Uneven velocity levels (loud notes)

[reinski]

Hello - I've had ongoing problems the past several years with 2 of my Nords (NS2, NS3) regarding dirty contact issues resulting in silent notes OR weird uneven velocity levels (notes getting loud too soon). My latest issue is this :
I just replaced 2 octaves of the rubber contact strips (whatever they're called) due to occasional dead notes and after assembling everything, 3 of the notes reach the 128 velocity too fast. I'll be playing medium hard dynamically and they trigger 128. Brand new strips. BTW I cleaned the contact board before I installed the new strips, so that shouldn't be the issue I wouldn't think.
Any ideas for why this would be?? Defective rubber strips maybe? This is SOOOOOOOO frustrating. I LOVE Nord so much, but these contact issues are a serious Achilles Heel to the company I feel. I shouldn't have to be taking apart my keyboard numerous times to fix this.
Thanks in advance!

[maxpiano]

Besides replacing contact strips you also need to ensure you clean the related board contacts with isopropyl alcohol, don't leave any trace of dirt or debris when mounting the strip and finally check the strip is properly inserted and "flat" all across its length (all "pins" fully in and at the same level)

PS: I have owned several Nord keyboards, both HA and SW, since 2009 never had such problems and never replaced contact strips, but some other Nord users have, so probably they depend on usage/storage conditions.

[reinski]

Thanks for your reply, maxpiano. Yes, as I mentioned in my post, I cleaned the contact strip yesterday before replacing the rubber strip. I'll take it apart AGAIN and check out the little black contact thingys. I'm thinking that those little black contacts on the rubber strip are possibly not "aligned" properly. The first rubber strip I first replaced yesterday had one pair of black tips perfectly even with each other (hard to explain) as opposed to offset, which resulted in that note sounding at full 128 velocity when I got it all back together. GRRRRRR! I then had to take it all apart again and just replace that little section. It fixed it. My problem now with the other notes is not as severe, but it's not right.
I fly a lot with my various Nords doing shows and all I can figure is getting thrown around by baggage handlers causes dirt/dust/whatever to get in there and cause issues. Quite frustrating that it happens over and over and over. Of course this particular problem now is involving brand new rubber strips.

[Mr. Marko]

is the inside of the Nord chassis area been cleared of dust...and is the inside of your case clean?

most of my issues came from dust inside the hardshell case ...I blow mine out with a leaf blower several times a year

[dfresh25]

I think the only thing that will ever truly fix it is you order totally new PCBs. Unfortunatley with the NS3, they require to purchase the entire keybed because each one is calibrated differently (and comes with a calibration chip). You can't just order the circuit boards individually. So it's a whole investment. I'm still using my worn out board. See this thread: viewtopic.php?t=24056&start=10

I may eventually bite the bullet and get the whole keybed. This is been an ongoing issue for both my Nord Electro 3 and Nord Stage 3. I've been a nord user since 2011. Since many users never see this problem I've been trying to think what is different about my situation. I wonder if weather can affect things. Sometimes my keyboard sits in my car in the cold Chicago winter. Maybe that wears on it. Especially if its going back into a warm environment after being freezing. Just a thought...

[ees3dc]

I can't offer any advice, but I bought a Piano 5 a month ago and am experiencing this. Its brand new and kept in a clean environment and always covered when not used.

I am due to take it back and upgrading to a Stage 4. My heart says Stage 4 but head says Roland RD-2000. The RD would be demoted to a glorified MIDI controller with Keyscape because its well behind the Nord sound wise. Its not what I want, but I want a keybed that's reliable!

Roland's PHA-50 is triple sensor and they're all the same PCB designs that have been around for decades. So what is FATAR getting wrong on the hammer actions because it should not be failing within a month!