Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Custom DIY stand for my Technics SX-P30

Here are some photos of the custom stand I made for my old Technics SX-P30 that I've had for almost 15 years. At one point, I had built a very basic stand out of some 2x4s (can't find any pictures of it unfortunately). Later, after I moved I simply propped it up on some moving boxes. I decided it was finally time to do something nice with it since I wanted to have the unit in our living room.





The stand was built from almost 100% poplar wood from Home Depot and painted with satin black latex. The pedal is an M-Audio SP-2 which sits inside a custom hollow-legged lyre that is actually the rear leg for the unit as well. The power cord also runs through the hollow leg to keep wiring tidy. The top flips up and the music stand is attached to the underside. Thanks for looking!

Thanks for looking? Hey, thanks for showing! That's a nice piece of work.

+1

Thank you!

That's a great job, very well done!

Does the cabinet feel stable and strong?
Does the P30 have an additional pedal connector for adding a soft pedal? I think this would look a little more balanced than the current single pedal.

Kind regards,
James
x

Thanks, James! Yes, it feels very stable. It's mostly heavy wood so it is quite strong. Despite it being a tripod, it's very secure as the pedal box is fairly large and deep to accomodate the pedal. Unfortunately, the SX-P30 doesn't have an additional pedal input. I agree that a second pedal would have added some nice symmetry.

That's a shame. Perhaps you can add a second pedal just for the appearance? Or if the P30 responds to soft pedalling via MIDI, it may be possible to devise a pedal solution using one of these.

Kind regards,
James
x

I will certainly consider it. Appreciate the feedback.

In case anyone is interested, here are a few photos from along the way.


Laying out the bottom of the case. Several small holes were cut so the piano would sit flush against the wood, preventing it from moving around once the case was assembled.



The tapered, spade foot front legs were cut at the jointer. Each leg was made from several pieces of poplar laminated together to form a large solid leg then the tapers and feet were cut.



Clamping together the side pieces.



Hand planing the top for flatness.



The unpainted finished product. Next everything was taken apart and thoroughly sanded before painting.



I made a small paint booth in my garage to paint the individual pieces, which were sprayed with a handheld airless sprayer.

Thanks for looking!

Great stuff!

I'm always amazed at the ingenuity and skill of PW forum members!

Cheers,
James
x

Looks very professional and solid.

Does the SX-P30 have speakers built in? Did you consider some extra amps/speakers?

Hi, I have a off topic question, did you ever work with the technics midi out and a computer? I have read conflicting reviews about the velocity resolution, and the issues obtaining high velocities.

(I have one in sight to use as a controller, but can´t test it with a computer).

Thanks!!!

Thank you! I have an acoustic piano as well and this one's purpose is to be silent so it's setup for headphones only. The SX-P30 doesn't have any built-in speakers. The case does have space for speakers if necessary, though.

Sorry, I've never tried it!

I use it with a computer, and it is outputting low velocities.
The internal sound is tuned to the velocity curve so you don't notice it, but with a computer you do.
I don't find it a big problem though (I offset it in Cubase).

I don't want to derail the thread, could I send you a PM so you can tell me more?
Thanks