Question regarding key width.

[Gourockian]

I'm considering possibly buying a new arranger keyboard such as Roland EA-7, Korg PA1000 or Yamaha PSR-SX900 and wondered if any of these have full-size keys or are they similar to some other keyboards which have almost full-size keys. I used to occasionally play a Yamaha DGX-530 (I think that was the model) at church and found it frustrating that the keys were just slightly narrower than standard full-size.

Perhaps some existing owners of these models would be good enough to measure the width of the whole set of 61, taking care to not 'squeeze' them together, and post here. Ideally, I'm looking for something that is no less than 33¼ inches.

Thanks in advance,

Alistair

 

[anotherscott]

All Yamaha non-hammer action keys are slightly less wide than full-size. The Roland and Korg would be full width. I measured the PA1000, it's 33 3/16.

 

[Gourockian]

Hi, anotherscott, thanks for your reply and the information you supplied. That's exactly the same as my old beat-up Technics KN5000 so would be perfect on that score, even though I stated no less than 33¼.

I had a Medeli AKX-10 delivered on Friday and it's keys measure 32½" but I think I'm going to be returning it - not just for that reason, though.

Btw, are you another Scot from Scotland, like myself, or another person with the name Scott?

 

[anotherscott]

Merely another Scott, from New York. ;-)

Interesting that the Medeli is slightly small. I have a Medeli-based Kurzweil PC4-7... I never measured the keys, but unlike Yamaha's, they do seem to line up fine in my stacks with whatever (non-Yamaha) boards I combine it with.

 

[Gourockian]

Nothing 'merely' about being a Scot or another Scott.

It might have something to do with the rumor (or non-rumor) that Medeli have built the AKX-10 based on earlier Yamaha keyboards. I've also read that they may have built some for Yamaha in the past, so it's quite possible they used their know-how to produce this one.

How do you rate your PA1000?

 

[anotherscott]

I like the PA1000 a lot. Really nice sounds, aftertouch, speakers that are usefully full and loud enough for many purposes, not too heavy to carry around, better editing and MIDI functionality than the PSRs, decent interface on a touchscreen that can be angled to improve usability on a second tier or in the sun. It has its shortcomings, though. And some that could theoretically be fixed without new hardware. There are things in the interface and the manual that could be improved, and the fact that the drawbars aren't CC controllable means you can't use (for example) a Nanokey to provide something closer to physical drawbars. There's one thing I prefer about the cheaper PA700... panel readability. PA1000 has black buttons on black background, and some red button labeling, which make the board unnecessarily harder to operate in sub-optimal lighting. But nothing's perfect, and at this point, this would be my pick for an arranger.

 

[Gourockian]

Good to get your thoughts and they don't seem to be unduly biased. One thing the Medeli seems to stand out on is the screen....it really is quite attractive but here's an issue, talking about low light situations. I can't find any way to dim it or any of the button LED's and it then becomes a problem trying to see what the button label says, as it is not illuminated. The only thing I've been able to do is turn off the LED's on the underside of the side panels but the glare from the other ones and the screen is definitely a problem.
Maybe, I'll opt for the Korg one of these days....I should have got one before the prices went up.

 

[Rayblewit]

Just did a measure of mine. Outside edge to outside edge C1 - C6 = 32.5" (Yamaha PSR S650 . . 61 keys)
11/16" short of your expectations. (33 3/16")
36 white keys divided into 11/16" = 0.019" per key too narrow . . . . Really?

 

[Gourockian]

"36 white keys divided into 11/16" = 0.019" per key too narrow . . . . Really?"

Hi Ray, yes, I know it does sound kind of crazy. However, it's not so much the actual width of the individual keys themselves but more a case of the overall spacing being different, because of the key width. That's why I didn't request anyone to measure individual keys.

I have a couple of 88-key digital pianos (Kawai CP-137 and Yamaha CP-300), a Yamaha AR-100 organ plus Technics KN2400 and KN5000 keyboards, all with full-size keys. They have different actions but I have no problem switching beween them as playing say, an octave chord on any of them feels the same, in terms of finger spacing. I always found it a bit of a problem playing on the church's DGX-530, simply because I wasn't used to the different spacing.

I decided back then that if I had a choice, I would prefer not to buy a keyboard with narrower keys. On the other hand, if I only had access to one keyboard and it had the narrower keys, it would not be an issue as it wouldn't take too long to get accustomed to it. I hope this makes some sense but at the end of the day, it's just down to personal preference.

Thanks for responding,

Al

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The width never bothered me, but I can see how it might throw players off just a bit if they're used to playing a keyboard without looking at the keys and their hands. That's something I've never managed to do, probably because I don't play and practice often enough for the positioning and movements of my hands and fingers over the keys to become "instinctual." And if I were to practice often enough for that, my hands and fingers might stumble going back and forth between slightly-narrow Yamaha keyboards and normal-width keyboards.

 

[happyrat1]

33-1/2 " for five octaves on a Roland Juno DS88.

I find it very comfortable to play.

Gary

 

[anotherscott]

The width never bothered me, but I can see how it might throw players off just a bit if they're used to playing a keyboard without looking at the keys and their hands.

I think it can also make more of a difference with certain techniques. For example, if you play a "stride" style, there is a kind of muscle memory for the octave (multi-octave) jumps, and yeah, .019" per key can add up over octaves.

There's also the issue that, when stacked with another board (which is not similarly a Yamaha non-hammer board), it is impossible to line up the keys on the two boards, which is an aesthetic issue, but also could conceivably require a bit more maneuvering when quickly moving from one board to the other.

It doesn't really bother me, but I can understand why it people can find it to be an issue.

 

[Gourockian]

Well, I'm glad to see that some folks at least understand how it can be a issue for some of us. I don't class myself as being a good keyboard player so the fewer distractions, the better.

Talking about distractions, apart from the width of the keys, the Medeli AKX-10 (now on its way back to the store) had another 'key' issue which I've never seen on any other instrument. Both sides of every key had a weird indentation at the very front, which I found to be very distracting. I took this picture of the side of the top key but had to tweak it to get enough contrast to show properly, which is why it looks dark.

Although the rest of the key side is perfectly normal, for some reason there is this slightly indented area, which results in a lip between the underside of the key-top and the indentation. This meant that when playing, there was sometimes a tendency for slight resistance when lifting off the keys, unless they were played behind this front area. My fingers are reasonably slim but folks with stubbier digits would really find this annoying, especially if playing quickly.

Something to watch out for if considering this, in many ways excellent, keyboard. Mine went back because it would sometimes require to be re-booted just to change from say, a violin sound to a piano or brass sound, even though the screen showed the change. It was brand new and this happened on the first and second days.....I took some video the second time, just in case there was any problem returning it (which there wasn't).