Nord User Forum

[AlQuinn]

Has anyone changed the keyboard springs in their Electro 4D? For me, the springs are too tight. Ideally, I'd like to swap the E4D springs with the same springs that are used in the latest Mojo. I believe both the E4D and Mojo use the Fatar TP80 keyboard so I'm thinking (and hoping) a spring swap might be possible.

[kagamul]

Removing the springs is not hard but getting hold of the lighter springs might be a challenge.

[AlQuinn]

Yes, I suspect you're right. I was hoping someone has done this and knows how to order the lighter springs.

[afroskully]

Had no idea this was even an option. However, I'd be looking for tighter springs if even a thing like that exists. Anyone know?

[kagamul]

Well, you'd have to get in touch with Fatar.

http://www.fatar.com

[slowtraveler]

Fatar doesn’t seem to share information about its parts suppliers or its customers’ specs with end users. And the MI manufacturers (including Nord) are not forthcoming about such information, either.

I also find the Nord semi-weighted actions a little too tightly sprung for comfort. FWIW, I can share the results of a little science experiment I performed this morning, in which I changed the springs on my Electro 4D.

I had no success locating a source for those Fatar springs, so I used a Studiologic VMK-161 I snagged on eBay a few weeks ago as an organ donor (heh-heh), and swapped the springs from its TP/8O action into the Nord. I find that the VMK has a very comfortable action, so I was curious what difference its springs might make in the 4D.

The VMK's springs made the 4D's action a bit (though not substantially) less "springy." Subjectively, the "down weight," if one may say that about a semi-weighted action, of the two spring sets feels about the same to me, but somehow the VMK springs don't snap back as hard as the Nord ones. I want to play it for a few more hours before I decide for sure, but I think I'll probably leave those VMK springs in the 4D (though if I'd known ahead of time that the difference in feel wouldn't be huge, I might not have gone to the trouble of making the swap).

The VMK and the Nord springs appear to be from different manufacturers, but the subjective difference between them is pretty modest. In fact, I wouldn't rule out the comparative mileage of the two boards as the source of the variance. My 4D's springs are pretty fresh. I got the thing about two years ago and haven't played it a lot, while my VMK, though in great condition cosmetically, may have been played heavily before I got it.

I imagine much lighter springs would have made a bigger difference, but I believe several other factors besides spring strength influence the subjective differences in feel among TP/8O-based boards. The fact that my VMK-161 has the aftertouch version of that action, for instance, probably influences its feel quite a bit.

The process wasn't terribly scary, btw. I have a decent amount of experience doing PC upgrades and repairs, so I felt okay about following Pablo Mastodon’s admirably lucid how-to advice, along with the breadcrumb trails left by other enterprising forum members who have opened up their semi-weighted Nords for various reasons. The whole thing took about 90 minutes.

[therealdrawbars]

Fatar makes many different varieties of springs. The problem is that they are not really set up to sell small quantities to end users. I tried to buy 50-100 keyboards for a niche product a few years back (for my business), and even that request was difficult.

The good news is that all Fatar keybeds that I've ever seen use the same basic design. (I've repaired broken Fatar keys and switches in my business, Ashby Solutions.) Your best bet would be to try to find a used Nord, Alesis or mid-2000s Korg synth that a) is in bad electrical shape; and b) has the action you want; and pull the springs from there. Both companies used Fatar keybeds in the past. Korg might still use them. Or pick up a cheap Studiologic MIDI keyboard -- obviously, they use Fatar keybeds.

There's no easy method to figure out which spring is the 'right' one for your needs; you'll have to experiment.

[Soryt D5]

Indeed , the springs on the D5 waterfall are much too tight, sometimes I mis some notes to play .
On Yamaha & Roland synths the key bed is much lighter and smooth to play .
It is for me a big disappointment in this fine sounding instrument .

A,

[maxpiano]

Indeed , the springs on the D5 waterfall are much too tight, sometimes I mis some notes to play .
On Yamaha & Roland synths the key bed is much lighter and smooth to play .
It is for me a big disappointment in this fine sounding instrument .

A,

Yamahas and Rolands you refer to have Synth-action keybeds, which are designed in a different way and of course are lighter than a semi-weighted waterfall Hammond-like one as the Fatar TP8O used on the Nord Electros and Nord Stages SW models is... have you ever played a real Hammond? That's the type of keybed the TP8O reproduces.

[anotherscott]

Yamahas and Rolands you refer to have Synth-action keybeds, which are designed in a different way and of course are lighter than a semi-weighted waterfall Hammond-like one as the Fatar TP8O used on the Nord Electros and Nord Stages SW models is...

The Nord is more heavily sprung than other boards that use the Fatar TP8O action.