Nord User Forum

Ledbetter wrote:As you transport your keyboard, the crud can rattle around and find its way back to where it shouldn't be. I haven't looked inside a Stage, but the rubber strips are usually in segments, so you don't have to remove the whole keyboard if only one note is affected.

For one thing, the actual key contacts are located beneath the rubber strips, with each note's contacts isolated from all the others. Yes, it's true that crud can rattle around, but it's not likely to rattle it's way into the domed area enclosing key contacts. This occurs during playing. When a key is pressed, the dome is flattened and air is expelled. When the key is subsequently released, the dome springs back into shape, resulting in air being sucked into that cavity. Any crud in the immediate vicinity can and sometimes will be sucked in along with it.

For another thing, on HA and SW models, the contact PCBs are mounted to the underside of the keybed, so the entire keybed does have to be removed in order to gain access to the individual key contacts. On the HP and synth actions, the contact PCBs are mounted directly beneath the keys but above the frame, so it is true that only a certain number of keys may need to be removed to access the contact areas, but the clearance to the front of the lower chassis is so tight that it is necessary to remove the entire keybed assembly first to gain the needed clearance to remove single keys.

Here's a pic of a nasty old synth action showing the ventilation channels through which dirt must pass in order to foul contacts.

Bless,

Pablo