I'm kind of out of my element here. Question about an Alesis QS8 Synth

[tim]

Hopefully this isn't too far off topic...Maybe someone works on keys here as well as amps.

I own an Alesis QS8 and have since they first came out. I love this keyboard! I've done several repairs on the circuitry over the years. I had to put in storage for a couple of years while my wife and I sold our house in NH and moved to MO. I pulled it out and it still works fine except the keys are very "clacky" when played. I remember before I stored it that I had heard it but it didn't seem to be as bad then as it is now. I believe the keybed is made by Kawai if that helps.

Where should I start to look for the noise? Is there something like felt pads in there that are finally smashed flat from usage over the years and no longer able to absorb the shock?

Hopefully someone in here has worked on these and can point me in the right direction.

[Enzo]

I worked on many synths. I consdiered myself pretty competent on them. I liked working on the old analog Oberheims and similar. I don't know your keyboard, but it sounds mechanical. Felts may have simply deteriorated. Weights may be coming loose. You won't know until you pull some keys and FIND OUT what is going on.

Aha, "weighted hammer action" I worked on a lot of those too. And the hammer weights can break off their stops and whack against the underside of the keys.

[tim]

Thanks Enzo! After I posted that last message I remembered that I used to work with a guy that was a keyboard whiz kid...he was an early employee of Kurzweil and several other synth companies early on. I located him via google and shot him an email...He said that the keybed that is in those is made by Fatar he believes and that there is a felt pad in there that gets hard and makes those "clacking" noises when that happens. He said replacing them is not hard, per se', but it can be tedious. He thinks they can still be had commercially but it wouldn't be that big of a deal to make them from felt one can buy in a fabric store. My wife sews so she most likely has lots of felt squirreled away

[Enzo]

Kurzweil, that was the one. I was one of their warranty centers and it was a PC something model with the hammer action.

Yes, Fatar made keybeds for a lot of the OEMs.

[tim]

This guy I knew that worked at Kurzweil in the early days worked with me in a fairly large regional music store chain repair shop...we got one of the really old Kurzweil grand pianos in for repair, wooden keys and all, and he had to order the service manual, such as it was...when he got it in, his name was on the schematics as having drawn them...those were great days working in that shop.