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Noisy Keys

Postby Unclebyron » 26 Aug 2011, 17:06

Hello. I’m new to the Forums so I apologize if this issue has been discussed in the past.

I just received my new Nord Piano 88 and although I like the sounds, I do not like the keybed. It is very noisy and distracting. There is a loud thump when the key is pressed down and another thump when it is released. I realize that all keyboards have key noise but this seems excessive. One of the other Forum members shared a post regarding a few keys that were noisy but I’m talking about all 88.

I can even hear it when I have headphones on and especially when playing a delicate sounding instrument like the harpsichord. I’ve turned off the instrument and compared the keybed noise with a Roland RD700NX and a Yamaha S90SX. Both instruments are much quieter.

Is there something wrong with my instrument or is this the way it was made?

I would think that Nord would build their instruments with a quality keybed the way Roland and Yamaha do.

By the way, thanks for this wonderful site.
Last edited by Unclebyron on 31 Jul 2012, 12:25, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby snerkler » 26 Aug 2011, 21:12

The keyboard is noisier than some, but I can't hear mine when I'm playing, let alone playing with headphones on. Can you try another to compare it to?
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby Unclebyron » 27 Aug 2011, 00:12

Yes. I will try to compare to one in a store.
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby Ecaroh » 05 Sep 2011, 09:28

I can see that there are always new customers experiencing noisiness of their new Clavia keyboard. This is probably something they didn't hear at the music shop, which was probably noisy itself.

I know this because it happened to me when I first (now years ago) brought Nord Stage to home for testing. At that time I could not stand the noisiness and I returned it and did not buy it only because of the noisiness.

After that I have had Nord Stage Compact then Electro 3 and at the moment I have Nord Piano and Nord Stage 2 (76). So I have accepted the noisiness: there are so many good qualities so I decided to tolerate this unfortunate feature. ALL of my Nords are/were noisy; some more than others. ALL them make very audible noise if you just slightly press key and then release it up. This is something you don't have with other manufacturers in same price range. And like others have pointed out, noisiness is most annoying when you are at home and try to play with low volume. So definitely Nord isn't the best keyboard for home players. On the other hand, you don't notice this at all when you're on stage.

All I am saying here is that noisiness is unique "character" of Clavia keyboards. In most cases there isn't anything broken or malfunctioning. And of course Clavia must be aware of it - they have probably tried to fix it but it must be something that cannot easily be fixed.

This critic been said, I must say I have started to like Clavia's keyboard and its key action. It's kind of hybrid of grand and Rhodes type and it's fun to play and fast (faster than Roland RD700GX pha II for example). Still I'd like to see the day when they can give us less noisy keyboards with same type of touch.
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby Cee » 05 Sep 2011, 12:21

My keys are still noisy. At least some of them still are.

There are a couple of high keys that have lost the high-pitched squeak, but that's just because I've been playing them. Some of my lower keys still have them.
Of course you only spot this when not amplified, or don't have headphones on. Which doesn't really bother me at all...

The only thing I'm afraid of is keys breaking down on me again, like it happened to my first NP!

Other than that I don't mind it at all.
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby shark » 05 Sep 2011, 13:53

JacksonP wrote:
they have probably tried to fix it but it must be something that cannot easily be fixed.



Well, if this were true then all keys would be noisy. On my Electro 3 it's just the E3 that makes a spring noise all other keys are fine. It is just faulty/sloppy quality control pure and simple and really needs to be addressed by Nord if they want to compete with the top names out there.
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby Ecaroh » 05 Sep 2011, 15:32

@Ilprincipe: I was more talking about Nord Pianos and Stage's hammer action keyboard which has its typical general noisy character. Electro 3's and Stage Compact's waterfall keyboard is a another story. IMO Waterfall has this general noisiness plus "key related extra noises". Mine had same like yours: some keys made a spring noise. At that time I contacted to Clavia and they said to wait to springs adapt themselves (they loosened or something). And if I remember right, it happened: spring noises decreased little by little.

Anyway obviously there's too much noise because here and there people hear it (more or less). I can hardly think how much Clavia gets reclamation about it. Many of us having longer history with Nords just accept it (at least this general type) and in fact our ears and brains ignore it too. In other words it's there but I don't anymore pay attention to it. But I can imagine that a player who just moved to Nord from Roland or Yamaha gets crazy about it... I am not saying that we should accept it. As said earlier, I hope Clavia can find a way to fix it but keeping its playability.
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby perfectsam » 05 Sep 2011, 15:54

The keyboard of my NS2 is quite loud too, but i'm used to it since my old Yamaha P200 is equally loud. Using heaphones or amplified, I don't notice it anymore. However: when I play at home, the noise of the keys can even be heard in the adjacent room (which can be annoying to someone trying to sleep there, e.g.).
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby Hanon_CTS » 05 Sep 2011, 16:09

Hello All,
The following is my personal opinion as an aged musician, coming from the perspective of having owned nearly every make and model of keyboard instrument. This does NOT necessarily reflect the opinion of the forum administration, or moderation staff.

I have to ask...
Just how important is it to have a silent keyboard action?
Where does this concern rank among features like:
Sound quality,
Play-ability,
Portability,
Upgrade-ability,
User interface?

Could you ever conceive of a moment where you would play an instrument, love all of it's sounds and features, but choose not to buy it because the keyboard action isn't mechanically silent?

Perhaps a keyboard "mechanical noise" shootout thread where we take a microphone and place it about where your ear would be while playing, and record just the mechanical sound of the keys?

Cheers, Hanon
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Re: Noisy Keys

Postby Cee » 05 Sep 2011, 17:15

I'll chime in again, to answer your question:

For me personally silent or noisy keys doesn't make a difference what-so-ever. But there will never be a time where I won't buy a certain keyboard because its keys are too loud.
Loudness of the keys doesn't even make it onto my personal features list.

The thread sounds like a great idea :D
But I will have to say, I think it greatly depends on the style of playing as well. There are people, like myself, who play a more percussive style of hitting the keys, and there's also people who play a more fluid, sensible style...
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