Electro 3 HP 'CLACK' when playing

[christopher3]

There is what I consider to be way too loud of a 'clack' sound when playing the upper or lower 1/3 of the keyboard. Sounds like plastic hitting metal or similar to a rattle. The keys in the center of the board have a nice thud (w no clack) which is totally acceptable.

I noticed that if I lightly press my hand or fingertip on the bottom side of the keyboard directly below the clacking keys the clack sound disappears. It takes very light pressure underneath the keyboard to make the clack go away. Not sure whats going on in there or if something isn't quite secured well enough or some other issue. Anyone have any tips? I'm using the Nord legs, I imagine the pressure from a generic keyboard stand on the underside of the board may remove the clack however this or dynamat, etc doesn't seem like a valid solution.

Thanks,

Chris

[christopher3]

There is what I consider to be way too loud of a 'clack' sound when playing the upper or lower 1/3 of the keyboard. Sounds like plastic hitting metal or similar to a rattle. The keys in the center of the board have a nice thud (w no clack) which is totally acceptable.

I noticed that if I lightly press my hand or fingertip on the bottom side of the keyboard directly below the clacking keys the clack sound disappears. It takes very light pressure underneath the keyboard to make the clack go away. Not sure whats going on in there or if something isn't quite secured well enough or some other issue. Anyone have any tips? I'm using the Nord legs, I imagine the pressure from a generic keyboard stand on the underside of the board may remove the clack however this or dynamat, etc doesn't seem like a valid solution.

Thanks,

Chris

Hello christopher3,
Welcome to the forums.
There is some relevant discussion in this thread:
http://www.norduserforum.com/nord-piano ... tml#p12899
Cheers, Hanon

[toddague]

Just curious -- why do people care about clacking noise? As long as the keys work, and the action is suitable, I don't understand why this is an issue. Are there live microphones nearby that pick up the sound in recording environments, or is the concern around disturbing others in a quiet room when playing with headphones? I own several weighted and unweighted keyboards - from a Roland RD700 and XP80 to a Rhodes, Hammond B3, Nord C1 and Nord NE3 HP, and they all make some type of noise. Maybe I have just learned to accept this...

[mjbrands]

I think it mostly bugs people playing in a quiet room without headphones (since they hear it)

The metal bottom transmits sounds like this quite easily, as demonstrated by the original poster when he pushes with his hand against the bottom (effectively dampening the metal bottom).

[cemo69]

Sorry to post now (since July!)
I'm not sure that is the same problem...But i can heard some "clack" too.
On 3 keys only. Mainly when i press the front off the key...

Nord electro 3 HP

[Polychrest]

. . . too loud of a 'clack' sound when playing the upper or lower 1/3 of the keyboard. Sounds like plastic hitting metal or similar to a rattle. The keys in the center of the board have a nice thud (w no clack) which is totally acceptable.

I've owned a new Electro 3 HP for a couple of weeks now and this describes exactly how mine plays. The annoying keyboard noise is the only concern I've had so far with this fine instrument, and I'm wondering if there are any long-term wear issues at play here.

[Keelbolt]

I don't agree that this is a fine instrument. I own a Nord Electro 5D - clacking sounds, and clack on release of the key. The keyboard build is rubbish compared with my Rolands. I'm thinking of contacting Nord about the issue. And there are other things that spoil the sound for me - sustain not carrying sound over change of programme being one of the worst, resulting in dead air the moment you change programme. Even cheap yamahas have better sustain hold when changing programmes.

[baekgaard]

This is a 5 year old thread on the 3 HP, not the 5D, in case you didn't notice

But if you like the sound and weight of your Rolands also, then by all means... To my ears, the Roland RD-700NX (that I also have) sounds sterile and somewhat boring compared to the variety of pianos I can play on the Nord, the Roland epianos are to the point of being unusable, and the "organs" sound really boring. Even the older NE3 that I used to have as my 2nd keyboard was much better, although didn't care too much for the action when playing acoustics on that (the NE6D is much better for acoustic piano playing also, I think).

Anyway, just a quick comment -- for the record -- on the sustaining sounds during program change, it is called "seamless transition" in the Nord world, and is a feature in all of the newer generation Nords (NS3, NE6, NP4). It is probably much easier to implement for pure sample players than emulated organs and rotary, and things where you don't have a lot of effect changes. On my Roland RD-700NX, it sort of works, but all effects transition to the new program immediately and so does the modulation/volume faders, so effectively the "old" sound in many situations change abruptly. In the newer Nords, this is solved much more elegantly.

[Edit, to remove any possible confusion when this post if dug up in another 5 years: I accidentally wrote NS4 above and not NS3 by mistake].

[Quai34]

Baekgaard, you never told us you have a NS4?!?! So, now, you are the beta tester for Nord? Does the keybed is finally better?

[baekgaard]

Well, there you have it...

On a more serious note, this was unfortunately just a typo; I am sorry to say that I have never heard of a NS4, and I guess we will first get to see a NS3EX in some years anyway

And although I'm sure the NS4 (when it eventually will be conceived and released) is going to be a wonderful instrument, there is not a lot I'm missing with the NS3 that I have.

Thanks for noticing! I'd better fix the original post.