Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Playing Actions - a most hackneyed subject!

And nothing changes ,. . . .

Looking into the measurements (we`ve all done this haven`t we) one gets a few surprises.

Like, the worst action (ie shortest pivot length although that isn`t everything) is ndeniably the GHS from Yamaha. And really, it ain`t bad for an entry level hammer action. Far better than on many acoustics. The Casio action has a similar length to pivot as the GHS.

Now, the GH action looked a winner. Long pivot distance, yet I don`t like it, Dunno why. GH3 feels fine, but the pivot length is no greater.

The Kawai keyboards feel good, but the RM3 with it`s offset pins has a very short pivot length. I have the photos to prove it! The Grand touch fares much better.

Both the Roland PHA 111 and PHA11 have similar wonderfully long distances. Couldn`t see the "G" anywhere, so I can`t comment.

The Korg RH3 is a winner. Feels good, and is present and correct on an entry level type piano . . .here`s a demo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy6Y7LVCEQo

So there you have it! Scientifically based evidence.

Next week I`ll deal with Finger Fatness issues . .

I was about to buy a Korg DP before deciding to invest 3.5 times the money and right away go for something high end. In the market between 500 and 1200 EUR it for me was the best action I have had my hands on, and the sound was quite usable. If the dynamics and timbre changes of sound would electronically be rendered more detailed, then, already with their present key actions, KORG could be a very strong competer in the 1000 to 1750 EUR market segment.

Well, with a 505 you can`t go far wrong! I`m working out my next piano/keyboard. And it`ll have a darned good action . .

I'm actually very interested in selling my GHS action Yamaha board and upgrading to a SMALLER board with better action.

Do you know if any exist? lol

My thoughts exactly! I`m takin` me time on this one. The Roland minimalistics (F110, 120 AND DP90) seem to have decent keyboards. Well, maybe not the F120. But the DP90 has hundreds o` other voices. . . The Kawai ES7 is highly thought of. Yamaha`s YDPS51 has the GH action, not the GHS. Korg LP 350 is a bargain basement model with a good action, but no USB connection!

Have fun!

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http://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/warranties/dp_warranty-2010.html

Kawai MP series and VPC1:
3 Years Parts and 1 Year Labor

Outrageous. What do you do if it breaks down after 1 year? Throw it away and kiss $2k goodbye.

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Most people would probably pay the $100 or so to cover the labor to get it fixed.

Well, what is the labor rate? That is the question. It could be as high as $80 for 15 minutes. Who cares about part coverage, they just cover costs through labor.

Its incredible that nobody cares about this issue. Yet, look at Korg. Lots of excitement at one time, and it has a great RH3 key action...yet it is sort of discredited because of quality problems.

Frankly, 1 year on the much anticipated VCP1 is a real bugaboo for me. Do people use software piano setups for gigging?

Labor rates are set by the company doing the service. I'm sure you can find someone who will repair a digital piano for under $320 an hour. I think $80 to $120 is a pretty typical range, which is why I said $100. That should cover an hour or portion thereof, which should cover most keyboard repairs. Though even $200 for two hours would be better than throwing out a $2k keyboard, right?