis and the keys attach directly it, so there's no way to lower the keybed...

Over the years, I've learned not to make mods that are visible from the outside of an instrument - even if the mod does what you want, it will severly impact the resale value...and no matter what you may think right now, at some point you (or somebody handling your affairs) will want or have to sell it...Bad Mister is right: don't do it...

df

 
Posted : 06/06/2020 4:10 pm
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Well, for me it's nice to have a little lower and faster keybed because of my play style in some genres of music where i need to play lot of fast ornaments in acordion or synth manner. Here in Balkan a lot of peoples do that with keybed. I don't like it to be to low but a little lower yes. I am familiar with korg's keybed mechanic (pa's, triton, kronos) but newer done that on yamaha. I saw that some peoples done it on motifs, so I would like to know does cheaper keyboards like modx or moxf has similar mechanic like premium ones (motif, montage)? Thing I want to do is to reduce that empty space without sound when releasing key by putting something on part which limit keys when they not pressed (confiner or something, i dont know English exactly hot to explain correctly) I know that if I open it I will lose warranty, but don't want to open it and see that I cant do the thing I need. Thx for answers.

 
Posted : 09/06/2020 5:41 pm
Bad Mister
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I’m not sure how I can be any clearer. We highly recommend that you don’t do it!

 
Posted : 09/06/2020 8:11 pm
Jason
Posts: 7897
Illustrious Member
 

Ok - I understand. Your goal is to limit the travel of the keys which will also limit how much dynamic range you can get (turning the keybed more into a quicker "on" and "off" keybed vs. expressive). Now I think I understand more about what this is all about.

You could always use an already modified Korg as a controller and use the Korg keybed with less travel on the keys as the MIDI master to MODX. Or otherwise do modifications on a less expensive MIDI controller.

 
Posted : 09/06/2020 11:17 pm
Posts: 799
Prominent Member
 

Ok - I understand. Your goal is to limit the travel of the keys which will also limit how much dynamic range you can get (turning the keybed more into a quicker "on" and "off" keybed vs. expressive). Now I think I understand more about what this is all about.

Limiting the travel of the keys should not limit dynamic range. Typically, there are two sensors under the key, and velocity is measured based on the time it takes to trigger the 2nd sensor compared to the first. Any additional travel below the second sensor contributes nothing to the dynamic performance of the action. As long as the travel covers the range of the two sensors, you have your dynamic range (and if it doesn't, you have nothing).

Zoran, something you might try... maybe put something like a felt strip (or perhaps a felt strip over a thin sliver of wood) along the length of the surface that runs along the front of the board, under the lips of the keys. That will shorten the travel. As long as you don't raise that surface so much that it prevents triggering the lower sensor, you'll get a shorter total travel (albeit only of the white keys). It's not exactly the same (even for the white keys), since compared to lowering the action (if such a thing were possible), you'll be removing excess travel at the bottom of the keys' travel as opposed from the top (if I understand what you did on the Korgs correctly). But it may be helpful to get closer to the playing experience you're after, without opening the board up or making any permanent modifications, and at least it's easily un-doable if the attempt is a flop.

 
Posted : 14/06/2020 5:50 pm
Jason
Posts: 7897
Illustrious Member
 

Scott - distance and effective dynamic range would be inversely proportional. The velocity calculated is the time delta between two sensors (for MODX/Montage). At worst case - the distance is zero in which case you couldn't calculate a velocity at all - only off and on. As you get the distance closer and closer - it becomes more difficult to have control over one velocity and other. I agree that there could be adjustments that would not be a worst-case (that you'd still have enough distance to also allow for velocity control that's do-able) - but that doesn't mean there's not a trade-off here.

Similar to running a race over 2 miles vs 1 inch. It's easy to tell variation of runners over longer distances. There's a range of distance where it becomes difficult (because too short) - and perhaps lots of distances between where there's enough "runway" to tell variation - but it's still a trade-off.

 
Posted : 15/06/2020 3:27 am
Posts: 799
Prominent Member
 

Scott - distance and effective dynamic range would be inversely proportional. The velocity calculated is the time delta between two sensors (for MODX/Montage). At worst case - the distance is zero in which case you couldn't calculate a velocity at all - only off and on. As you get the distance closer and closer - it becomes more difficult to have control

But physically lowering the keys does not in any way affect the distance between the sensors, which is fixed. So limiting the travel isn't really a factor here, as long as the starting point remains before the trigger point for the first sensor and the landing point is still after the trigger point for the second.

 
Posted : 15/06/2020 1:13 pm
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