key mechanical noise

[stormx]

Hi !!

i own a CASIO digital piano (PRIVIA PX-300). I have the only following complain about it:

Some keys (and 1 in particular) seem to be a little noiser than the rest. I am talking about the mechanical noise that occurs after the key is suddenly released (like when you play stacatto).

The difference is really slight, but when you know it is there, your mind is "waiting for it" and it becomes kinda annoying...

Questions:

Is it normal for some keys to be slighty noiser than others?

If not, should i send the piano to CASIO to have it checked? (it is still under warranty).
I do not like this option (many weeks without piano), but if it is the way to go...

What can be the cause for some key to be noiser (in a digital), and how can the problem be adressed? (take it easy, i am NOT planning to remove the cover and fix it myself  )


Thanks in advance for your help,

[stormx]

Hi !!

Sorry to insist but i did not receive any answer and i really need some advice about this issue from someone with much more experience than i playing pianos (it is my first piano, and have been taking lessons for ONLY 3 months)...

Anyway, i have decided to send it to the CASIO service to be checked, but i am a little skeptical concerning the eventual solutions...

Is really UNAVOIDABLE that some keys become NOISER than others with normal use of the instrument? Do you have to live with it?
I can describe the noise as a "click" when the key is RELEASED.

The problem is basically in some keys that are in the central octave (or very near). It is probably NOT a coincidence that these are the ones that are striken more often...I have no noise problem on black keys, by the way.

Thanks,

[stormx]

Eventough i did not perceive too much interest in my problem, i will conclude my little story anyway...

I finally sent my digital piano to the CASIO service, and after examining it they sent it back to me (48 hs. later) concluding that:
"the mechanical noise level observed in the instrument is normal for the model and equal to a brand new one".

Well, at least i know there is not anything wrong in my piano 

So, i conclude that some level of key mechanical noise is unavoidable, and even some keys can be slighty more noiser than others.

I still hear some slight extra noise sometimes, but i have to admit that after the official word was given, i am less hipersensitive to it 

Something like when you feel ill, you go to see a doctor, and after examining you he says "man, you are okey". Probably, you will then feel better 

[westman]

Sorry I did not notice your post earlier, but I only log in once or twice a week. I have a similiar on-going experience with a Kawai console (acoustic) piano: convinced that the C# above high C sounds tinny and metallic compared to all other notes. A certified piano tech with 25 yrs experience is convinced I am crazy. He "voiced" the hammer a little, but that just caused it to make the same sound, only quieter. I complained where I bought the piano and they replaced it with an identical model. Once the hammers broke in  the same note sounds just as bad. I am going to have a different piano tech look at it, but its possible its just me. Trouble is the same note on every other piano I have ever played or heard does not sound like it does on mine. But listening while not playing is different than listening while playing.

[Brian Lawson, RPT]

If you have had the same problems with two identical pianos and that problem has never been reported by other owners then it may be something in the room giving a sympatheic vibration, picture frame, some little icon on the piano.

If there is anything on the piano take it off, if possible move the piano to a different part of the room or another room

If after all that it is still there........then maybe it is you 


PS. the other poster probably didnt get any responces as this is a piano forum and not a keyboard forum.

[Egghead]

If you have had the same problems with two identical pianos and that problem has never been reported by other owners then it may be something in the room giving a sympatheic vibration, picture frame, some little icon on the piano.

that makes sense to me, nice piece of advice. I find it quite common that bits of the piano, or things nearby resonate in some unpleasant way.

PS. the other poster probably didnt get any responces as this is a piano forum and not a keyboard forum.

he was talking about a digital piano, which are discussed in this section, correct? Stormx: I do not know the Casio-series at all.

Related question (which I have not searched, so maybe it has been addressed numerous times): what about the noise when you press the key DOWN?
Even in a top-range Yamaha digital piano, I have found the resulting noise off-putting, especially when playing quietly. 
any views on this?

Egghead

[stormx]

PS. the other poster probably didnt get any responces as this is a piano forum and not a keyboard forum.

I was talking about a DIGITAL PIANO.
It seems you are ironnically suggesting that DIGITAL pianos (or at least the CASIO ones) are just ordinary keyboards.

I have bought this digital piano for 2 reasons:

1) i am a complete beginner.

2) I did not have more money to invest in the piano.

You know, the CASIO PRIVIA PX-300 i bought costs 1000 dollars in Argentina. Even being probably the "cheapest digital piano" around, 1000 bucks is a lot of money for someone not rich like me. 

By the way, thanks to the other posters for sharing your opinions. 

[westman]

If you have had the same problems with two identical pianos and that problem has never been reported by other owners then it may be something in the room giving a sympatheic vibration, picture frame, some little icon on the piano.

If there is anything on the piano take it off, if possible move the piano to a different part of the room or another room

If after all that it is still there........then maybe it is you 

I tried all that, its either the piano or me. Clearly the tone problem was not present in the new piano, which also eliminates the possibility of sympathetic vibrations from other objects in the room. Only after about a month, when the hammers started getting broken in and compacted, did it appear. So its not strictly the frequency of the note, or other harmonics, it has to do with how the strings are reacting to the hammer. Because this note is in a position on the keyboard that is almost directly in front of the right hand/arm, it is likely to get played with greater force than other notes. I think this leads to greater compaction of the hammers which when combined with the particular frequency of the note combines to cause the tinny sound. Several other notes in the same area of the keyboard exhibit a much reduced but still noticable tinny sound. Anyway I'll get a second opinion from another tech and see what happens. Maybe I'll just have to learn to voice my own piano (I know, but I don't think I could make it sound any worse from my point of view), or change the hammer every two months.