Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai MP 11 Damaged: Some Keys Really Hard To Press Down

I posted a similar thread awhile back, but I can't find it, so...

I have a 7 year old Kawai MP11 that was damaged due to being improperly stored on its end and not in its case by my former East coast landlord while I was"Covid stuck" in LA for 15 months.

I previously received advice here on PWF to rotate the instrument several times, which I did (with assistance). I then let it "sit" for a long time, in hopes that it would acclimate and recover.

Unfortunately, it didn't. It's still damaged. Many of the keys -- especially in the center, and especially the black keys --- can hardly be pressed down at all.

It's totally unplayable...

I currently have it in a basement in my house and I can work on it. I'm reasonably competent with tools.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to how to fix it before I "open it up."

Thanks,

- Jeff Newton (saxophonist / pianist / nascent guitarist)

Presumably the slip tape has slipped off or something? It's the achilles heel of the GF1 and GF2 actions.

Are you handy? Comfortable with screws/sheet metal/mechanical contraptions and very basic electronics (plugging/unplugging Molex/JST connectors)? If so, it's not hard at all to remove the cover of an MP11 and access the keys and action. There are a dozen screws on the bottom and maybe a couple on the back? I think the only non-intuitive tip is to slip a sheet of paper between the wooden cheek block and the top cover on each side, to avoid scratching the wood as you pivot the cover out of the way. I've posted some pictures in the past and there is plenty online.

With 88 keys, you should easily be able to see what is wrong/different with the keys that don't move. Are they jammed against a bent keyslip? Are the balance/front rail pins bent and causing friction? Are the wooden keys splintered/broken?

At 7yo, you don't have to worry about maintaining a warranty, and since it's already non-functional, chances aren't too high you'd make it even worse. Seems like a "might as well try" situation to me.

And if you figure out what's wrong, you might be able to land a salvage/non-functional MP11 for spare parts to make a fix? Fingers crossed!

OK, so I unscrew the cover from the bottom and pivot it off. I can do that...

With 88 keys, you should easily be able to see what is wrong/different with the keys that don't move. Are they jammed against a bent keyslip? Are the balance/front rail pins bent and causing friction? Are the wooden keys splintered/broken?

I guess I'll find out!

At 7yo, you don't have to worry about maintaining a warranty, and since it's already non-functional, chances aren't too high you'd make it even worse. Seems like a "might as well try" situation to me.

Yes, it does...

And if you figure out what's wrong, you might be able to land a salvage/non-functional MP11 for spare parts to make a fix? Fingers crossed![/quote]

I hadn't thought about spare parts! Does Kawai sell them?

(apologies for bad formatting...)

I'm not sure what "slip tape" is....

Slip tape is something at the back of the key where a capstan-like screw rests and "slips". In many cases they fell off or the captans gets glued to it and does not easily slip and the key is stuck.
But in your case it is most probably a keybed warp, and slip tape problems are irrelevant...

Thanks...

See tis thread http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2272103/1.html

Thank you! I had actually posted i there, years ago, about the space between the C and D keys! I had forgotten about the thread....

It looks like the solution is in there, somewhere ... lots of reading!