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Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Piano Keyboard Touchweight Measured at Middle C

In search of the perfect keyboard for my arthritic hands I noticed that keys that were easy to press irritate my fingers less.  Makes sense, but some other factors were also involved.  I also noticed that digital keyboards tend to hurt my knuckles even if they were easy to press.  Other observations that seemed to contribute  to pain was smooth key surfaces that your fingers slip on after a few minutes of play.  Ivoryesque keys seemed to feel better, but if other key surfaces were kept very clean, these differences were minimized.  Then there is another factor: weighted keys hurt more that synth action keys.  In any case, I made a table of key weights I tested using Nickels and Dimes and a kitchen scale.  I subtracted the upweight from the downweight to approximate the friction.  It is interesting that to me, the lower friction keys seem to feel nicer than their weights would suggest.  Many techs seem to think that heavier weight keys are better with lower upweight, but apparently Bechstein didn't get the memo and their keys feel amazing and play like a dream.  It helps that the sound of their pianos is out of this world.  I want to start a GoFundMe...

I'll update this in a clearer format as soon as possible.

2 comments:

  1. Dan,

    (From Robert Camar, audiophile from Brazil - Audio Note 300B amp w/modified open-baffle Fostex speakers)

    I owned a Steinway Model "O" half-grand acoustic piano from which I had to part unfortunately. Since then, I've been searching for alternatives in the digital realm. I realize that keyboard action mechanisms for real grand pianos may vary a lot regarding their inner mechanics, causing consequences for our fingers.
    My final choice went toward the KAWAI keyboard, which seems to best simulate the real piano keyboard concerning weight and feel. (By the way, Kawai produces their own acoustic grand).
    I wonder if you've already tried this brand and what your take is about it.

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  2. Thank you for sharing your measurements. It's helpful.

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