Nord User Forum

AlQuinn wrote:I've heard the explanations about how Nord bad key problems are no worse than the other manufacturers but based on my experience I don't buy it.

It depends entirely on the type of keyswitch contact used. In the 70s and early 80s, most manufacturers used wire contacts (Yamaha, Moog, Sequential Circuits, Oberheim etc) which don't suffer from this problem. Eventually many manufacturers started switching to the rubber membrane types (presumably they were cheaper or easier to make) and this is where the problems start. As I have previously mentioned, the problem is just as commonplace with Rolands, trust me. Yamaha continued to make wire contact switches and their keyboards were used by other manufacturers (the DX7 type keyboards are particularly common), for example Korg used the Yamaha keyboards until just recently.

So it's not the instrument brand which is the problem, it's the style of keywitches used. It's obviously very expensive to manufacture keyboards, particularly for smaller companies, so they save costs by buying them in. So don't blame the instrument manufacturer, It's down to the makers of the actual keyboards, often an entirely separate company.

RedLeo wrote:

AlQuinn wrote:I've heard the explanations about how Nord bad key problems are no worse than the other manufacturers but based on my experience I don't buy it.

It depends entirely on the type of keyswitch contact used. In the 70s and early 80s, most manufacturers used wire contacts (Yamaha, Moog, Sequential Circuits, Oberheim etc) which don't suffer from this problem. Eventually many manufacturers started switching to the rubber membrane types (presumably they were cheaper or easier to make) and this is where the problems start. As I have previously mentioned, the problem is just as commonplace with Rolands, trust me. Yamaha continued to make wire contact switches and their keyboards were used by other manufacturers (the DX7 type keyboards are particularly common), for example Korg used the Yamaha keyboards until just recently.

So it's not the instrument brand which is the problem, it's the style of keywitches used. It's obviously very expensive to manufacture keyboards, particularly for smaller companies, so they save costs by buying them in. So don't blame the instrument manufacturer, It's down to the makers of the actual keyboards, often an entirely separate company.

Thanks for the explanation regarding keyboard types. It makes perfect sense to me. I will look closely at this the next time I buy a keyboard.

For me it's not about blame but, rather, buying a great sounding reliable keyboard. With my new Electro 4D having a bad key issue in less than a year from purchase while I did very few gigs with it and had it stored in its case when at home, it has fallen short of my expectations and requirements for reliability. I worry about it failing on a gig.

I hear you on that! This problem happens so frequently that's it's really time something was done about it.

perhaps best be 2 optical sensors under the keys ...