Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Question about 'Straps' on Keyboard Cases

Dear friends,

I'm looking to finally buy a case for my FP-7F, but, as usual, the local options are very limited.

The only decent local dealer (and from whom I bought my DP) only carries Gator, and they have them in two flavors (here at least):

- a soft case with rigid frames for bottom and one side, the rest of the case is not rigid. The worst part for me was that it has two padded straps that go over the keyboard, kind of like a seat belt! My concern is that they press on the keys. If a movement could induce side movement or shock, the boundaries from depressed to non-depressed keys could apply side pressure on the keys and harm the instrument! Any ideas? The other thing is that it has a very loooong handle, which results on the keyboard not being able to be carried at the side without lifting your arm, which is kind of silly. It costs $200 locally, which is kind of a lot for me, but I see it more or less matches international prices. By the way, you can see the straps on the fourth picture in this link: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GK88/

- They also carry a hard case (of which I had only seen the 61 key version, the 88 one has to be specially ordered) and seems more robust, with some padding inside to configure for the proper size. The pivots on the side were not particularly good, and the locks on the front where kind of uncomfortable. The keyboard is more protected, but it sells for $400 locally. That is the price of some mid-entry keyboards!!!

Any ideas what to look for? Any take on those non-rigid, key-depressing straps?

Thanks in advance,

Rafa.
ps. I hijacked another thread with this same question, but it seems it was too much off topic, so I'm re-posting as a stand-alone thread . Thanks again.

Please? Please? Any, whatever thoughts come to mind regarding these straps would be incredibly helpful and much, much appreciated.

The store brings a shipment only twice a year, they have one left in stock, would need to wait till May would they sell this and it is actually a good option. I really would appreciate any feedback, even if its a gut guess instead of knowledgeable answer

Thanks very much,
Rafa.

Hi Rafa. I'm looking at the hard case 88 key for my board myself. I can't give you a knowledgeable answer on this.

What do you need the case for? I'm going for the hard case so that it's more protected for on trips (I will be able to pack stuff in the car with better ease of mind.) Also I won't have to worry about bumps.

I can't see the straps damaging the keys on the soft case. By the looks of the pictures it's very well padded, wide and would barely touch the keys.

Could you ask your local dealer about it? They probably have would have more knowledge on whether or not there are safety issues for your keybed.

Thanks Becca! Actually, we have a very limited market here, so they know very little. I need to do my 'research' home and just go there to let them know what I have found out.

I usually carry it from my house to a church or rehearsal, so the soft case may just be enough. Of course its less protected, but I'm not sure I can justify almost double the price (of course the argument could be made that I'm protecting a $2000+ DP ).

The other issue is that, as it is, the DP is too big for my car. I need to set it 'lying down' on my right seat as it were a passenger, I cannot use the back seat or the storage compartment. Its like carrying a drunk fellow after a party I need to lay the seat flat and put the DP on top. So I'm not sure the rigid structures in the back of the case are enough to prevent 'bending' of the DP.

I really don't know what to do, and I cannot see the 88 hard case unless I order it in advanced, I can only compare it with the 61 keyboard version .

Thanks again, and would appreciate any more feedback,
Rafa.

Well, I went and bought the GK-88. I figured that, for the few times the keyboard leaves my house, I could be extra careful, and for those rare times where really I need the extra protection, I can use the original packaging (with the foam original protections).

I'm going to do some small changes to prevent the straps pulling down on the keys, so I'll maybe add what I did in pictures further down the road.

Thanks Becca for coming to my rescue . I was really hoping for some feedback or support

Best regards,
Rafa.

Your welcome! Let me know what you think of the case. I'm not sure when I'm going to get mine (it's around 400 here too.)

I think you made a good choice. I'm no expert on cases, but I'm in the process of buying a new FP-7F and a case for it myself and from what everyone told me, the hard cases are invaluable when you want to move a lot of hardware by piling it on top of each other in a van for example. But they are also much bigger and heavier, so for smaller appointments and walking around it's not ideal. The protection you've got should be good enough.

Btw some very nice threads and posts on the FP-7F that you've made on this forum!

Thank you Skies! Your thoughts are welcome and your warm words are flattering. Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new DP! You'll certainly love it.

I'll post here this Sunday after my first trip to a rehearsal we have and see how the case performed.

Best regards,
Rafa.

Ok, I have now used the GK-88 twice: one to attend a rehearsal and the other to go to the actual wedding on a small church (and up into the small choir on top of a very narrow spiral staircase).

I am pleased with it, but its not without issues.

PROs:
- Its rigidness is great and a much welcome improvement over the bag-only type of cases
- On flat smooth surfaces, the handle + wheels is a joy and really indispensable!
- The price is a good compromise between a good enough case and not so much money that you could have bought a CASIO to take to the venues!

NOT SO GREAT - BUT I CAN LIVE WITHs:
- I'm still not convinced that the straps are my ideal solution, but I found out that if I put two rolls of toilet paper in the in front of the DP, it raises the straps enough so that they don't pull down on the keys, therefore eliminating the problem of possible side-force on the keys.
- The 22 pound it weights can really add up with the DP inside, so its heavy, no matter what.
- The handle to wheel-pull the DP is (or at least appears to be) a bit flimsy, I'm worried it might just detach and let the DP fall to the ground (hasn't happened).
- You can move the DP by yourself on most situations, but, for instance, loading it to a small car is much easier with another one helping on the other end. For stairs, you are more or less bound to need help from a second person to lift the other end, unless you plan on really adding some strain into the top handle and pulling all the weight up and banging the bottom in each cleared stair.
- You cannot put anything but your sweater on top of it when inside your car... its not to pile things on top of it. I bought it knowingly, so its not an issue, but buyers beware: you cannot put an amp, or speakers, or anything on top of this case.

CONs:
- The side handle (to carry the DP on the side) is really terrible! Its straps are thin and the wrap-around handle is not much better. The worst part is that it hangs so high above the case, that unless you are 1.90m high or so you would need to actually bend your elbow or really twist your body side ways to lift the thing high enough from the ground to move it. And even then, even the tallest man alive could not lift it enough to clear a stair or two ahead.
- The space inside is really a lot bigger than my DP. I understand on the longer side as most 88 key DPs have a mod and pitch-bend wheel, but the width could have been much smaller as most DPs are not that deep! They could have saved at least 5cm, which would have helped the height in which you carry the thing sideways (my previous complaint).

That's about it... I am happy with the purchase. It could have been better, but for the money I'm happy as it does the job and I feel the keyboard is really protected in the moving process. Of course its not for flights, or any other hard movement, but I think it is a good option for the budget-constrained buyers.

Hope this helps a bit others in the decision making process,
Rafa.

I just got a Roadrunner SM-88 from MF.
It is to me, in between some of the thinner cases (such as the Privia one) and the hard cases.

Won't fit on my backseat- I will need to fold the seats down i guess

Hit submit to soon-
This case has wheels, a strap and handels.
The strap seems decent but I am only using a 25 pound board

Possum, yes, mine has also to go on the passengers seat, and to get in there I need to lower both seats flat (the driver's as well!), get the DP in a bit, rotate it, push it in some more, rotate it some more and do that carefully until it reaches final position, and it takes three whole seats of the car, as in the back it can only fit now one person and the driver.

But that is more a car issue than the case's

Rafa.