I’m confident the word “crisis” is a bit too strong to describe my recent situation with my digital piano. A couple of weeks ago, I broke an Eflat key on my weighted Roland XV-88. We were rehearsing music at Jared’s place and I guess I might have gotten “too” funky. My thumb cracked one of the keys on this instrument and over the past few weeks, I’ve tore it apart and without my “therapy” it’s been a frustrating couple of weeks. Thank goodness the old Hammond is still working.
Treating my piano like a family-member is a bit much, but I’ve had this keyboard for 8 years and although it weighs as much as a coffin, this piano has one of the best acoustic grand piano sounds of any instrument I’ve owned. In it’s case though, it weighs a good 70 pounds and is a back-breaker when you carry it by yourself. That’s why I thought about buying something a bit lighter, especially when I thought I ruined it for good.
There’s no reason I should be pulling apart such a complicated device, but I’m a hack. Besides that, there’s no dealer who can fix this keyboard anymore (nearby) and the postage alone would have made it impossible to repair. That’s why I decided to go ahead and fix the rig myself and tonight, I’m happy to say, my piano is back online.
Oh, I thought about buying a new one – many times and I will still continue my pursuit of the perfect upright (Santa…I will gladly accept a used Steinway 52″ studio console – flat black). That 70 pounds is starting to bother me and after I’ve had the keyboard apart, I know why.
I starting with the screws on the side that hold metal plates. After removing those panels, I removed the plat trim on the front and all the screws that hold a metal hood. Once the screws were out, I was able to easily remove the metal hood assembly that contains all the circuit boards. Inside there were just a few computer ribbons to disconnect.
This keyboard is suprisingly compact and its weight comes from the intricate and ingenious weighted keyboard. With the hood removed and all the metal trim aside, you’ve basically got a keyboard assembly on a thick peice of press-board.
Turning the keyboard upside down, it was easy to inspect all 88 keys. It was clear that there was a broken key which rattled as I turned the board over and there it was, the E-flat inactive with a blank space where the key should be.
A weighted key on an electric piano is a ingenious idea. There may be some springs that interact with the plastic keys, but the real weight comes from the lead. Each key has a corresponding lever, a plastic lever that is balanced with a small lead weight. That’s what gives the plastic key its “weighted” feel and ultimately the weight since every key operates with its own independent weight.
For the moment, I robbed one of the black (flat) key assemblies from the very top of the 88-note keyboard. The key was easy to replace and although I was eager to put everything back in its place and start to practice, when I turned on the keyboard after screwing in the last screw and hooked up my gear to the sound board..no sound.
I was depressed for a few more days and convinced I had screwed things up beyond repair. I started to search eBay and even went to Asheville this weekend looking for a piano. I’m actually looking for an acoustic, but the fact that I have gigs coming up and culturing a new band had me really stressed. The urge to play has never been more honest.
This past Sunday, I decided that I would start all over and I’m glad I did. In the light of the morning sunshine, I traced every step of my original hack and sure enough, I had plugged a ribbon cable in backwards. This time, I tried it out before I put it back together again and I’m happy to say the XV-88 is back and I’m glad too.
Now it’s time to start rehearsing for Christmas gigs. I’ve got Bank of Tennessee’s Christmas Party on the 14th and Town and Country on the 15th. Gotta flesh out the Vince Guaraldi and a few new songs.
As far as buying a new digital piano…I’m probably gonna tote the beast around for a while. I’ve still got my heart set on a black acoustic though. I want to have an instrument to play on at all times and as much my keyboard is out on the road, I want to give it a break. I may grab an old Fender Rhodes here soon to keep as a rehearsal piano at gigs, but for now, life is returning to normal.
I’m gonna do my best to release a new collection of songs by the holidays and the only thing that may be missing, may be the top Bflat, but I think I can make do for a while longer.