Key-bounce on Yamaha P95, bad or normal?

[haecceitas]

Hello.

I've recently bought a brand-new Yamaha P95 digital piano.
What I've noticed after a couple of hours playing, is that all the black keys and some of the white keys have a "bouncy" feeling to them. It's not a bounce that affects the sound, and I don't believe it affects the speed of playing, but it feels kind of unsmooth. Kind of like pushing a rubber ball against a flat surface, it bounces a little before settling down.

What I want to know is if this is normal and acceptable, or if I should return the piano for an exhange? I am new to piano playing myself, so I don't know how the keys are supposed to feel.

Thanks in advance.

[oxy60]

Go to the shop and try another one there. My P-85 does not bounce.

[haecceitas]

Thanks for your reply. The music stores are closed during christmas, so I will have to wait until next week.

But there's something that I realized.
Maybe it has to do with how I play, since I'm a beginner? I noticed that the bouncy feeling mainly occurs when I have a "weak hand" and do not strengthen my fingers. If I'm more firm with my playing, I don't feel a bounce.

I also realized that the piano maybe needs to be "played in", since it's brand new?

Any thought on these two? Would be great if someone could alleviate my suspicions.

[john90]

Don't worry. I don't think it is you, and I don't think bedding in will change anything. Perhaps it is getting warmer the longer it is turned on. Does it feel warm underneath after playing? If you have to buy a digital for space/cost/convenience reasons, then Yamaha is a reasonable choice. Make sure you play on an acoustic piano when you get the chance too, so you learn the different feel.

[richard black]

Bounce on the way down or on the way up? I'd expect to get a bit of both - the endstops on that model are pretty basic. But your description sounds rather odd....

[keys60]

Do digitals simulate aftertouch like when the jack releases from the wippen or the hammer butt?
I've played and have some old synths lying around but they don't have weighted keys. Other than that, I still play my acoustics.

[richard black]

Do digitals simulate aftertouch like when the jack releases from the wippen or the hammer butt?

Some of the very upmarket models claim to. The couple I've tried weren't amazingly realistic but they weren't the most recent examples of the breed.

[haecceitas]

Bounce on the way down or on the way up? I'd expect to get a bit of both - the endstops on that model are pretty basic. But your description sounds rather odd....

Indeed I have bounce both on the way up and on the way down.

Maybe my analogy to a rubber ball was strange. What I mean is simply that when I press some keys, I can feel with my fingers a couple of small close-interval repetitive bounces that doesn't affect my playing. The keys don't just "hit the bottom" and stay there, they bounce a little first. It just feels strange. I've tried an acoustic piano once, and it didn't have that kind of feeling.
On the other hand, the bounce is greatly reduced or even unnoticeable when I tense my fingers a bit and use them more as hammers in their own right, rather than getting most of the force from wrists and arms.

Hope that makes sense. :-P

Don't worry. I don't think it is you, and I don't think bedding in will change anything. Perhaps it is getting warmer the longer it is turned on. Does it feel warm underneath after playing? If you have to buy a digital for space/cost/convenience reasons, then Yamaha is a reasonable choice. Make sure you play on an acoustic piano when you get the chance too, so you learn the different feel.

I would be glad if the bounce was due to my playing or lack of "bedding in", because that would mean it could be fixed. :-)

No, it doesn't feel warm underneath after playing. Some time in the future, I will get an acoustic piano.

[john90]

I have never tried anything with anything like a half decent realistic aftertouch. I asked Santa for a CeusMaster Stage Piano this year. Didin't show up yet. Part of the aftertouch is presumably the hammer returning to rest, and the different feel when you haven't quite pressed hard enough to make the hammer hit the string. The Bosendorfer stage piano might have an Imperial action in it, but if there are no strings, I can't imagine it feeling right.

I think these digital pianos are never going to feel right to the touch, and will never be a substitute. Provided you accept that, concentrate on practising, and use an acoustic at least once or twice a month, they are fantastic. A cheap, velocity sensitive Yamaha, smaller than full size keys works for me as a portable.

[haecceitas]

I see. So then my particular piano wouldn't be the problem, just digital pianos overall? Maybe excepting the more expensive ones...
I'm fine with that, I was mostly afraid that my piano had some manufacture fault or logistics damage.

The instrument is still fully playable, but I was a bit disappointed to find out that it didn't feel as smooth to play as an acoustic.